Customer Reviews:
Mini-Review: "Militant Islam in Southeast Asia - Crucible of Terror" by Zachary Abuza .......2006-07-19
I acquired this book, "Militant Islam in Southeast Asia," in order to do some background research for a novel I am writing. My book is a long-term project with no projected publication date as yet. It is a rather ambitious undertaking - a retelling of "The Odyssey" set as an Al Qaeda terrorist story that takes place partly in Indonesia! So, in preparation for an eventual fact finding trip to Indonesia, I have been doing some reading about terrorism and Southeast Asia.
Zachary Abuza is on the faculty in the Political Science and International Relations Department at Simmons College in Boston. He has traveled extensively in researching this book, which has received enthusiastic praise from many quarters.
W. Scott Thompson of Tuft's University's legendary Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy had this to say about Abuza's work:
"Showing an astonishing persistence in tying together the threads of the terrorist threat, Abuza has come up with a dazzling display of Al-Qaida at work. It is rare that a book comes out with so deep and thoughtful analysis of a contemporary subject - this may well become the standard reference on everything happening in the Southeast Asian theater of the world terror crisis."
Barnett, in "The Pentagon's New Map," and in his recent "Blueprint for Action," makes it clear that Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia, will play a pivotal role over the next several decades in impacting the balance of power among the leaders of what Barnett calls "the Core" and the "New Core." Indonesia is the largest Muslim nation in the world, and will play a significant part in determining the relationship between the United States and the Muslim world. Therefore, Abuza's seminal work becomes a very helpful tool in understanding how terrorism in general - and Al-Qaeda in particular - may serve as a crucial factor in determining how the relationship between the West and the worldwide Muslim may evolve.
Using painstakingly well-documented and footnoted research, Abuza traces the growing influence of Al-Qaeda in Southeast Asia - from Afghanistan and the jihad against the Soviets to the bombing in Bali and beyond. His basic premise follows a logical chain of events. Following the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, many zealous Southeast Asians who had fought as mujahadin returned to Asia to use their skills and battlefield experiences to bring the passion of jihad to several local struggles to establish autonomous Muslim states through Southeast Asia. These struggles included the secessionist movements in Mindanao, East Timor, Sulawesi and the Malukus and Aceh - among others. Once the U.S. attacked Afghanistan to topple the Taliban and neutralize the command and control of Bin-Laden's team, Al-Qaeda was forced to flee from its lair in Afghanistan and scatter among a handful of safe havens - many in Southeast Asia. At first, these safe havens - Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand - were used as a convenient "back offices" for Al-Qaeda to conduct training, money-laundering, weapons acquisition and coalition building. Al-Qaeda also funded and co-opted many local insurgents and gave them a vision of taking part in a global jihad against the "savage intervention of the American Crusade Armed Forces and their allies [who are involved] in the Muslim cleansing scheme. . . as a `harsh reprimand' to Jews and Christians led by American heathens in oppressing and tainting the Islamic holy land, where the Revelation of the Prophets descended." (Pages 166-167).
Eventually, the terrorists took advantage of lax security and political dissent in these nations to launch terrorist attacks on soft targets within these host nations - the bombing in Bali being the most spectacular and deadly among these incidents.
For anyone who wants to develop a more comprehensive understanding of where Al-Qaeda is heading in its long-term strategy and short-term tactics, this book as a valuable resource.
Al
Frustrating work.......2004-11-05
This is a frustrating work. You read the glowing blurbs (none of them experts on Southeast Asia, to my knowledge) and you expect a great book. The book does not, alas deliver: it is good in some ways, not in others.
At one level, the book is quite good. Abuza manages to tie together a wide variety of facts into a coherent narrative. The book reads reasonably well, although there is clear evidence of haste (e.g. misspelled names). If you knew little about Islam or Southeast Asia, you'd probably come away with the impression that this is a crackerjack book.
But what if you *do* know something about Islam or Southeast Asia? Alas, here the book is irritating. Take this howler: "Because Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim country, it is easier for radicals and terrorists to fit in." (p. 123). That is an absurd statement. (On the same page, Abuza opines about former PM of Malaysia Mahathir's "insecurity about being a Muslim Malay" -- who knows what he is talking about?)
Abuza, to his credit, usually avoids such bizarre claims. But he resorts to a formulation all too common on "terrorism" experts: that there is something called "moderate" Islam in SEA and then radical or extremist (which he identifies with "Wahhabis" or Salafis).
If you know anything about Salafis, you know that Saudi Arabia is full of them, some of them probably seeing themselves as Salafis committed the 9/11 attacks . . . BUT that the vast majority of them do not embrace terrorism! No matter. Abuza paints with a broad brush and thus smears all Salafis without explaining what, exactly, in their beliefs makes them terrorists. This is intellectually lazy. It explains nothing.
The use of terror is a TACTIC. It is a tactic used by weak non-state groups of all sorts of backgrounds. What we really need to know is why, at this particular time in history, a tiny percentage of Salafis have decided that it is the tactic to use.
One last point: Abuza seems to like "moderate" Muslims. WEll, almost all Indonesians are Muslims. Some of these so-called moderates (e.g. NU, the military leadership) engaged in the killings of 1965-66 that left about 500,000 civilians dead. Some of these "moderates" killed East Timorese (over 100,000). But just as I would never use this as proof that "moderate" Muslims are bloodthirsty thugs BECAUSE OF THEIR ISLAM, so I don't think that individuals are terrorists because of their
Islam. Islam contributes a world view, and many Salafis are rigid and uncompromising in their beliefs. . . one might want to argue that Salafis are more *predisposed* to the use of terror . . . but Abuza does not even make that more nuanced argument.
My advice: read this book for the story of the different networks of terrorists in SEA. Take some of its claims with a grain of salt: after all, who really respects the Philippine intelligence services, who provide some data to Abuza. But discount Abuza's explanations on Islam.
sloppy and pandering.......2004-03-20
This book is rubbish. Abuza uses weak secondary sources with third rate results. He does not know the relevant languages to do substantive research (Indonesian, at least) and has cobbled together a text that panders to the most paranoid of policymakers. He's part of the fear-mongering industry and his work should be read with great skepticism, if read at all.
Superb Book, Shows what OPEN Sources Provided, Great Speaker.......2004-01-25
I have the advantage, in reviewing this book, of having heard the author present his views in a superb illustrated briefing that held 150 government intelligence professionals glued into their seats and fixated on the author's rapid-fire compelling presentation.
This man is a brilliant scholar who has returned to the almost lost art of combining persistent field work with foreign language open sources (both printed and oral), and thoughtful analysis.
Across the board, from his narrative to his footnotes to his bibliography to his index, this book is as good as it gets. This is a world-class contribution to our understanding in three areas: 1) what can be known about terrorism and militant Islam from open sources of information (but is being largely ignored by the so-called professional intelligence agencies that are obsessing on secret sources and methods; 2) what governments in Southeast Asia are and are not doing about it (in many cases, abusing American naiveté or being put off by American arrogance; and 3) where militant Islam is going in this area--be afraid, be very afraid.
If all academics were this good, we would not need spies. This book and this author represent the very best scholarship that one could ask for. The author is the Program Director for East Asian Studies and associate professor of international politics at Simmons College. Goggling him yields a fine selection of interviews and Congressional testimony.
Essential Reading.......2004-01-05
This is a fascinating book that examines the Southeast Asian terrorist network in chilling detail. It is highly readable, yet filled with data and information. It is essential reading for all those interested in Southeast Asian terrorism,and to understand how Al Qaeda has morphed.
Amazon.com
Histories of the American Revolution tend to start in 1763, the end of the Seven Year's War, a worldwide struggle for empire that pitted France against England in North America, Europe, and Asia. Fred Anderson, who teaches history at the University of Colorado, takes the story back a decade and explains the significance of the conflict in American history. Demonstrating that independence was not inevitable or even at first desired by the colonists, he shows how removal of the threat from France was essential before Americans could develop their own concepts of democratic government and defy their imperial British protectors. Of great interest is the importance of Native Americans in the conflict. Both the French and English had Indian allies; France's defeat ended a diplomatic system in which Indian nations, especially the 300-year-old Iroquois League, held the balance between the colonial powers. In a fast-paced narrative, Anderson moves with confidence and ease from the forests of Ohio and battlefields along the St. Lawrence to London's House of Commons and the palaces of Europe. He makes complex economic, social, and diplomatic patterns accessible and easy to understand. Using a vast body of research, he takes the time to paint the players as living personalities, from George III and George Washington to a host of supporting characters. The book's usefulness and clarity are enhanced by a hundred landscapes, portraits, maps, and charts taken from contemporary sources. Crucible of War is political and military history at its best; it never flags and is a pleasure to read. --John Stevenson
Book Description
In this vivid and compelling narrative, the Seven Years' War–long seen as a mere backdrop to the American Revolution–takes on a whole new significance. Relating the history of the war as it developed, Anderson shows how the complex array of forces brought into conflict helped both to create Britain’s empire and to sow the seeds of its eventual dissolution.
Beginning with a skirmish in the Pennsylvania backcountry involving an inexperienced George Washington, the Iroquois chief Tanaghrisson, and the ill-fated French emissary Jumonville, Anderson reveals a chain of events that would lead to world conflagration. Weaving together the military, economic, and political motives of the participants with unforgettable portraits of Washington, William Pitt, Montcalm, and many others, Anderson brings a fresh perspective to one of America’s most important wars, demonstrating how the forces unleashed there would irrevocably change the politics of empire in North America.
Customer Reviews:
A historical tome.......2007-07-30
This serious work of American history does not take the easy route. At over 750 pages, the French and Indian War is described in deeper levels of details and analysis that I ever thought possible. The French and Indian War has always been given short shrift in American History. Probably because it occurred before there was an America, and most of the well known heroes were British Generals. Many of which became the "enemy" during the American Revolution.
The author makes several attempts to portray the French and Indian war as a critical part of the foundation of the American Revolution. This he does. The book is dense and the author spares no expense in describing the events of the time. This book is not for you if you want a quick read. It is almost several books in one. It covers topics such as English politics, the Stamp Act, and Intra-Indian relations in such detail, they could each be their own book. Little is heard from the common solider or settler. They are mainly backdrop to the politicians and generals who form the base of the work. The book is a worthy piece of serious history and I will not be clamoring for another book on the French and Indian War anytime soon
Introduction to the American Revolution.......2007-05-31
I picked up this large book on a subject of little personal interest at the time thining to read one chapter just for a change of pace. I pu5t the book aside after reading the last page wishing the thing hadn't ended so soon. This is a marvelous book: scholarly, intellectual, highly readable, enjoyed by people who would normally never read a book on the Seven Years War who are glad they did. If you see a book by Fred Anderson read it! You'll like it.
A reading adventure by any count.......2007-04-29
The fat 700+ pages should not deter the reader from starting this wonderful start-to-finish history and story. The start and finish is pegged at each end with none other than our own George Washington, and the pages go by swiftly. The audio version of the book, read by a king's-Englishman voice-over, is good listening, but you really need the book to see all those excellent old drawings, maps, and illustrations. Because of the huge number of events and personalities - American, Indian, English, and French - it is nearly impossible to spend much time on any particular one (any one except George Washington, of course), as this would make the book an arm-breaker to carry around.
At the beginning we almost have an "uh oh" when the author, bow-tied professorial picture on the dust jacket and all, launches into the importance of the native Indian population in this war. He easily could have spent the book ranting about only this point, and the work would be less interesting and far less read. This fair point, not often recognized, though, was made and then put into perspective. The bigger point was that the French and Indian War was the first world war in history. Not a total war, which had to await Napoleon, but a war that spanned the globe in extent.
One can wonder if in France this war is called the "English and Indian War," or if there were Iroquois archives, the "Four-Faced English and French War" by our native citizens!
Eye-opening Account.......2007-01-19
I enjoyed this account very much. In fact, I had a hard time putting it down to work on my classwork. While it is a very detailed historical account, it reads in many places like a novel. The only problem that I had with the book was that the sources were buried in a end note format in the back of the book and often times was difficult to peruse for source information.
The first world war.......2006-12-14
Crucible of war provides an excellent look at what is arguably the first world wide conflict. From the United States to India this book does an excellent job of showing how France lost most of its world wide empire and the British rose to dominance. The ideas of the American Revolution are born out of this war and the stage is set for slave revolts in the Caribbean. This war is absolutely essential for anyone who wants to study British Empire or the American Revolution. This book is five stars and provides the best account that I have read yet. While others go into parts of the war this is the only comprehensive that really treats the war for what it is. A world war.
Book Description
Fifty-four grueling hours that complete the process of turning recruits into Marines.
Customer Reviews:
Recomended reading for all Marine Corp Parents.......2006-08-26
As a former Marine myself and now father of a Marine, I was interested in seeing what the crucible was all about. When I went through boot camp in 1982 there was no crucible. I purchased this book and read it as my son was going through the crucible. I found it to be a very informative book and a great insight as to what the crucible is all about. It chronicles the transformation of our young men and women into United States Marines.
Outstanding.......2006-07-05
James Woulfe nails this look at the culmination of Marine boot camp -The Crucible. The book follows a group through the training program. The book is an easy read but very insightful.
AMAZING!.......2006-05-25
I just finished reading this book today, I am about to head on down to boot camp myself this summer and wanted to just get a little taste of what its going to be like in the crucible, this is a non-stop action packed book, it was so hard to put down, and usually I can't keep intrest in books. This told you the story of young men making their way to becoming a United States Marine. I recommend this for anyone who is joing or has joined or just anyone wanting to read an amazing book, it will give you a whole respect for what the USMC is all about.
Semper Fi
Into the Crucible.......2006-03-21
If you have an interest in Marine training, especially this very challenging drill that young men in boot camp must master to graduate, then this is a very informative read for you. I have a son who is a Marine and I wanted to understand the 13 week process that they go through in their training. By studying the training schedule and reading this book, I had more of an understanding of what he had gotten himself into. This is an incredibly grueling 52 hour "march" and training regimen--this Crucible. The author takes us through the very beginning of the march, what the recruits are thinking, feeling, their fatique, all the way to the long march back to bootcamp. We actually finally see a human side to the drill sargents, because they are participating in this as well. I really liked the way that the author took the reader from station to station and explained how each challenge was named for a particular Marine who had given his life and the valor behind the story. That is something you will not forget after reading this book. Another point is that there is so little contemporary material available concerning Marine training for readers such as myself, and this is so fresh and fairly easy to understand.
The Change is Forever.......2005-11-14
My youngest Son is currently in the Marines, and this book helped me understand what some of the things, he went thru at Camp Pendleton during the Crucible, must of felt like, that transformed him forever.
The Crucible is now done in the middle of Boot Camp, and the recruits become Marines the day before graduation, at a special pinning ceremony, after a motivational run.
I really felt like I was going through the exercise. A really great part of each obstacle, is the history behind the name it is given, and while reading many of the stories of heroism, associated with each obstacle, I swelled up with pride that my Dad (USMC Cpl Korea 52-54) had and my Son currently has the courage & commitment to our country.
Book Description
Danger and personal crisis on land, sea, and in the air combine with a level of spiritual warfare that is unparalleled in a Christian book. Crucible is a page-turning thriller that runs side by side with the phenomenal Left Behind series that has sold in excess of 55 million copies. The world is exploding in confusion and terror following the disappearances in book one, Apocalypse Dawn. Meanwhile, Army Rangers and Marine Special Forces are struggling to keep the peace, while fighting spiritual battles of their own in the sands of Turkey and back home.
Customer Reviews:
Not as entertaining as the first one.......2007-01-15
I enjoyed Apocalypse Dawn, so I picked up Apocalypse crucible and found it slow going. For one thing, the author has an annoying tendency to write stories from multiple points of view, sometimes as many as 5. Once you become accustomed to one character and his/her story, suddenly you are back in the states with another unrelated character. Only two characters really interested me. Goose and his wife. The other characters, their loser son Joey, the grave-digging preacher, the reporters, and the agent Icarus, just didn't thrill me. I wanted to hear more about Goose. It was just a little much. I felt the author should've written separate novels if he was *THAT* enamored of the minor characters.
I don't know, this story just didn't do it for me. I felt the multiple POV made the story weak. I also felt this story didn't have enough end times events. This could be any military book.Disappointing.
2 stars.
Felt like the book should have advanced the plotline more..........2006-04-19
Continuing in the Apocalypse series, I got and read the 2nd book, Apocalypse Crucible by Mel Odom. While I like the series concept, I'm fairly dismayed over the pacing of the story. I don't think much happened in book 2 to advance the story, and definitely not enough for 326 pages.
"Goose" Gander is still over in Turkey, helping to run a delaying action in a town, designed to slow down the Syrians. A CIA spy that everyone is looking for has apparently focused on Gander, and Gander is holding out on his chain of command in order to figure out what's going on. All this while dealing with the loss of his youngest son to the Rapture. His wife is still on base back stateside, and she's in even more hot water now that a teen client tries to commit suicide with a pistol shot to the gut while the wife is trying to talk her out of the act. But for some reason, the military brass on base seems to think she actually shot the teen, and coupled with the "missing" boy from book 1, her freedom is tenuous at best. And then there's the military chaplain who goes to the grave of his son, planning on digging it up to see whether his son was part of the Rapture or not. He tries to walk away from the deed prior to opening the casket, but his own personal demon shows up to force him to open the casket or be killed. But the creature disappears before either happens, and the chaplain is still trying to make sense of what's left of his faith. Oh, and there's the lovely OneWorld News Network reporter over on the war front, thinking she has the lead on a big story related to the CIA spy, but is being stonewalled by her boss for unknown reasons...
Yeah, I've probably made this sound worse than it actually is. But I really thought we'd end up further down the plot after installment 2 than things ended up. Too many "why is this happening to character x" questions posed at the end of book 1 are still hanging there in book 2, and I felt as if we could have gotten there in far less pages. I'll still read book 3, as I have it on my shelf right now. But my enthusiasm for the series is starting to drag, and I'm not going into it with any great expectations...
The Crucible is relevant to the events that are in the news today........2005-09-08
I am not sure what Mel Odem's background is but he has managed to tell a story that is multi-dimensional. He writes an interesting story that is relevant to today's headlines in regards to the struggle between Muslim extremists and the rest of the world--- prophecies that are clearly described in the Bible in terms of modern day events--- and the complexities of relationships between people. He describes the confusion and dysfunctions that occur when a young mother divorces, remarries and has a second child with her new husband. He describes the complexities brought about by an alcoholic father whose son becomes a minister, who has a son that becomes a chaplain, and has a son that joins the military and is killed in action. He describes the fear that overcomes teenagers and adults when the rapture occurs and only non-Christians are left behind. He tells of the human tendency to bully others and to force others to submit to their will. And he tells of the struggle for good people who were too confused by the complexities of life to have given themselves completely to God who are caught up in a post-raptured world struggling to make sense of the situation that they now find themselves in. I left Mel Odem's first book on my dresser for nearly a year because I thought it was a shallow fiction book based on the military aspects of end time events. I was wrong. I have read the first two books in this series and ordered the third which I am looking forward to receiving and reading.
Second book in series even better........2005-02-11
Odom picked up the pace a bit in this second book of the series, incorporating a little more action and toggling between different storylines a little more often, which helps those of us with shorter attention spans to continue turning the pages well after we should be asleep.
I think this second book in the series is a marked improvement over the first book. I really enjoyed the first book, but it's obvious that Odom has hit his stride and better knows where this story is going with the second one.
I admire Odom's understanding of people. I'm now chewing through the third book in the series and have come to appreciate that Odom has obviously spent his life observing and getting to know people.
There's a depth to his characters - or maybe it's in the subtle thoughts he voices through his characters...I can't quite put my finger on it - that suggests the author has long been a student of people. Whatever it is, to me it's this strength that makes his characters so believable. They're not superheroes. They're just people in extraordinary times and circumstances. I can imagine any one of of his characters living next door to me.
Odom's first in the series was good. I thought this one showed marked improvement. Even the editing was tighter and cleaner than the first book. Still no major shortage of signs that the editor tackled this one in a rush, but there was obvious greater attention to detail in the editing of this one.
It's a well-written book and was a page turner for me. It was more than worth my time to read. If you've enjoyed the books from the Left Behind series and its spin-off series, I suspect you'll find this one to be another worthwhile read.
Good BUT......Dragged on a bit........2004-09-04
I found this sequel to be less fluent than the A:Dawn.
Its story line was relfective of the situations presented in the first book.
Leaving the storyline way open for another sequel..
Although with the lack of Christian Military fiction around, it was a welcomed addition to my Library!I especially liked the twist at the end and again Mel Odom's obvious attention to detail which shows a keen interest in researching facts before meeting publisher deadlines. Which helps provide a realistic interpretation of Soldiers and their families during any conflict.
Book Description
While the factors affecting the initiation of war have been extensively studied, the factors that determine the outcome of war have been neglected. Using quantitative data and historical illustrations from the early 1800s to the late 1980s, Allan Stam investigates the relative effect on war outcomes of both the choices leaders must make during war and the resources they have at their disposal. Strategy choices, along with decisions about troop levels and defense spending, are not made in a vacuum, according to Stam, but are made in the crucible of domestic politics. Because of domestic political constraints, states must frequently choose less than optimal strategies in the international arena. Stam shows how we must go beyond simply counting resources and look at the process or strategy by which they are employed as the key factor determining who will win.
Challenging the assumptions of many realist and neorealist thinkers on war and interstate conflict, Stam shows how domestic political factors affect the outcome of war. Using a rational choice analysis, Stam looks at the factors that affect the decisionmakers' preferences for different outcomes of military conflict, as well as how the payoffs of those outcomes are affected by both domestic and structural factors. Structural factors, such as the state's population, define a state's power relative to that of other states and will affect the probability of a policy succeeding. Domestic factors, such as the positions taken by domestic political groups, will affect the preferences of the leaders for particular outcomes and their willingness to bear the costs associated with the payoffs and probabilities of the various outcomes.
This book will be of interest to political scientists studying war and conflict in the international system as well as to historians and military strategists interested in understanding the factors that predict the outcome of war.
Allan Stam is Assistant Professor of Political Science, Yale University.
Customer Reviews:
Path breaking analsis of who wins and loses wars........1999-04-21
This is the best general anslysis of who wins and loses wars. Stam uses a mix of analytic theory, statistics, and historical examples to show the interactive effect of strategy in influencing war outocmes. His writing is clear and his analysis compelling. If you are interested in who wins or loses wars, or the importance of thinking about draws, then this book is for you.
An excellent study of who wins and who loses wars........1998-04-23
Allan Stam proves rather convincingly that *how* states use resources is as important as the mere presence of these resources for fighting a war. His book takes readers beyond the hackneyed analyses of why wars start to get at an understanding of which actors will win and which will lose them. Why should we study war? Because it is violent and horrifying and ever present. Stam's book is essential to understanding war.
Book Description
Few wartime cities in Virginia held more importance than Petersburg. Nonetheless, the city has, until now, lacked an adequate military history, let alone a history of the civilian home front. The noted Civil War historian A. Wilson Greene now provides an expertly researched, eloquently written study of the city that was second only to Richmond in size and strategic significance.
Industrial, commercial, and extremely prosperous, Petersburg was also home to a large African American community, including the state's highest percentage of free blacks. On the eve of the Civil War, the city elected a conservative, pro-Union approach to the sectional crisis. Little more than a month before Virginiaís secession did Petersburg finally express pro-Confederate sentiments, at which point the city threw itself wholeheartedly into the effort, with large numbers of both white and black men serving.
Over the next four years, Petersburg's citizens watched their once-beautiful city become first a conduit for transient soldiers from the Deep South, then an armed camp, and finally the focus of one of the Civil War's most protracted and damaging campaigns. (The fall of Richmond and collapse of the Confederate war effort in Virginia followed close on Grantís ultimate success in Petersburg.) At war's end, Petersburg's antebellum prosperity evaporated under pressures from inflation, chronic shortages, and the extensive damage done by Union artillery shells. Greene's book tracks both Petersburg's civilian experience and the city's place in Confederate military strategy and administration. Employing scores of unpublished sources, the book weaves a uniquely personal story of thousands of citizen-free blacks, slaves and their holders, factory owners, merchants-all of whom shared a singular experience in Civil War Virginia.
Customer Reviews:
Great Inside View of The Last Citadal Before, During and after the War.......2007-06-07
Will Greene, longtime National Parks historian in Virginia and currently the CEO and Chief Historian of the Pamplin Civil War Park at the scene of the Petersburg break through, writes a very well researched history of Petersburg giving the personal view. Through Greene's book you see the residents and the city before the war leading up to the political evolution of session. Petersburg, as noted by Greene, was an international City and as the war unfolds you see the excitement of the town folk even among the different classes with direct quotes from the people themselves as they prepare for war by drilling militias and companies that go forward to war. The book picks up military steam as the war progresses and the vulnerability of this vital link to Richmond and Lee's army slowly become apparent. From a military perspective you see Jefferson Davis' severe and complex nature of his many departments that result in overlapping commands particularly in Petersburg where there are numerous command changes even as Kautz and Butler arrive at City Point and the Bermuda 100. Pickett, Beauregard and then Lee finally take control. The book includes fascinating and little known details such as the economic fall out of the war on the population, the City Council's consideration in providing relief for families and AP Hill's parading of captured soldiers black and white from the crater intermingled to the derision of the populace. The limited troop dispositions by the Confederacy are almost the down fall as they resist enormous odds by the virtually unsuspecting or tentative union commanders. The final days of the war of course end with the draining siege that Greene provides an excellent and fast moving summary style detail and the gloom of the population is evident as the defense finally collapses. Heartening to know that the occupation was civil, respectful and charitable to the population, Of course race relations are traumatized by the sudden freedman and black units that occupy the City. But that is part of the uniqueness of the book, Greene addresses all the residents and soldiers along with race relations of the City such as the pre-war free blacks who work in the City and within the war effort maintaining their freedom but enduring more hardship due to the severity of war economics. This is a unique book that provides the civilian and military experience within the tragedy of war.
An Excellent Book - Well Written And Documented.......2007-04-04
When you think of any aspect of the Petersburg campaign, A. Wilson Greene is clearly the expert historian in this venue. The importance of Petersburg during the Civil War was greatly illuminated and better undertood by me from reading this book. In conjunction with his previous book on the Petersburg Breakthrough Battle, this book adds dimension and texture to the battles fought, the people who lived there, and the culture and industry of Petersburg as the war progressed. The author's keen perspective brings those times to life in an entertaining and educational manner. I fully enjoyed the hours spent reading this book. For those of us who carefully read footnotes in history books, there is a wealth of information in this meticulously researched account. I highly recommend it.
Average customer rating:
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Crucible of the Civil War: Virginia from Secession to Commemoration
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Dwelling Place: A Plantation Epic
ASIN: 0813925525 |
Book Description
Serving both as home to the Confederacy's capital, Richmond, and as the war's primary battlefield, Virginia held a unique place in the American Civil War, while also witnessing the privations and hardships that marked life in all corners of the Confederacy. Yet despite an overwhelming literature on the battles that raged across the state and the armies and military leaders involved, few works have examined Virginia as a distinctive region during the conflict. In Crucible of the Civil War: Virginia from Secession to Commemoration, Edward L. Ayers, Gary W. Gallagher, and Andrew J. Torget together with other scholars, offer an illuminating portrait of the stateís wartime economic, political, and social institutions.
Weighing in on contentious issues within established scholarship while also breaking ground in areas long neglected by scholars, several of the essays examine such concerns as the war's effect on slavery in the state, the wartime intersection of race and religion, and the development of Confederate social networks. Other contributions shed light on topics long disputed by historians, such as Virginia's decision to secede from the Union, the development of Confederate nationalism, and how Virginians chose to remember the war after its close.
For anyone interested in Virginia during the Civil War, Crucible of the Civil War offers new ways to approach the study of the most important state in the Confederacy during the bloodiest war in American history.
Book Description
Chronicles the activities of the U.S. Marine Corps during the little-known last six months of combat in Korea
Provides the perspective of the fighting men who came face to face with the enemy every day
In 1953, during the last six months of the Korean War and ongoing peace negotiations, combat was anything but quiet for the Marines. While standing by to ensure the safety of peace negotiations, they conducted daily patrols, raids, and ambushes. They also fought the terrible five day "Battle of the Nevada Cities." On July 27th, 1953, the last day of the shooting war, the Marines prevented a major enemy breakthrough at a last stand on the main Line of resistance. An unsuccessful defense might have prolonged the war indefinitely. As with volume one, the book contains previously unpublished original material. The combination of oral accounts with data extracted from Marine Corps archives makes for a vivid account of activity during the so-called stalemate.
Customer Reviews:
Ballenger's Crucible.......2004-04-14
In The Final Crucible by Lee Ballenger, Ballenger centers the attention of the book around the soldiers and their heroic battles throughout the final stages of the Korean War. These battles include numerous small interactions with the enemy in the form of ambushes and raids and also in larger battles. Larger battles consisted of those for Carson, Vegas, and Reno, which were outposts named for Nevada cities, and also Ungok, Gray Rock and of course Boulder City. Boulder City, which is "a place unheard of by most Americans" ended up being the last engagement of U.S. Marines in Korea and also a major turning point in the War. Ballenger describes all of these events through soldier's letters and Command Diaries which offers a first hand view of the action that took place in Korea. The book is a great read and is recommended for all those who want to learn about the hard life of a soldier in Korea during the Korean War!
Ballenger does it again.......2001-12-20
This second volume of Lee Ballenger's 2-book series on Marines in Korea during the last 2 years of the war can be read as a standalone work, but it is recommended if possible to first read his Volume One -- "The Outpost War". Either way, this book can be enjoyed for the major contribution it makes to the shadowy history of individual combat units (Marines in this case) in the "stalemate" Korean war of 1952-53. Ballenger thoroughly documents with gripping individual stories the often brutal fighting in mid-Korea between UN forces and the Chinese and North Korean armies. Historically accurate, Ballenger's book highlights "unknown" major skirmishes that more than once came down to desperate hand-to-hand combat over a few meters of rocky Korean hills. The author was there himself, and it shows. The 2-volume series produced by this neophyte author is worthy of considerable editorial and public attention. Excellent US military history.
Book Description
Some 40 per cent of RCAF aircrew who served overseas during the Second World War did so in RACF squadrons. This is their story. The first RCAF squadron to see action in the Second World War was No. 1 Fighter Squadron, later to be No. 401, which from 18 August 1940 participated in the Battle of Britain. The last, in a still active theatre, were Nos. 435 and 436, delivering supplies in Burma until late August 1945. In between, RCAF squadrons served in all the major commands and in most major theatres of war. They were engaged by day and by night in air-to-air combat, strategic bombing, photo-reconnaissance, anti-shipping strikes and anti-submarine patrols, close air support, interdiction, and tactical airlift supply.
The Crucible of War is divded into five parts: Air Policy, the Fighter War, the Maritime Air War, the Bomber Air War, and the Air Transport War. The authors break new ground by deomstrating the influence of senior RCAF officers in shaping the execution of Canadian air policy, and they show how senior RCAF officer were permitted to determine the pace of Canadianization of the RCAF.
Many operations are described in detail from a wide variety of documentary sources, among them the unsuccessful battle of attrition that resulted from Fighter Command's offensive over France in 1941-42, and the actions of the RCAF's No 83 Group in Second Tactical Air Force, which provided air support for the British Second Army. Overdue notice is accorded the anti-shipping strike squadrons of Coastal Command. No 6 Group's battle with German night-fighters is recounted within the framework of complex electronic measures and counter-measures developed by both sides.
The RCAF, with a total strength of 4061 officers and men on 1 September 1939, grew by the end of the war to a strength of more than 263,000 men and women. This important and well-illustrated new history shows how they contributed to the resolution of the most significant conflict of our time.
The other volumes in the Official History of the Royal Canadian Air Force are Canadian Airmen and the First World War by S.F. Wise (available) and The Creation of a National Air Force by W.A.B. Douglas (out of print)
Customer Reviews:
Adventure seekers look elsewhere; Academics stop here!.......1997-02-16
This one is an official history and as such makes for fairly dry reading. It is indispensible for academics but the reader seeking aviation adventure should look elsewhere.
It rates a 10 as a reference source (how could it miss?)
However on any other level, it rates a 5. So split the difference and give it a 7. See the "WWII Aviation Booklist"
for more reviews: http://www.ampsc.com/~prophet/booklist.html
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