No comments about Ernst Rohm: Hitler's SA Chief of Staff.

2 comments about Villa: Soldier of the Mexican Revolution (Potomac Books' Military Profiles).

1. "Villa: Soldier of the Mexican Revolution" provides a balanced, in-depth look at a fascinating revolutionary combat leader. The story of Pancho Villa, with his personal, political and military strengths and weaknesses is expertly woven into the political and military tapestry of revolutionary Mexico of the first two decades of the 20th Century. Scheina's encyclopedic understanding of Latin American political and military affairs shines through in this clear and concise book. Noteworthy is Scheina's handling of the vast parade of dictators, generals, moderates, revolutionaries and revolutionary military leaders. Scheina's clear presentation is the best I have seen. The author does the reader another favor; for ease of reference, all geo-locations are made in reference to Mexico City and denominated in linear miles.
   
   Pancho Villa was a product of his times, a man who showed nothing but strength to his followers, confederated leaders and his enemies. Villa also relied on natural cunning and inherent intelligence. Pancho Villa was a strong, charismatic leader who gained tough, battle-ready horsemen through his ability to lead by example, provide for his followers, and ruthlessly dispatch enemies. While able to attract good quality, mounted infantry/cavalry during times of success, these irregulars tended to dissappear after a string of military reverses. Like so many irregular forces, they were strongest after a few victories. For much of the revolution, Villa also lacked trained infantry. What set Villa's irregulars apart from others was their ability to dismount and engage in vicious city-fighting for days on end.
   
   Villa lived and fought during a period of great technological change. He used his mounted infantry for tactical attack and railroad-borne horsemen, artillery and machine guns for strategic movement. The changes of this era were also reflected in Villa's horsemen's frequent encounters with entrenched infantry which were protected by machine guns and barbed wire. Often, the elan of Villa's horse was able to carry the day. In the last days of horse cavalry, Villa's communications included the telephone and his reconnaissance motor cars and attempts with early aircraft.
   
   At his best, Villa was a brilliant leader and tactician. He worked with the forces available to him and employed new weapons when made available. In weaker moments, Villa fell back on the tried and true tactics of his early victories, launching wasteful frontal cavalry charges against well-defended infantry. Charisma was not always enough. Late in his career, Villa was simply unable to adjust while under the pressure of numerous, trained and motivated enemy armies. "Soldier of the Revolution" provides an excellent glimpse into Mexico's revolution, Villa's response and the importance of the charismatic "strong-man" in Latin American politics. Scheina also provides the Mexican view of Pershing's campaign against Pancho Villa. A campaign of relevance to America's performance in World War I.



2. I purchased this book based on it being part of a series on military profiles and with the subtitle of "Soldier of the Mexican Revolution," I had expected Scheina's work to offer a military perspective on Francisco Villa as military leader or at least some detail on his performance as a soldier. Also, since it was published in 2004, I expected to find something new. Unfortunately, Villa: Soldier of the Mexican Revolution (Potomac Books' Military Profiles) is simply a short (99 pages) summary of Villa in the Mexican Revolution based on the old secondary sources; there is nothing here that is new, and what is here merely summarizes the events and tends to miss much of the exciting detail that a larger book would cover.
   
   Further, Scheina's extensive knowledge of Latin American military operations -- evident from his other works -- doesn't prevent "Villa" from having plenty of errors either. For example, he points out that when Villa conquered Torreon the first time in 1913 he captured El Nino, a 3" railroad gun, and then inexplicably states that when Villa took the city again in 1914 he captured El Nino, a 3" railroad gun. He also messes up the description of the Federal retreat from the city in 1913, as well as stating that the ship Ypringa docked at Tampico in 1914 when in reality it docked at Puerto Mexico. Likewise, he rightly states that Villa did not accompany his army at the First Battle of Celaya, but then immediately states that Villa did this and did that at the very battle he said Villa wasn't present. After running across so many errors in a brief reading of the book, I gave up.
   
   Scheina work here seems entirely untouched by recent scholarship on the Mexican Revolution such as that done by historians like Katz and Knight, or even McLynn. Although Katz's thorough biography of Villa (The Life and Times of Pancho Villa) appears in a couple of Scheina's endnotes, the main sources appear to have been Ronald Aktin's Revolution! Mexico 1910-1920 and Robert Quirk's Mexican Revolution, 1914-1915 both of which are now more than 30 years old (and both more interesting to read than this book). I would recommend to someone interested in Villa and the Revolution that they read McLynn's Villa and Zapata: A History of the Mexican Revolution or even John Eisenhower's Intervention!: The United States and the Mexican Revolution, 1913-1917 instead of this particular work. (Eisenhower's work, despite its own shortcomings, provides a very good military history of Villa and is more fun to read).

1 comments about Confederate General R.S. Ewell: Robert E. Lee's Hesitant Commander.

1. The amount of time and research that went into this book is hard to fathom as archives from many parts of the South have been scoured for material. Paul Casdorph would in fact be the perfect choice to teach graduate research seminars because he is so adept in this area. Unfortunately, as is often the case, the best researchers are not always the best writers. There is much information and insight into the life of General Richard Ewell to be found in this book but sometimes it is very hard to extract.
   
   The author's thesis is that General Ewell just didn't have the personality to be an aggressive field commander and that may well have been the case but this often contradictory book falls far short of proving that point. The cases where Ewell was aggressive are hardly noted although they did exist and actually Ewell was sometimes more apt to attack than Stonewall Jackson. It is a comparison with Jackson that in fact makes up most of the author's argument. Again however incidents that contradict the author's theory are just brushed aside. For example, Jackson's extreme lethargy during the Seven Days battles is hardly dealt with at all.
   
   Ewell's poor performance at Gettysburg seems to be the cornerstone of Casdorph's argument but alas it is also the weakest part of his argument. The reader is hit constantly with what Jackson might have done at Gettysburg, which is something we will never know. He might well have leaned up against a tree and took another nap. The author also brings up the old canard about Longstreet's late attack on July 2nd. I would be willing to bet that the author couldn't take a comparable number of men and make it from where Longstreet's men were at 11:00 PM on July 1st to where the attack is supposed to have come from in less than seven hours either. It would be especially unlikely with a guide that ended up costing Longstreet several hours.
   
   Another problem rests with the writing style the author employs. There were places in this book that left me feeling as if I was trudging through knee deep mud. The writing does improve as the book goes along but there are places that are just mercilessly dull. He also misspells General Cleburne's name, which is a mistake that one shouldn't find in this type of scholarly work.
   
   Still, Casdorph does make one very clear and astute point. Robert E. Lee had a blind spot for Virginia and Virginians and that seems to be the only real reason Ewell ever rose to corps command. Although there is no clear argument made in this text as to who might have been a better choice.
   
   Overall the writing and thesis of this book are weak at best but there is still a lot of information to be found here. The author has presented several important facts and one can learn quite a bit about General Ewell and the Army of Northern Virginia in this book. If Mr. Casdorph was willing to do all of this research the least the reader can do is pick through the dull areas in order to access the information.

1 comments about Lens of an Infantryman: A World War II Memoir with Photographs from a Hidden Camera.

1. Murray Leff saw ETO combat with Company E, 2nd Battalion, 137th Regiment, 35th Infantry Division from September 1944 to VE-Day. Atypically, Murray went to war armed with a Garand rifle AND a Welti folding bellows camera he had acquired in a swap for cigarettes. Line infantrymen were forbidden from carrying cameras into combat yet Leff kept - and used - his camera throughout his time in Europe. Fifty-seven years later he combined those long-ago photos with a narrative he had written just at war's end to produce this rare illustrated guide to one G.I.'s wartime experiences.
   
   Leff's book chiefly consists of a 77-page narrative of his ETO experiences up to February 1945, a second - largely photographic - 62-page section that covers his ETO time from March to May 1945 and a 45-page appendix that reproduces the daily Company E combat reports sent to Division HQ, therein supplementing Leff's foxhole-level observations with the 'big picture.' (The narrative only runs to February 1945 because he was discharged before he could complete the manuscript).
   
   Leff's war wasn't one of endless heart-pounding advances and set-piece battles but rather of long periods of inactivity holding the line, breaks for behind-the-lines R&R followed by more marches, new positions, late-night patrols, etc. Casualties were mercifully few and often were victims of random shellfire, a chance encounter with a German MG position, etc. As with most dogfaces, much of Leff's time was spent digging in, trying to keep warm and so on. In that respect LENS OF AN INFANTRYMAN offers a valuable insight into the life of a typical line doggie in World War II.
   
   The over 90 wartime photographs featured in the book reflect Leff's 'long periods of tedium pierced by moments of stark terror' existence. There are a number of shots of Company E personnel in action and behind the lines; American tanks, trucks and other equipment; civilians welcoming the Americans, GIs examining a dead German soldier, etc. Several sequences are quite striking - one showing a Sherman taking up a firing position only to be hit by a 88mm gun; Leff's squad seeking cover in a water-filled ditch as an MG opens up on them; etc.
   
   Since the narrative was written just months after the events happened, LENS OF AN INFANTRYMAN has a rare freshness and emphasis on daily life missing from other accounts of G.I.s at war. The photos though elevate the book to a higher level, offering a rare perspective on the life of a combat infantryman. Murray Leff's book comes highly recommended.

2 comments about Last Letters Home.

1. When I was a student of political science, I had a professor who read to us letters home from the war front. He had a collection of pieces from lots of different countries, but messages were remarkably the same - human beings caught up in situations and conflict far beyond their making and often beyond our comprehension, not writing for king and country, but writing of home, writing to home.
   
   This collection follows many fine examples of this genre, from fourteen families; these letters are made all the more meaningful and poignant by the fact that their authors didn't return home alive. The concerns are very basic, but take on a palpable feel to them for the reader today -- care for home, family, plans for the future, honest emotion including fear. This collection spans the range of people from the most recent conflict -- it shows that many of the aspects of war are depressingly the same, no matter what historical era one is in.
   
   The courage of the families to put forward this kind of emotional part of their lives is matched only by the courage of the men and women who themselves lost their lives. The book, companion to a documentary produced by HBO, strives to be non-political; far from being an indictment of the current administration, it focuses instead upon the people involved at the 'ground level' of the conflict. Many of the families are in fact supporters of President Bush, firm in their convictions that the sacrifice of their loved ones was done in the name of democracy and the country.
   
   There is a forward by Senator John McCain, himself a veteran with experiences to tell, but even his family did not suffer the fate of receiving a last letter home from him.
   
   On this Veteran's Day, originally Armistice Day, after the war-to-end-all-wars (that in fact did not), it is proper to remember also those involved in the current struggles, which includes families back home, whose connection is largely through letters, and whose prayers are always that there will be another letter soon, that no letter becomes the last letter home.
   
   Read a part of our current affairs that will become a part of history in these letters, from the perspective of those actually doing the work in Iraq.



2. I read this book on a flight from Houston to Raliegh. The young man sitting next to me was riveted. He read the book over my shoulder. He wondered how I could read a book like this after I told him my son was in the 3rd Infantry Division. My son was in Iraq from March 2003 to August 2003 and returns in January.
   
   I told him books like these are important in keeping us in touch with the reality of what we face over there. All Americans should feel the pain along with the families of the soldiers who have died. This book brings home the painful reality.
   
   I, too, was compelled to write our story for this very reason. Our son came home and for that we are forever grateful. Yet I want people to know the complexity of emotion that raged through my family while he was there. My book can be found on Amazon and is called "Letters Home - From 9/11 to Operation Iraqi Freedom A Military Mom Shares Her Family's Story of Patriotism, Courage and Love."
   
   Thank you to the families who so painfully have shared their lives with us.

1 comments about Arn's War: Memoirs Of A World War II Infantryman, 1940-1946 (Ohio History and Culture).

1. This is one of the very best WWII memoirs I have read. (Another fantastic one is "Not As Briefed" by Ross Greening). Arn is a first rate person, and therefore a very good leader of men. He is also a talented writer, so his amazing stories are well written. Arn's story begins with the difficult decision to become a soldier at the "old" age of 34. It progresses chronologically through the war, showing clearly how he grew from a new soldier inexperienced in combat to a much loved and respected leader. The book vividly shows what it was like to be an infantry soldier in WWII, with all of the interesting little details that history books leave out.

No comments about Andrew Jackson (Great Generals).

5 comments about The Approaching Fury: Voices of the Storm, 1820-1861.

1. I am in the middle of this book currently and I am very impressed with Oates' ingenious writing technique. The only thing I see lacking in this book is the amount of source citing for scholars. Anyone using this book for scholarly purposes should use the bibliography and go from there. As a medium for teaching, this book is unparalleled. By teaching the forces at work through the eyes of the people that lived it students will be much more interested than if they were learning the bare facts. This is an outstanding supporting text for use in a classroom.



2. I thought I knew a lot about this era but this book gave me even greater insight. I hesitated to read it at first because I'm a little skeptical of those "in their own words" treatments.But Oates presents a balanced (for the most part) account, using the speeches, letters, and diaries of the likes of Henry Clay, John Brown, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Jefferson Davis, Mary Boykin Chesnut, Stephen A. Douglas, and Abraham Lincoln rather than creating monologues for them of his own design. He doesn't result to dramatic license, trying to make these folks conform to his idea of what they were like, but presents them as accurately as one can given the sources available. The only quibble I'd put forth is that he has Calhoun refer to his slaves as "niggers," even though there is no documentary evidence that he ever did so (even in private letters he referred to them as "negroes"). Anyone interested in the issues and events that led up to the Civil War must read this book! I recommend it most highly.



3. I first read Oates' Whirlwind of War and enjoyed that so much that I thought I'd give this one a try. My interest in the Civil War was broadened by this book into a desire to better understand the setting prior to 1860. I really liked Oates' "first person" writing technique. It takes an extremely good understanding of the person as well as the historic facts to do this and Oates carries this off well. Read both books!



4. This is an incredible work deserving of the highest awards and accolades for scholarship and literature. What an exhilirating way to read history! The first person narrartives, so skillfully and beautifully written, drew me into the events and emotions in ways that I have never experienced reading other history texts. This is the way to learn and enjoy history and I hope parents and educators take note.



5. I was skeptical of this book when I read in the preface that Oates was going to tell us what the key players said and what "they might have said". However, I was very pleased with the even handedness and accuracy of his content. The style of the book proved refreshing and placed the chronological events into an interesting weave. HOWEVER, he leads the reader to believe that slavery and its politics was the ONLY reason for the eventual conflict. The resulting carnage was a product of many more and very complicated factors of which we should all be aware.

4 comments about From Anzio to the Alps: An American Soldier's Story.

1. I bought this book because my father served in North Africa and Italy and I wanted some history on those theatres of the war, which my father had not shared with me.
   Instead of another historical account, filled with facts and figures, I found a very personal story of one man's experiences.
   A few pages into the book, the author offers a translation of commonly used army expletives of the time. It let me know right away that this was going to be a candid and sometimes humorous memoir.
   For anyone who would like to see the war through one soldier's eyes, I would recommend this book.



2. At the age of 21, Loyd M. Wells was drafted into the army and commissioned a second lieutenant after attended O.C.S. He was later promoted to first lieutenant with the First Armored Division and saw action in North Africa, Italy, and Germany, winning the Combat Infantry Badge, the Purple Heart, and the Bronze Start. In From Anzio To The Alps: An American Soldier's Story, the late Lloyd Wells (1919-2000) leaves contemporary readers with a vividly written story about the night of February 21, 1944 when American troops came up to the caves at Anzio and what happened during the last offensive in Italy when armored infantry troops found themselves on the perimeter of a major attack. But more than just an accounting of battles and front line conditions, From Anzio To The Alps is a personal story of how young soldiers found themselves transformed by one of the most widespread and lethal wars in recorded human history. Here revealed is the humor, the sadness, the terror, and the tender moments of a war which is now remembered first hand by fewer and fewer participants more than a half-century later. A terrific read, From Anzio To The Alps is a welcome addition to the growing library of World War II biographical accounts and strongly recommended for personal and community library collections.



3. This is not a bad book at all. I honestly enjoyed it for a number of reasons. First, there are not a lot of books dealing with the Italian Campaign in WWII. This book covers one man's journey from Anzio to the Italian Alps. Second it mentions a number of military units not commonly written about, such as the joint Canadian and American 1st Special Services division and the South African 6th Armored Division.
   
   On another note, I get the feeling that while the author was very young at the time of the war, he grew up very quickly, but still had some adolescent tendencies that he struggled with. I suppose this is part of his growing up in a twisted world. The book ends abruptly, and I won't spoil it for you. But I did enjoy the fact he admitted he came back from the war, troubled, angry, addicted to cigarettes and alcohol. Probably, because I have found myself in the same shoes.



4. Lloyd M. Wells' wartime memoirs, "From Anzio to the Alps: An American Soldier's Story" is a fascinating slice of personal history. First, it is worth mentioning that this is NOT a broad perspective history or even one giving a wealth of big-picture information about the action the author was personally involved in (the Italian Campaign). While Wells tries (with some success) to place action within some context, "From Anzio to the Alps" is ONE soldier's story - as the subtitle states. The prose presented is based upon Wells' personal diaries that had lane dormant for decades before he decided to tell his story. The historical viewpoint presented by Wells, with exceptions for context, is largely from wherever Wells was at the moment he originally jotted down his feelings of the period. The reader is taken on an amazing journey with Wells from his entry into the Italian campaign (he actually started, not on the coast near Anzio as the title suggests, but near Cassino - his armored infantry unit was moved to the Anzio sector after just days before engaging the enemy) to the heady days post V-E day and Wells' 'lusts/loves' of Italy and Paris.
   
   The personal view of war, not just combat but reflection on how the war changes men, was the most compelling and recurrent theme of this book. Wells does an excellent job pouring his heart into the story while at the same time restraining himself from being self aggrandizing (as others from the Greatest Generation have fallen victim to) or sappy. Thus the reader feels many emotions as if he/she was there with Wells and his comrades in arms. One will undoubtedly walk away from this book with a greater appreciation for how very young boys left their homes (many, if not most, for the first time) for war on foreign soils as naïve and uncultured, full of honest optimism, and through the period of a few months to a couple of years grew into cynical men with more human experience than most would have desired who were older than their years and much more appreciative of their lives. Readers can't help but empathize with veterans of foreign wars for all they go through emotionally leaving and then readjusting to civilian life.
   
   Wells' prose is solid as they come and a reader can get through this book (251 pp.) quite fast because its text construction is so well done and the story so compelling. Anyone interested in a personal story of war told with literary zeal and engaging emotion should pick up "From Anzio to the Alps". 5 star read!!!

1 comments about In the Enemy's Camp.

1. I couldn't put this book down! This story gripped me from the very beginning. I didn't know much about American civilians being held prisoners of war and although this only tells of one family, I learned a lot about what the conditions must have been like for the thousands who were trapped in the Far East when the war broke out. It is well-written and not only provided a personal story but I learned a lot about the history of the war at the same time. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in women's history and WWII.