5 comments about Patton's Photographs: War as He Saw It.

1. There are several famous photographs of Patton with his camera around his neck. It never occurred to me that if he carried the camera he probably used it, and if he used it, the pictures would be interesting to see. It apparently never occurred to anyone else until Mr. Hymel found some references to Patton's Photo Albums in the Library of Congress.
   
   The result is this book. Patton was not the best photographer ever. The pictures taken by the professionals of the U.S. Army Signal Corps of Patton (a few are included in this book) are better. But what Patton's pictures show is not the great technical quality of the pictures, it is the content that interested Patton.
   
   Patton was the consumate general. He was concerned with the equipment of the enemy - and here are pictures of German tanks. He was concerned with things like how his army moved - and here are pictures of his soldiers building bridges.
   
   I have seen the George C. Scott movie of course. This book follows the same general path. What's interesting is to see it as Patton saw it himself. This is a fascinating book that belongs in any World War II book collection.



2. Excellent book - would recommend to any fan or person interested in General George S. Patton. Photographs show his interest and focus as he battled through WW 2.



3. This book is great. Not only does the reader get a general history of Patton, but also many, many photographs taken by the great General himself! It is amazing to think that when you are looking at these photos, you are really seeing what Patton saw! Imagine what it would be like of Julius Caesar, George Washington, or Napoleon had carried a camera so that we could see what they saw. Well, essentially, that is what this book is - it allows you to see what a great hero saw.
   
   I congratulate Mr Hymel on his wonderful find, and encourage all who are interested in Patton or just WWII in general to take a look at this great book...



4. Throw away all of the previous biographies of Patton (and Patton's own posthumously published diaries) regarding his exploits in World War II unless you read them in conjunction with, and in light of, this book, which stems from an historian's treasure trove of 15 oversized albums of photographs by Patton and other memorabilia he sent to his wife during World War II, often with stories behind the photos and mementos. (His wife, and then one of his daughters after the slapping incidents[s] in Sicily, helped to put the albums together.)
   
   Patton's photo collections, for reasons that are best explained by prior biographers of Patton, lanquished untouched, unviewed, and unused in any history of Patton until the author of this book discovered them in the U.S. Library of Congress in 1996 and was eventually able to publish this selection of those materials in 2006.
   
   The result is an unparalled insight into the mind of one of the greatest military visionaries, strategists, and tacticians of his, or any other, generation.
   
   You cannot claim to understand Patton and his mindset unless, and until, you see the war from his perspective, which this book does in an astounding way as it includes about 150 photographs taken by Patton of things he found to be of interest as he and his armies progressed from North Africa to Sicily to France to Germany.
   
   Also included are about 75 other photographs relating to Patton and his military adventures, including photos taken of him by others and maps/diagrams on which he outlined his strategies and tactics.
   
   The book basically tells the otherwise well-known story of Patton in his various campaigns, beginning in North Africa in November 1942, to the end of the Third Reich and Patton's brief post-war experiences until his untimely death in December 1945 from a vehicle accident (his famous, almost last words, when the doctors arrived on the scene were: "I think I'm paralyzed" [he was, from the neck down and died from complications 11 days later]).
   
   Each chapter of the book is enriched by numerous sidebars about Patton and those around him as well as enhanced by footnotes for the many quotations by, and anecdotes about, Patton sprinkled liberally throughout the text and the captions of the photographs.
   
   I cannot recommend this book highly enough. I have read dozens and dozens of photographic histories relating to World War II on a wide, wide variety of topics (not to mention hundreds of standard works and texts and the not too occasional foray into historical fiction). (In this regard I disagree with those people who believe - mistakenly - that a book is somehow beneath them and has nothing to offer unless it is a dry, poorly written, dusty tome devoid of illustrations and about some minuscule aspect of history that more often than not fails to put its subject matter into any kind of context because the author suffers from the syndrome of being unable to see the forest for the trees.) This stands out far and above as the best photographic history that I can recall, especially as it relates to a specific person or subject. It is must reading (and viewing) by any serious student of Patton or World War II in general.



5. Patton's Photographs War as He Saw It
   
   
   Author Kevin M. Hymel
   Publisher Potomac Books
   
   ISBN 1 57488-871-4 Hardcover
   Pp 137
   Pictures
   List Price Hardcover $39.95 also available in Soft Cover
   
   Wow, the book Patton's Photographs War as He Saw It is a unique book. I have read many books about Patton but never had he taken pictures to document his war time experiences. I thought I knew Patton but I did not realize how much I did not know about him. Patton's photographs tell his story from his campaigns in North Africa, Italy, France and Germany.
   At a recent AUSA (Association of the United States Army) meeting, I was fortunate to hear Kevin Hymel speak about his book and show some of the photos he used in illustrate the book. Hymel spent seven years researching this. It is not just only just photo book but descriptions of the photos and the events that they represent. Kevin Hymel tells how he stumbled on some of Patton's photographs while researching another project. He was surprised at the amount of previously unpublished photos available. The author used a collection of fifteen volumes of Patton's photographs. The reader learns that Patton refused to take pictures of deceased American GIs, but would take pictures of the dead German soldiers and their blown up equipment. Patton often took photos of enemy tanks and make notes about their armor and their ability to withstand a hit from a weapon system. He forwarded the photos and notes to Aberdeen Proving Grounds so they could make improvements on our tanks.
   If you have read Patton's history take a look at this book. Descriptions of campaigns and battle maps that Patton participated in will give you a good over view. The photos in this book bring Patton to life. Patton will always be remembered for his good and bad actions. I just hope the good outweighs the bad.
   
   Patton's was a front line soldier and if you look at the pictures you will see him in the thick of things. Patton's Photographs War as He Saw is IT worth taking the time to read and discover a Patton that we did not know.
   
   MAJ (ret) Eric Shuler NJARNG

4 comments about World War I Gas Warfare Tactics and Equipment (Elite).

1. Osprey's Elite #150 by former museum curator Simon Jones provides an invaluable survey of Gas Warfare tactics and equipment in the First World War. Although the volume is West Front-centric, Jones manages to pack a considerable amount of information into this tight package and to touch upon the Italian and Eastern Fronts as well. In terms of information presented, there is real meat on these bones and this is one of the best volumes in the Elite series in the past year (along with the volume on the Finnish Army).
   
   After a brief introduction about early German efforts to develop chemical weapons, Jones spends about eight pages discussing the initial German chlorine attacks at Ypres in April-May 1915 and frantic Allied efforts to develop effective counter-measures. Compared to later masks, the early protective measures seem crude in the extreme and it is no wonder that they could only reduce but no prevent casualties. This part of the volume describes the evolving competition between German efforts to perfect "cloud attack" tactics with gas cylinders and Allied efforts to deal with this threat and anticipate the next threat. The author also notes that early German chemical attacks were not without their setbacks - in attacks on the Eastern Front in 1915 the Germans inflicted almost 2,000 casualties on their own troops when the wind shifted. The author then discusses British efforts to develop their own ability to retaliate with gas weapons, and Allied efforts in 1915-16 to develop more effective masks. The author is also to cover the highlights and impact of these efforts without getting bogged down in minute detail. The rest of the volume is divided into three fairly uniform sections that detail Gas Warfare developments in 1916, 1918 and 1918.
   
   The volume includes eight excellent color plates by artist Richard Hook: First German gas attack at Ypres on 22 April 1915; British gas attack at Loos, 1915; German cloud attack on French trenches, November 1915; British 4.5 inch howitzer crew firing gas shells at the Somme, 1916; British gas alarm post, 1918; German anti-gas protection measures; Allied anti-gas protection measures; U.S. Army stokes mortar crew, St. Mihiel, 1918. The photographs in the volume are also quite good and there is a short but useful bibliography (although there do not appear to be any official sources used). Perhaps the only deficiency in this otherwise excellent volume is the lack of a table that lists the types of gases used by each combatant, their dates of introduction and protective measures required; much of this information is in the text, but readers would probably benefit from some effort at data consolidation. Overall, this is a superb volume.



2. The illustrations and the selection of photographs are excellent. The text is packed with fascinating detail, though at times loses the forest for the trees. It would be helped by including a chronology of major events/developments as found in other Osprey volumes. Also needed is a table summarizing the major chemical agents, their alternative names, physical/chemical properties, biologic effects, and countermeasures. Finally, it seems odd that a book whose title includes "tactics" does not include at least one map depicting a representative chemical attack.



3. World War I Gas Warfare Tactics and Equipment is a concise treatment of the chemical weapons used in the Great War. Chlorine gas is again being used as a weapon in Iraq--chlorine gas was suggested as a weapon during the American Civil War, but not used. Improvised protection methods are described, as well as the many ups and downs of chemical warfare. Against a prepared and disciplined enemy, gas warfare is counter-productive. A gas attack can prove decisive against unprepared or poorly-trained troops, and devastating against non-combatant civilians. The role of politics on the battlefield is shown by the Hague Convention of 1899 outlawing gas warfare and Britain, France, and Germany developing chemical weapons prior to World War One. Early German gas attacks weren't even noticed--Germany piggy-backed an irritant gas with their artillery shells and the net effect was reducing the amount of explosive payload carried in each shell.
   
   As usual, this Osprey book has a color plate section. I toured European war museums and saw most of the equipment shown, but Richard Hook's illustrations showed me new things. Gas proof pigeon carrier? I hadn't heard of the useless Ayrton gas fan before, or how that politician foisted this worthless gadget on the British and American armies. A bibliography permits further study, yet the text by Simon Jones is adequate knowledge for non-specialists. The many period photographs help the reader understand that poison gas killed, but that as a military weapon for use against disciplined, well-equipped soldiers it wasn't worth the extra cost for gas weapons, the extra hassle of protecting one's own troops, and the political aspect of using "barbaric" forms of war. Note that in the World War Two period, gas attacks were conducted against civilians (Warsaw ghetto), against poorly led and poorly supplied troops (China and Ethiopia), and in the Nazi death camps.
   
   How much time and resources do you want to expend learning about the first WMD's? Simon Jones's World War I Gas Warfare Tactics and Equipment is a good place to start. It may have all the information you need.



4. There were earlier WWI books published by Osprey which covered much of the same background info to gas warfare. Thus, the text here does not really yield surprises except for the odd unusual and quirky equipment. The high point for me was the illustrations which showed imaginative posing and sufficient details.

No comments about Bracing for Armageddon?: The Science and Politics of Bioterrorism in America.

5 comments about Germs: Biological Weapons and America's Secret War.

1. Judith Miller et al. have successfully illustrated that the fear of nuclear weapons or terrorist-planned "dirty bomb" attacks are the least of our worries. Rather, the danger lies in microbes and human biology.
   
   At the height of the Cold War, Soviet and American scientists generated enough biological and viral agents to kill the inhabitants of the Earth many times over. The problem emerging now is where have all these bio and viral weapons gone, and perhaps more important, where have the scientists gone?
   
   Miller et al. argue the simplicity of scientific techniques necessary for creating bio and viral weapons makes them a prime device for terror. Miller and others site a number of examples to illustrate the ease with which a bio attack is possible. For example, the Aum Shinrikyo sarin attacks on a Tokyo subway and a domestic attack of salmonella poisoning in Oregon were both committed with homemade agents. However, these attacks pale in comparison to what could happen. With the virulence of agents magnified to a nearly unfathomable level, if even a small amount of toxins escaped from their "safe" containers stored around the world, the death toll would be horrendous. Miller et al. have brought to light the horrible possibilities of bio or chemical weapons proliferation, and I, for one, am in agreement.



2. "While the U.S. maintained an active "bugs and gas" program in the '50s and early '60s, bio-weapons were effectively pulled off this country's agenda in 1972 when countries around the world, led by the United States, forswore development of such weapons at the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention. The issue reemerged in the early '90s thanks to Saddam Hussein and revelations of the clandestine and massive buildup of bio-weapons in remote corners of the Soviet Union." - Harry Edwards
   
   When Bush 2.0 resisted renewal of a defunct ABM treaty with the USSR, a defunct country, liberal complainers slammed his disrespect for the sacredness of words on paper. Germs, the good book by Times guys & Judith Miller, discloses the aftermath of another sadred treaty with the USSR, the one signed by Nixon & Brezhnev that outlawed development of WBD, weapons of biological destruction.
   
   Nixon and the United States honored that treaty. Brezhnev and the USSR broke it, even after the USSR broke up. Ken Alibek, recent defector from Russia's recent Biopreparat bio-terror program, demonstrated that bad stuff happened back in the USSR and the ex-USSR for at least twenty years after the Reds promised to play well with others & to be nice. Judith Miller, recent star of the Plame Name Blame Game, was certain that residual bugs from Russian germ factories were being stored by Saddam Hussein. Maybe. Maybe it's now in Syria, or maybe Miller got bad intel, Chalabi's revenge.
   
   The good news is that the bio-weapons and poison gas that Saddam apparently didn't have in 2003 were weapons that weren't available for use against liberating and/or invading Americans. The bad news is that, when Americans could not find the weapons that were not used against them, the liberation of Iraq looked to the world like unprovoked aggression and invasion. C'est le guerre.
   
   Ms. Miller and I go way back, back before Iraq. I read this book during our interminable rush to war; then I read Miller's front-page refutations of the anti-war posture of the anti-war Jayson-Blair Times. The Times prominently printed Miller's refutations of its own bias, a bias that now looks prescient while Miller, Bush, Chalabi, and Chalabi's war look bad. C'est le vie.
   
   Still, because germs are with us always, Germs is worth your money and time. Miller's story about the Bhagwan's bio-terror attack on Oregon -- probably the first bio attack on America; forget about bogus apocryphal reports of smallpox-infested blankets delivered to Indians -- is necessary & sufficient reason for reading this book.



3. There are a lot of people who want to discredit the entire book for one reason or another, and they're just plain wrong. In the early 90's, I was an Army infantry officer; I had gone through the army's NBC school (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical), served as my unit's NBC officer, and did a lot of additional reading on these topics, including reading this book. Almost everything I read in this book rings true. The average American would be smart to read this book (although most Americans are too lazy, too self-absorbed in Reality TV, and too stupid to be able to comprehend the highly-technical information in the book) and to be aware that biochemical weapons are very enticing to terrorists.



4. My conclusion after reading this book: How evil man is! It seems that all what mankind is really concerned about is how to destroy itself by the cruelest, most wicked and gruesome ways possible. The atomic bomb was not enough to satisfy man's craving for destruction. Newer means of killing one's adversaries had to be created. Germs, bacteria, and viruses could fulfill man's desire for gruesome killings - for now!
   
   The book starts in 1984 Dalles, Oregon, when an Indian sect, the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, poisons the residents with salmonella. No one died, but nearly 1,000 were infected with a strain of salmonella that the sect had legally obtained, then cultured and distributed by spraying it on the food of the unsuspecting residents. The goal of the sect was to incapacitate the residents in order to keep them home and unable to vote in the coming elections! The authors show how easy it is for anyone to acquire and then scatter biological agents.
   
   The authors then describe other instances when biological agents were used, such as the Aum Shinrikyo sarin attacks on a Tokyo subway. They also trace the history of biological warfare, starting from World War II to the present.
   
   The authors also show how politics play a role in this biological warfare. Governments trick each other, making the other believe they have no biological weapons when in fact they do! They sign treaties between each other banning the culture of biological agents, but secretly break those treaties. The authors explain the biological agents that governments have cultured for warfare (such as Anthrax, and Ebola). They also make us aware that many scientists around the globe (especially in the former Soviet Union) who worked on biological warfare can now be easily recruited by other countries such as Iran and North Korea. The threat of biological warfare is still rising, according to the authors.
   
   Furthermore, they argue, germ warfare is suited to unconventional attacks by terrorists. Germs can kill as many people as atomic bombs, are more discreet to manufacture, transport, and use on targets. They also give time for the terrorist to escape (i.e. leave the country).
   
   The question that will linger on your mind at the completion of the book is whether doomsday will be a result of a massive nuclear war, of microscopic biological agents, or of as now an undiscovered and more horrific weapon!



5. "Germs: Biological Weapons & America's Secret War," J. Miller, Engelberg & Broad. Simon & Schuster 2001, NY. ISBN: 0-684-87158-0, HC 382 pgs., which includes Index 12 pgs., Notes 44 pgs., Biblio. 4 pgs., 6.5" x 9.5"
   
   All three authors are accomplished, active journalist correspondents (NY Times & Times) who write using well-researched data of the scope & depth of biological research warfare carried out, mostly secretively, by world powers including the Soviets, USA, Iran and Iraq.
   
   "Germs" opens with a desription of how an Oregon cult of Rajneeshees in 1984 deliberately placed cultured Salmonella bacteria in food to poison hundreds (751) of people in an Oregon power grab to take over a county government. They were caught & convicted.
   
   Subsequent chapters are fairly technical, but compelling, on the details of the R & D by the US & its CIA of chemical & biological germ warfare efforts on colossal scales including methods for delivery, dispersal & protection of military using (both cultured normal and genetically altered) bacteria, viruses, & rickettsia: this included tularemia (plague), TB, smallpox, botulism, Valley fever, encephalitis (VEE) organisms and food-poisonings, snake venoms, ricin, etc. The contributing expertise of genetist Joshua Lederberg and the dismal role played by President William Jefferson Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky affair is discussed in detail. All in all, "Germs" is an unsettling read, and the book ends just prior to the 2nd. attack on the Twin-Towers.
   
   "Germs" highlights the unpreparedness of the United States to deal adequately with any major catastrophe, documented by failures in several mock disasters including the May 17, 2000 Denver, "Operation TopOff." The book also details the 1999 misdiagnosis and ineptness of the CDC in finding the cause of the mysterious human and bird cases of encephalitis in Queens, NY - first citing St. Louis Encephalitis (SLE) - but later discovering it to be a West Nile virus and learning it could be spread sans mosquito vector. If you must know where millions, nay billions, of US tax dollars are spent, read "Germs". This is non-fiction at its finest and at its scariest.

5 comments about Vaccine A: The Covert Government Experiment That's Killing Our Soldiers--And Why GI's Are Only The First Victims.

1. What is the cost of Freedom? Within this well researched book is an example. The Anthrax vaccine given during the Gulf War through current times, laced with a toxic substance call squalene, is such an example. The research within this book is beyond question. Every veteran, patriot, and ordinary citizen of the USA, Canada, Great Britian, Austraila, and possibly New Zeland should read this book, no holds barred! Highly recommended!



2. I had originally planned on a military career and was destined for Annapolis back in the 1980s, but then learned that hundreds of U.S. servicemen had been cruelly abandoned in Vietnam by "our" government as POWs. (Read "Kiss The Boys Goodbye")
   
   Well, the treason continues...
   
   Matsumoto's superb book chronicles modern evidence that our military has again been given the shaft. While Vaccine A may not have originally been a conspiracy, the subsequent coverup certainly is. Afflicted men and women who honorably fought for America are being told that their vaccine-induced afflictions are imaginary or fakery.
   
   If you want to serve your country, be sure that you are not taking a dramatic health risk from your government in doing so. If you've a child who is considering enlisting, read this book before they unknowingly sign away their life for dangerous medical experimentation performed without their informed consent.
   
   Squalene vaccines are now being stored for the rest of us, for the next overblown or contrived health issue. You look at your food before you eat it, don't you? Maybe you should look at the next vaccine very carefully before it's injected into your body.
   
   Our Gulf War vets had no way of knowing that the squalene vaccine was extremely harmful. But thanks to their unwitting sacrifice, we can protect ourselves with this book.



3. I had been waiting a year to find the time to read this intriguing book. However, having just finished it, I find myself dissatisfied and frustrated. While the subject is certainly interesting and one on which we should probably all educate ourselves, I found the book to be extremely repetitive. As a medical student, the science wasn't over my head but I caught myself skimming parts of the last 75 pages for new information that hadn't already been written about earlier in the book. Matsumoto says the same thing 400 different ways... the only part that drew me in were the personal stories scattered throughout the pages. Reading the book jacket is probably sufficient to tell you everything you'd want to know... I'm thoroughly disappointed.



4. The books documents a slow death. Painful and debilitating. The government does not care.



5. I BELIEVE THAT THIS BOOK IS A BOMBSHELL FOR ALL OF OUR VETERANS. I FOUND GARY MATSUMOTO'S BOOK TO BE EXTREMELY EYE OPENING, TO THINGS THAT WE VET'S WOULD NEVER EVEN DREAM OF, AS HAVING GONE ON WHILE IN SERVICE OF OUR COUNTRY. REALLY MAKES YOU WONDER ABOUT OUR GOVERNMENT, AND HOW THEY USED US AS GUINEA PIGS...I HAPPEN TO BE ONE OF THEM.

3 comments about A Higher Form of Killing: The Secret History of Chemical and Biological Warfare.

1. This is an outstanding book that outlines the history of chemical warfare through the 1980s. It's an outstanding text and one that was in everyone's personal library when I was a student at the Army Chemical School.

   Buy it and understand the storied past of our most frightful weapons.




2. This books delivers a history of chemical weaponry from the First World War. A good insight into their uses and effects as recorded by actual use in war. This is also a frightening insight into what possibly could happen should a rogue state/terrorist were able to build these weapons.



3. Terrorism thrives on fear and imagination in designing weapons of mass destruction to inflict the most damage and death. Massive planes flown into prominent symbols of American pride, bomb-laden trucks exploding in front of U.S. embassies or Marine Corps barracks, explosive charges on a small boat rammed into a United States warship, these are the events that come to mind when one envisions terrorist attacks. Chemical and biological warfare seem an improbable choice for terrorists to use due to inability to procure materials or test for reliability. Or is it?
   
   A Higher Form of Killing offers another area for terror to grasp hold. Dubbed the "The best account of gas and germ warfare available" by the Washington Post, A Higher Form of Killing presents the history of chemical and biological warfare through several first hand accounts as well as declassified documents that grimly describe its effects. Concentrating primarily on the UK-U.S. relationship developed out of World War One continuing through to today, authors Harris and Paxman shed light on several bio/chem warfare programs developed including releasing "inert" gases over populous cities to see how far the gases would penetrate, full blown experiments using live germs and gases over deserted islands, CIA experiments using prostitutes who administered bio drugs into unsuspecting clients and many more. With several research facilities conducting experiments throughout the western world, germ and gas warfare is a mature industry capable of producing and delivering a crippling blow if employed in a devilish manner.
   
   A Higher Form of Killing is a must read for anyone wishing to learn more about the history of bio/chem warfare and for those who dare dream of its future if these deadly weapons were possessed by terrorists; however, it is NOT recommended for those with a weak stomach (graphic descriptions and pictures of physical effects from weapons in this book).
   
   A Higher Form of Killing was written in 1981 and thus is a bit outdated; however a revised edition was released in 2002 (still outdated).

5 comments about Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire.

1. 
   It is easy today, with so much information out there about the horrors of atomic warfare, and so little remembrance of the actual history of the final stages of WWII, to be critical of the U.S. decision to drop two atomic bombs on Japan.
   
   Sadly, as a result, most Japanese are taught today that they were merely the victims of overwhelming American might, rather than the aggressors and instigators of war, and even more sadly, we are confronted with the shameful specter of anti-nuke, anti-war, anti-history Americans pathetically apologizing to the Japanese, misquoting history, and blindly ignoring the real facts behind the decision to drop the atomic bombs on Japan.
   
   In this book, Richard Franks sets about methodically re-creating the historical context of the end stages of WWII. He addresses virtually every controversial claim, every possible scenario, in the decision process that led to the atomic bombing. Other reviewers have mentioned several points already, and so I present only a summary of the major controversies dealt with in this book:
   
   1. Why was it necessary to drop two atomic bombs or to use them on civilians? - The U.S. was afraid that Japan would think that its supply of atomic bombs was limited (and in fact, production was limited, but was steadily growing), and wanted to demonstrate to Japan that it had the ability and willpower to completely annihilate Japan with a series of atomic bombs. As it turns out, the U.S. calculations were correct. After Hiroshima was bombed, Franks points out that there was a faction in the Japanese military that had enough knowledge of the difficulty of uranium separation to deny the possibility that the U.S. could have developed such a bomb or claimed that the U.S. would not be able to keep up the atomic bombing, and used these arguments to continue to hold out against surrender. Other Japanese military leaders hoped that world opinion would bar the U.S. from further use of the atomic bombs on civilians. That the Japanese military doubted the willpower of the U.S. to use atomic bombs against civilians is proof that a mere demonstration on some unpopulated target would have been useless. Dropping two atomic bombs thus served to vaporize all of the final delusions of these fanatic military leaders.
   
   2. Wasn't Japan close to surrender already because of the massive firebombing of its cities? The U.S. had destroyed over 60 Japanese cities already, killing over 100,000 in one raid on Tokyo alone. However, while this caused enormous suffering for Japanese civilians, the military elite ruling Japan couldn't care less, and continued to hold out for a final land battle, intending to inflict enormous casualties on any U.S. invasion. Their calculation was that the U.S., a democracy with freedom of the press and freedom of speech that even then was extremely sensitive to casualties, could be forced to offer a negotiated surrender with better terms (see no. 5 below for more on this) instead of unconditional surrender. One thing that Franks does not emphasize enough is that subsequent firebombings after Tokyo killed far fewer people per raid, as the Japanese learned how to deal with the firebombing better. A significant factor in the success of the firebombing was the nature of the highly flammable wooden cities of Japan. However, neither firebombing nor the inaccurate conventional bombing of that era would have had much impact on the dispersed and hidden armed forces of the Ketsu-Go operation (the Japanese plan for a massive suicidal countering of an American invasion on the island of Kyushu). Ketsu-Go versus the atomic bomb would have been a completely different story. The general in charge of Ketsu-Go happened to have his headquarters in Hiroshima, and after surviving the atomic bombing and seeing its effects, he bluntly told Hirohito that he could not be sure anymore that his forces would be able to fend off an invasion. IMHO, it was this realization by the military that Ketsu-Go would fail in the face of the atomic bomb that was the key in forcing the military to accept defeat without an invasion. And it was this realization by Hirohito that the military would accept his "command" to accept unconditional surrender that encouraged this timid personality to finally step in and "command" surrender (Franks gives some more convoluted reasons that I think are less convincing. He does not emphasize enough that Hirohito had no legal authority at the time to force the military to do anything - Hirohito's power was entirely based on tradition, respect, and superstitious symbolism - and in fact the military fanatics had a history of assassinating advisors to Hirohito whenever it seemed that he was favoring a course of action that they did not like).
   
   3. Weren't the estimated potential U.S. casualties in an invasion grossly inflated? Perhaps they were, but first of all, if you are an American and think that ANY number of dead American soldiers in an invasion of Japan would have been worth trading in return for not using the atomic bomb, then you need to have your citizenship revoked. And if you are Japanese, and believe that a U.S. invasion would have been preferable to atomic bombing, then you really don't understand the fanaticism of the military elite that was in control at the end of the war. At Saipan and Okinawa, the local Japanese citizenry had been recruited into the battles and had suffered enormous casualties. Even worse was being planned for an invasion of the Japanese homeland, with the entire civilian population given bamboo sticks and suicide bombs which they were expected to use against U.S. soldiers. Franks calculates that the civilian casualties in an invasion of Japan would have far exceeded what was suffered at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In addition, U.S. intelligence eventually revealed that preparations for Ketsu-Go were so extensive that chances for a successful invasion were becoming increasingly uncertain. American casualties would have almost certainly been enormous. While General MacArthur blithely swept all of that intelligence under the rug, and continued to insist on the original invasion plans, Admiral Nimitz was on the verge of going on the record opposing the invasion when the atomic bombs were dropped. This book makes clear that a U.S. invasion of Kyushu, led by the over-confident MacArthur, could have well been a complete disaster.
   
   4. Wouldn't a blockade and continued bombing of Japan have forced a surrender? - Yes, but it would have taken a much longer period of time, at a minimum of several more months, and resulted in enormously greater loss of life to others besides U.S. soldiers. Franks points out that by attacking Japan's railway systems and vital coastal shipping, the U.S. could have easily shut down all food distribution in the country. However, again, because the Japanese warlords did not care about the suffering of the civilian population, it is likely in such a scenario that they would have held out for so long that Japanese deaths from starvation would have easily exceeded the deaths from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Plus there were also the vastly greater numbers of deaths that would have occurred in the countries that had been invaded by Japan, people who would have continued to die under a brutal occupation. There would also have been much greater numbers of deaths amongst Allied POWs. The numbers calculated by Franks are truly staggering, and make clear that atomic bombing to force a surrender was by far the least of all evils in terms of total numbers of dead people. Franks also recounts the massive atrocities committed by the Japanese in WWII. Yep, after you read these sections (the atrocities mentioned included dissecting and drilling holes into the brains of captured, living American airmen, among other niceties), you might also look more favorably upon atomic bombing Japan. Let's face it, this was a war without mercy, and the Japanese, who were merciless in their treatment of their enemies, had no right to expect any. Nevertheless, after the surrender, Japan did receive mercy, in the form of massive shipments of food from America to their starving civilians.
   
   5. Wouldn't a negotiated surrender, as demanded by the military warlords, have been preferable to atomic bombing? No, first and foremost, up until the atomic bombings, the Japanese militarist faction simply refused to consider surrender under any conditions. They wanted an invasion and a chance at redemption of national honor with their Ketsu-Go operation. The peace faction's best efforts consisted of delusional hopes that Russia could somehow broker a negotiated settlement. Even AFTER both atomic bombs had been dropped, and Russia had declared war on Japan, the militarist faction continued to hold out briefly for a negotiated surrender with three additional terms besides maintenance of the emperor (which the peace faction also wanted): a short occupation by a minimal force, demobilization of Japanese troops by Japanese officers, and trying of war criminals by Japanese courts (Franks does not mention these details in his book - they are contained in another book "The Day Man Lost Hiroshima"). Acceptance of such conditions would have resulted in only a temporary cease-fire, much like the treaty of Versailles had been for WWI. It would not have removed the basic root causes that led Japan to attack East Asia and America - the institutions and ideology of an intensely nationalistic and fanatic military elite that put national honor and pride above everything else, including common sense. This bitter lesson from WWI, that the military elites and institutions of Germany and Japan needed to be completely eradicated in order to ensure lasting peace with those nations, was what caused Roosevelt to demand unconditional surrender. Roosevelt did not want the sacrifice of the lives of so many soldiers to be in vain, as it had been for WWI.
   
   In summary, people critical of the atomic bombing of Japan simply fail to grasp just how difficult it was at that time for the U.S. and the peace faction in Japan to force an increasingly delusional military elite that was fanatically committed to national honor and pride to give up all of their institutions of power without first completely immolating their country. Read this book, read it carefully, and you WILL understand.



2. I was so fascinated by this book that I read all the previous reviews. I only want to add my unlimited praise and to add a few thoughts and stories...
   I was as unaware as anybody of the details of the end of the Pacific war until I met a fellow (Bill Lear, son of "the" Bill Lear) who was on a troop ship to Olympic. He said the officers told them that they all were going to die. After that the book was a natural, and I couldn`t have chosen better.
   In my present line, I am in Japan a lot. If there is any one thing that makes Frank`s book fascinating, it is the detailed look at the inner workings of that eastern mind in the government and military leaders, and the resulting confusion for their hapless diplomats. In some cases it is not so radical - we Americans still get huffy about Pearl Harbor, when the Japanese were following a pretty basic tenet of war. Frank didn`t really go to a lot of trouble to remind us that the "unfathonable" Asian way of seeing things is normal to them. Perhaps it isn`t necessary. Any Japanese soldier who sees dying for his emperor/country as his highest honor will tend to see anyone who surrenders or is beaten before he can sacrifice himself, as the lowest sort of worm, not worthy of bayonet practice let alone a bowl of rice. Just an example, but with a point. Frank managed to state facts, back them up with numbers and intel documents and let it go at that. The case builds easily in the reader`s mind that this was a terrible war and that the allies/Americans were in a real conundrum about how to end it. Which brings up the sadly fascinating fact that the very thing that the allies demanded, as a way of keeping "these fascist and militarist governments from starting a world war every few years", was unconditional surrender, the very thing the Japanese couldn`t accept.
   One thing which makes a really great book is that it opens discussion on the topic rather than, say, on the writer`s vocabulary. By that measure, this is one of the best. Please indulge me...
   I have been to the peace museum in Hiroshima. It is very moving and also very evenhanded. It shows the little uniforms of the school kids killed - they were in town that day to help build firebreaks. It also has the army order on the wall which commanded that when the invasion came, all subjects were to show up on the beaches with pitchforks, sticks or any other weapon that came to hand. Hiroshima, by the way (to answer a previous comment) was the headquarters of the 5th Japanese Army, in charge of Japan and Korea (where they'd been since 1920, only getting to Manchuria in 1931, re another comment)It was also a recruit center, and a navy shipyard, in other words not exactly non-military.
   My Dad flew in B-29s. He was a tough old farm boy, but once he met an army buddy who had also `been there` That`s the only time I saw him cry. I don`t think it`s wrong to lament the terrible things humans are capable of doing to each other and to make them stop; a basic about war, by the way. The fact that millions of innocents had died and were likely to keep dying in this war would make any way of stopping it look pretty good, ie, "moral". I personally would say, you can`t argue with success. The Japanese had been fighting since at least 1920. Days after the bomb, it was over. I`m in the camp of "the Russians had nothing to do with it." I want to thank Mr. Frank for explaning readably and in detail, how that came about.
   Finally a note from my Mom... The war council was correct in believing that Americans were sick of the war (Incorrect in their eastern way in seeing Potsdam as weakness). They were beaten but wouldn`t quit. If you had a family member in the service, you put a red star in your window, and if they were killed, you changed it to a gold star. There were plenty of houses with two gold stars in the window. People in 1945 wanted the war to end and wanted the boys home. Imagine you are Truman, and a wife/mother says to you, "You mean to tell me you had the means to end this war the day before my boy was killed, and you didn`t do it?"
   Read this book.



3. Richard Frank conclusively shatters a number of myths about the end of the Pacific side of World War II.
   
   First, Japan was NOT ready to accept unconditional surrender, even with the caveat of the preservation of the Japanese throne, until after both bombs were dropped. Frank uses extensive declassified transcripts of Ultra (military) and Magic (diplomatic) U.S. codebreaking to get members of the Japanese war cabinet's own words, or lack thereof, on this issue. Within that is the fact that Japan's attempt to use Russia as an intermediary-ally in negotiations was totally out of tune with reality, so much out of tune that Tokyo actually expected Moscow to honor the full one year's "down time" after abrogating the two countries' neutrality agreement.
   
   Second, the Japanese Army was ramping UP the plans for Keisu-Go, the all-out defense of the Japanese homeland, after the spring firebombings of Tokyo and elsewhere. Top Army brass considered that the U.S. might well try blockade, and thought it had enough kamikazes, midget submarines, etc., to make the U.S pay enough a price for even the blockade that it would settle for a negotiated peace. Again, Frank looks in-depth at Magic and Ultra transcripts to show how much support there was for this.
   
   Third, Frank demonstrates that U.S. casualty fears of an invasion of Kyushu were well-warranted and may even have been understated in some cases.
   
   The determination of the Japanese Empire to resist was well-known by American troops in the Pacific who had seen the Japanese, on average, take 97 percent casualties in many of their defensive actions. A militaristic government was ready to exploit this to the death.
   
   The atomic bomb was therefore used for reasons of the highest seriousness. It was NOT dropped on Hiroshima as a demonstration for Stalin. And, speaking of demonstrations, the fact that it took two atomic bombs on Japan to get it to surrender puts the lie to the idea that a "demonstration" bomb would have been enough to get the Japanese to a non-negotiated surrender with them attempting to hold on to territory.



4. 
   Frank has done an excellent job of dispassionately presenting the facts about the endgame of the Pacific War. I appreciate that Frank laid out the evidence and left it to the reader to judge where it pointed.
   
   What is clear from the evidence is that neither the Japanese nor American leadership had adequate information to judge the other's intentions during 1945. In fact, there is some evidence that the Japaneese High Command was being mislead by underlings regarding the state of American morale. Thus the War Council believed that they were just one decisive battle away from being able to negotiate with the Americans for softer terms than Unconditional Surrender. On the other hand, American intelligence community were not adept enough to draw out from the vast array of intercepted cable traffic a clear picture. Thus they did not provide Truman information that was 'actionable'.
   
   As for the bomb, the preponderance of evidence amassed by Frank points to the conclusion that once the decision to build the atomic bomb was made, the Manhattan project took on its own momentum and thus made the bombs use inevitable.
   
   All-in-all a terrific book. Since I finished it on September 30th, it makes it onto my Summer Reading Favorites of 2007 :-)



5. I was moved to reread this fine book by Richard Frank by the allegation by Presidential candidate Senator Barak Obama's former preacher and confidant Jeremiah Wright's that one of America's supposed "sins" that he was cursing it for was the use of the Atomic Bombs on Japan at the end of the Second World War. I was in High School during the Vietnam War period and I recall my teachers telling us that that use of the Bomb was unnecessary and was carried out merely to scare the Communist Soviets and didn't matter anyway since the Japanese were supposedly viewed as "racially inferior". We were taught that the United State government is inherently dishonest, so any such decision to use the bomb must have had "tainted" motiviations. Such cynicism is potentially destructive, as Frank shows in his book.
   Attitudes like these have unfortunately become common in the United States over the years, and as Frank points out, are based on ignorance and self-righteousness. President Truman's aide, Admiral Leahy claimed after the war that the use of the bomb was "unnecessary" (Frank points out that there is no record of his opposition at the time the decision was made). This is, of course, true. The Japanese would have eventually surrendered even without the use of the bomb. The question, though, remains "at what cost"? There are two possible scenarios, (1) American and Allied forces invade the Japanes Home Islands in order to force a decision, or (2) no invasion is mounted, but a tight blockade and heavy air bombing keep up the pressure.
   Frank shows that although a two-phase invasion was planned, Operation Olympic in Kyushu, followed by Operation Coronet on Honshu near Tokyo, as time passed, American interception and decryption of Japanese messages showed that powerful forces were being brought up to the planned invasion zones along with thousands of aircraft designed for Kamikaze attacks. The civilian population was also being trained to carry out suicide attacks (the government's slogan was "100 Million Die Together"). As a result, American enthusiasm for the invasion scheme waned and, instead, a plan to destroy Japan's railroad system to prevent the distribution of food was developed, which, along with the naval blockade, would bring starvation to the population, forcing the Japanese government to eventually capitulate. The question remained "how long would it take to reach this situation"? Frank points out that over 100,000 Chinese were dying every month during the war, in addition to large numbers of Allied prisoners and forced Asian laborers in southeast Asia. If the war dragged on longer, hundreds of thousands of these people would have died. Had the blockade "succeeded" in bring famine in addition to plague and civil disorder to Japan, hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Japanese would have died.
   Frank also points out that something like 350,000 Japanese died in the Soviet campaign to conquer Manchuria, many of them civilians. In addition there were still large Japanese forces in China , the Dutch East Indies (today's Indonesia) and southeast Asia. Without the shock of a surrender brought about by the use of the Atomic bombs it is conceivable that these forces would have continued to fight on (the Japanese Army in China had a history of subordination). There was also a Soviet plan to invade the Japanese home island of Hokkaido. One can only specularte on how many deaths would this have caused, in addition to the possibility that the USSR would have set up a "Japanese Peoples' Republic" in their zone, just like they did in Korea, for which the world is still paying to this day. It is odd that those who show "compassion" for the Japanese people in saying that the bomb shouldn't have been used, seem to lack the same compassion for the oppressed thousands who were dying every day in the Japanese-occupied territories.
   Frank also shows that the popular "deus-ex-machina" scenario that supposedly the Japanese government had really made a decision to surrender and were in contact with the USSR government is false. It is true that there were contacts with the Soviets, but they were on a low diplomatic level, and no decision to surrender had been made before the first use of the bomb. In addition, no contacts were made during the three days that passed before the use of the second bomb. It turns out that some Japanese leaders thought the bomb was merely a one-shot affair which the Americans couldn't repeat. Frank shows clearly that America's leaders had no choice but to make the decision they did and that this decision saved untold number of lives, both Allied and Japanese. Anybody who saw the horrific casualties at places like Iwo Jima and Okinawa in addition to the mass suicides of Japanese civilians at Saipana and Okinawa would reach the same conclusion.
   Richard Frank is performing an invaluable service in destroying the "politically correct" myths demagogues like Wright are propagating and showing that a clear, open mind leads one to the truth.

5 comments about Silent Warfare: Understanding the World of Intelligence, 3d Edition.

1. This book was first published in 1991, but is as current today as it was 14 years ago. This is because the authors have succeeded in conceptualizing intelligence functions and activities in an abstract, but very accurate manner. Although the authors provide a conceptualized view of intelligence, they also provide concrete historical examples to illustrate specific concepts. As a result the reader is given an understanding of intelligence that transcends current trends and practices within the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC). The book is an excellent introduction to the discipline of intelligence independent of specific agencies or practices of the IC. For this reason the book should be of interest not only to folks with no background in intelligence, but also to experienced intelligence professionals. One of the biggest obstacles to real intelligence reform in the IC is the inability of reformers to formulate broad concepts of the purposes and functions of intelligence. Reading this book could go a long way in helping them to develop such concepts. As the final chapter of the book suggests, it shows the way to a theory of intelligence.
   
   "Silent Warfare" is the best introduction I have found to the arcane world of intelligence and is an excellent textbook for an introductory course. However, in a utopian world that course would be taught over a year and in its second semester students would read another excellent intelligence text, "Intelligence From Secrets to Policy" by Mark Lowenthal, which moves from the abstract to general, but specific practices and operations of the U.S. IC. The two books compliment each other very well.



2. A good introduction book to the Intelligence subject. In this book the author browse all the elements and methods of intelligence in a mix with history examples, that helps you understand all the facts of this world and the importance for a goverment to use it in order to be updated and alert of international events.



3. I would say that this book would be a good first read for anyone interested in learning more about the intelligence community. It covers a wide variety of information without getting to in-depth into any one subject, so it feels like a pretty well-rounded experience. I also felt that the use of some historical examples really helped not only to make the book more interesting to read but to make some of the concepts easier to understand.
   
   My biggest problem with this book is that at points it reads like a college textbook, which isn't always a particularly good thing. I also found some of the sections that talked about the relations between policy and intelligence to be pretty dull. Overall this book is a pretty informative and a mostly enjoyable read.



4. The book came right on time and in EXCELLENT condition. I will definately buy with this seller again!



5. There are many same books are on sale, but I could not know if they are shipped abroad. So if you could show on the display before sellecting the item, that will really help me.

5 comments about Biohazard: The Chilling True Story of the Largest Covert Biological Weapons Program in the World--Told from Inside by the Man Who Ran It.

1. The author for once and for all exterminates the propaganda that the USSR was not involved in the large scale production of biological weapons. He also reminds us that our college campuses are filled with what Stalin termed , " Useful Idiots", those who want to think the US is the eternal villan.
   
   The scale of the USSR bioweapons program was almost beyond what we could imagine both in the quantities produced and the variety of agents exploited. The author leaves little doubt as to the consequences of the use of these materials.
   
   Written before 9-11 the book helps to understand the threat bio-weapons pose when in the hands of unstable nations or terrorist groups. The ease of production and of deployment ( expecially if the humans are willing to die for the cause) is the foundation for restless nights.
   
   The book is also enlightening in how a huge program was shielded from US penetration through conventional Soviet security measures and our scientists unwillingness to consider the possiblity that the Soviets were developing and deploying such weapons.
   
   As terrorist organizations race to be the first to use chemical, bio or nuclear weapons against the US homeland the lessons of the book take on more importance.
   
   Highly recommended .



2. It many ways this is necessary reading in today's world. Lots of facts, but not a particularly passionate story. It's not a fun page turner. And the author's regret for the demons he created seems too late and too little. The book also ends in 1999 and is due for an update or adddendum. After reading this, one could make the arguement that if there was only a 10% chance that the Soviet bioweapons technology made it to Iraq, then the Iraq invasion was justified. The book is not an exciting or particularly good read; but it may be a necessary read.



3. I bought and read this book years ago and was astounded with the information that was revealed. It's a dangerous world we live in knowing what various governemnts have created in order to destroy humans etc... This story is coming from the Author who was behind some of the most deadly biological, chemical weapons created in Cold War Soviet Union. he defected from the Soviet Union and then went to work for the U.S. governemnt applying his knowledge of weaponized biological agents and how to combat them etc... It's a true story with lots of information. It's a Great Book.



4. Biohazard: The Chilling True Story of the Largest Covert Biological Weapons Program in the World--Told from Inside by the Man Who Ran It
   This book clearly represents the ultimate extent to which the former Russian communist war machinery was ready to go just to achieve its desired aspiration - the world domination regardless to anything dear or sacred to human civilization . No cost , no international decree , signed by every major superpower , no human dignity , was important to communist war planners , who saw the potential of biological weapons as its most precious secret, the most decisive ordnance in the world , more important even than the nuclear ,as the germs simply leave the material proofs of human endeavors intact and thus ready to be exploited by the only alternative to the world proletariat - the dreaded KGB and its various innocuous organizations , operating like a hydra , encompassing both civilian and military sphere , without the vast majority in the loop . The author bravely opens the window into this shady world , where every precaution was taken to ensure the complete secrecy and airtightness over different projects ,e.g. Vector , Biopreparat , ultra secret KGB lab near Moscow , specialized in the production and manufacture of killing devices , of which some have been successfully used , e.g. in the assassination of a Bulgarian dissident Markov in London ). The author admits his being an involuntary accomplice in this biological weapons build-up , but , as he says , he and his colleagues , the top of the Russian science , had accepted their roles as soldiers as a patriotic duty , thus breaking the most basic tenets of medicine , becoming in fact scientific outcasts , nonpersons , living in non existing cities , spawning across the whole of the Russian continent , dedicating their knowledge and talent to destruction on the most unimaginable and horrifying scale . Really , a scary analysis of a total disregard for human lives and environment itself as well( e.g. the destruction of the Aral Sea ) .



5. This book is well written with intimate detail about the bioweapon program threats that we all face even today.

5 comments about Armageddon: The Battle for Germany, 1944-1945.

1. Max Hastings writes a masterpiece that sheds light into the obscure and misunderstood end to Nazi Germany. He writes of total civic anarchy, denial and/ or overconfidence of military and political figures, and the brutal end especially in Prussia and east of Berlin. Given Stalin's obsession with the capture of Hitler's Berlin and Hitler's obsession with Stalin's Stalingrad, one cannot doubt the brutality Hastings has conveyed in this well written book.
   
   Where I think this book is misinforming is the comparison of the Russians in the East and the Allied Army in Western Europe. The Russians are portrayed as an aggressive army largely responsible for the defeat of Germany while an anemic allied army bickered their way slowly from the west towards the Elbe River. Mr. Hastings should have considered several factors before giving the Russians so much credit for Hitler's defeat. Among the many is that the Allied Army, given the English Channel and the Atlantic Ocean had an absolute logistic nightmare in supplying their advance while the Russians had their factories within easy reach to their east. Also, the Allied Army was advancing through Italy where a large force was required to occupy as the army advanced, given Italy's fascist partnership with Germany. Italy was no cakewalk, Hitler fought to keep her and vast resources were siphoned yet there is barely mention of this.
   
   Little is mentioned that the American Lend Lease Act of 1941 provided enough aid to the Russians to continue their war with the Nazis on land, air and sea while the Allies prepared for Overlord. As the Allies prepared for Overlord and Hitler anticipated the invasion, the Nazi's were forced to man the Atlantic wall and thus were not able to divert all resources to the Eastern Front as the Russians were allowed to given their refusal to attack Japan.
   
   The book also makes no mention that the Allied Army was diverting about half of their resources in the war against Japan, a war that covered substantially larger territory, scattered throughout an area of world's largest ocean, and a war the Russians refused to enter. It has been said the Russians failure to enter the war against Japan was due to the severe casualties suffered against Germany, yet the Russians were anything but frugal when it came to casualties. The casualties suffered by the Russians were of biblical proportions against the Nazis but for the most part due to their recklessness. Stalin could care less about his own men and the casualties they suffered.
   
   While realizing that this well written book is focused on the fall of Nazi Germany and her last days, if Mr. Hastings is going to give so much credit to Stalin for the pace and scale of the Russian advance, he must honestly give the Allied Army credit for the extent of their global deployment of men, material and other resources. One must wonder if the Allied Army had thrown her entire army and resources at Berlin, would they have been so anemic as portrayed in this book.
   
   Mr. Hastings account of the fall of Berlin is exceptionally written but it gives far too much credit to the Russians. In a strategic sense, the Western Allies plain and simply defeated Hitler and the Axis with the help of Joseph Stalin, not the other way around.



2. Max Hastings "Armageddon" is an excellent view of the management of the last year of WW II by all of the principle participants. The perspective offered by Hastings is an interesting departure from the white washed view that is frequently presented by WW II films and documentaries.
   
   Hastings opens some interesting discussions on the political atmosphere between the allies. He is especially candid in his accounts of the Churchill--Roosevelt relationship. He misses an opportunity to explore the role of the French and their ego-driven self image versus their actual (rather meager) contribution to the war effort. Perhaps the fact that the French were passed over in Hastings account of the management of the war is statement enough on their contribution.
   
   James P. Hoban



3. This is a great book, it tells both sides of the coin. Maybe Nazi Germany reaped what it sowed but the suffering of the German civilian population more than attoned for the blood and destruction brought forward by their leaders in the rest of Europe. Hard facts are brought to mind and most German cities were bombed to ruin unnecessarily by the Western allies, the British making the bombing of civilian a war policy to repay Germany for the sin of bombing London, this did not destroyed the morale of the German population but rather gave them the will to resist.
   
   As for the attrocities commited by the Red Army with widespread looting, raping, destruction of property, ethnic cleansing of Eastern Prussia should never be forgotten or forgiven. In their revenge over the Nazis they completely abandoned any human or decent behavior and comported themselves as barbarians in the same league as Gengis Khan or Attila. Itf these were the acts of individual soldiers bent on revenge over what happened to thier fatherland maybe this could be explaines but as a goverment sanctioned policy this behavior is unforgivable.
   
   I am not saying the nazis should be considered less monsters or evil but the attrocities commited by the allied are easily forgiven only because they won. If the Nuremberg trials took place to bring justice to the World after the hecatomb that was World War II then the Soviet Generals and leaders should also had to answer for their unspeakable evil in fighting the war. Many Western commanders such as Bomber Harris also were in the same league as the nazis put on trial. In the end Nuremberg was just a revenge court and real justice was never onbtained. History should never forget the attrocites commited over the German nation in the name of freedom, democracy and justice.



4. Hastings has done us a favor by presenting both sides of the story. It is a shame that mankind had to wait for 63 years before a more balanced view of this human holocaust is finally brought to us. Reading about the cruelty of humans to each other, the needless civilian suffering, the summary executions and general barbarity one wonders whether the mid-twentieth century represents mankind's descent into a terminal stage of self-destruction.



5. While I agree with the majority of the other reviewers that this book is very well written, the Kindle edition of the book suffers from a serious problem: Its maps were converted to the Kindle format very sloppily, causing much of the text within the maps to become illegible.
   
   This is a serious drawback for any book about military history, and it could have been avoided if the publisher had been a bit more careful when converting the maps - for example, by splitting the maps into two images that could have been displayed on two pages with an ultimately higher resolution than it is the case now. The current version is just sloppy, and thus I have to reduce my evaluation down to three stars.
   
   Buyers of the printed edition will obviously be unaffected by this.