Robert Asprey has emerged as the consummate military historian. His recent works, which include War in the Shadows, The German High Command, and the two volumes on Napoleon, have brought him critical praise for their detail and keen insights into the minds of military professionals. To understand how Aprey arrived at where he now stands in the world of military historians, one must read this book, one of his earliers forays into writing. The budding historians would be well served by reading this book because it neatly folds details-analytical and precise-with sparse dramatization while giving the reader keen insights in the demeanor of the military mind at war. At Belleau Wood remains a masterful narrative and more importantly, the book has lost none of its relevance. Why? If the reader substitutes the situation in which the American Expeditionary Force found itself at Belleau Wood with the situation in which it now finds itself in Afghanistan, the relevance becomes all too clear: extended presence in an unfamiliar nation, stagnant combined-arms training, aviation limited by horrible weather conditions, and erstwhile allied support. The University of North Texas Press has done the military a great service by reprinting this book because the lessons learned can't come quickly enough as they gear up for a very, very, long war.

These famous words uttered by a Marine Corps Major sum up the fighting spirit of the United States Marine Corps. And "At Belleau Wood" is a fabulous glimpse into the "Old Corps." Rarely does a book so technically sound, and painstakingly researched, captivate the reader so fully. Appropriate for both the "armchair general" and the military scholar. If you are interested in either the origins of our nations "Premier Fight Force," or in the brutal combat of the Great War, this book is for you.

"Once A Marine," the engaging memoirs of Alexander A. Vandegrift - eighteenth Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, is a remarkable story. The story is that of a leader who dedicated forty years of his life in service to his country, his Corps, and his fellow Marines. He did it all with personal humility and without losing perspective of the Corps' role in American government and society. This book is an important part of any World War II or Marine Corps collection.

This book illustrates General Vandegrift's belief in the importance of communication, as dozens of his letters to family, friends, leaders, and fellow servicemen are included. Also included are selections from his many speeches, including the famous "bended knee" speech that he gave before Congress to state the convincing case for the very existence of the Marine Corps.

Told here is the story of Vandegrift's career, which truly spanned the globe, with service in Cuba, Panama, Nicaragua, Mexico, Haiti, New Zealand, Australia, China, Guadalcanal, Bougainville, and American locations such as Maine, North Carolina, and Washington, DC. Throughout many actions and from the Atlantic to the Pacific, he relates his extensive service under larger-than-life figures such as Smedley Butler, Thomas Holcomb, Douglas MacArthur, Chester Nimitz, and William Halsey. Also, we learn that in Vandegrift's Pacific actions and campaigns, he led other Marines who would become legends in their own rights - Clifton Cates, Merritt Edson, Joe Foss, Roy Geiger, Herman Hanneken, Randolph Pate, Lewis Puller, Lemuel Sheppard, David Shoup, Julian Smith, and Holland Smith. Five of these Marines would go on to become Commandants themselves.

Vandegrift led the 1st Marine Division in its successful invasion of Guadalcanal, which was the first American offensive action in the Pacific Theater during World War II. This book gives an extensive narration of the invasion for which he ultimately received the Congressional Medal of Honor. Throughout his career, Vandegrift continued to break new ground. As Commandant, he was the first Marine four-star general on active duty.

In a large downtown park in my city, there is a monument dedicated to Marines fallen in combat. General Vandegrift was present and dedicated the monument on November 11th, 1947. From reading this book, I learned that in Washington, DC Vandegrift had named his successor only the day before, on November 10th - the 172nd birthday of the Marine Corps. The fall of 1947 also saw Vandegrift and the Corps emerge successful from the final round of a multiyear struggle for the continuation of the Marine Corps as a separate and distinct service. Vandegrift's dedication, honesty, humility, and foresight for the future of the Corps lead the way in this momentous struggle.

It is often said that Marines do not leave their dead behind. As General Alexander A. Vandegrift, in the twilight of his career, stood at the monument to fallen brothers-in-arms on that rainy November day, he proved that saying to be right. After reading this book, you will know the character that makes up such a great leader.

When War in the Shadows (WITS) was first published in 1975, it infuriated members of the US military. Asprey's denunciation of high-ranking officers' conduct of the war in Vietnam came under intense criticism. Asprey claimed the US military lost that war due to its total ignorance of unconventional guerrilla warfare. Though blackballed by military scholars for almost a decade, he refused to retract his accusations. Instead, he continued to cite 2000 years of guerrilla/terrorist warfare tactics, operations, and strategy as proof the US military violated most, if not all, principles of unconventional warfare. Nineteen years later, he revised WITS, and along with that revision came a newfound respect for his insights. WITS is still the most definitive study of guerrilla/terrorist warfare available and it continues to remind the military of the requirement to fully understand this type of warfare's capabilities and limitations.
Overall, Asprey's work is very edifying. His 30 year research effort brillantly imparts lessons needed today. His reminders to the military about going off to an unconventional theater of war "half-cocked" contain some of the most valuable military thinking of our time. WITS is more than a historical appraisal. It is a usable text of events that, while historically embedded, continue to speak to the contemporary experience of unconventional warfare.

"Once A Marine," the engaging memoirs of Alexander A. Vandegrift - eighteenth Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, is a remarkable story. The story is that of a leader who dedicated forty years of his life in service to his country, his Corps, and his fellow Marines. He did it all with personal humility and without losing perspective of the Corps' role in American government and society. This book is an important part of any World War II or Marine Corps collection.

This book illustrates General Vandegrift's belief in the importance of communication, as dozens of his letters to family, friends, leaders, and fellow servicemen are included. Also included are selections from his many speeches, including the famous "bended knee" speech that he gave before Congress to state the convincing case for the very existence of the Marine Corps.

Told here is the story of Vandegrift's career, which truly spanned the globe, with service in Cuba, Panama, Nicaragua, Mexico, Haiti, New Zealand, Australia, China, Guadalcanal, Bougainville, and American locations such as Maine, North Carolina, and Washington, DC. Throughout many actions and from the Atlantic to the Pacific, he relates his extensive service under larger-than-life figures such as Smedley Butler, Thomas Holcomb, Douglas MacArthur, Chester Nimitz, and William Halsey. Also, we learn that in Vandegrift's Pacific actions and campaigns, he led other Marines who would become legends in their own rights - Clifton Cates, Merritt Edson, Joe Foss, Roy Geiger, Herman Hanneken, Randolph Pate, Lewis Puller, Lemuel Sheppard, David Shoup, Julian Smith, and Holland Smith. Five of these Marines would go on to become Commandants themselves.

Vandegrift led the 1st Marine Division in its successful invasion of Guadalcanal, which was the first American offensive action in the Pacific Theater during World War II. This book gives an extensive narration of the invasion for which he ultimately received the Congressional Medal of Honor. Throughout his career, Vandegrift continued to break new ground. As Commandant, he was the first Marine four-star general on active duty.

In a large downtown park in my city, there is a monument dedicated to Marines fallen in combat. General Vandegrift was present and dedicated the monument on November 11th, 1947. From reading this book, I learned that in Washington, DC Vandegrift had named his successor only the day before, on November 10th - the 172nd birthday of the Marine Corps. The fall of 1947 also saw Vandegrift and the Corps emerge successful from the final round of a multiyear struggle for the continuation of the Marine Corps as a separate and distinct service. Vandegrift's dedication, honesty, humility, and foresight for the future of the Corps lead the way in this momentous struggle.

It is often said that Marines do not leave their dead behind. As General Alexander A. Vandegrift, in the twilight of his career, stood at the monument to fallen brothers-in-arms on that rainy November day, he proved that saying to be right. After reading this book, you will know the character that makes up such a great leader.

This is a sparkling book which reveals much about the life and times of a man about which too little is known in our age. Frederick the Great (King of Prussian 1740-1786) militarily united much of the Protestant northern Germany under one crown--the Prussian crown. He did so while supporting the enlightenment idea of toleration of religious differences, at least in theory, and with the goal of making Prussia a major power in central Europe.

Frederick anticipated Napoleon by re-introducing the strategy of the attack to military theory. He laid much of the groundwork for the diplomacy of Bismarck which a hundred years later sould see Frederick's great grand-nephew, William I (reigned 1861-1888) crowned German Emperor in 1871.

Frederick was certainly an genius in some areas of his life. However, as this book points out, he inherited a lot of the tools that he would need for success during his reign from his father, King Frederick William I (reigned 1713-1740). For instance, the army that Frederck the Great used so devastatingly in the War of Austrian Succession (1740-1748) and the Seven Years War (1756-1763), had been painstakingly built by his father.

Additionally, he inherited a close diplomatic reationship with the British crown from his mother, Sophie Dorothea of Hanover. Sophia Dorothea was the daughter of George I and brother of George II of England. Assured of English neutrality Frederick could have a free hand to deal with Austria during the Seven Years War of 1756-1763.

Asprey writes in a way that is entertaining and still relates a good deal on information to the reader. Because of this, his work on Frederick the Great is a welcome addition to anyone's library.

Robert Asprey's life of Frederick The Great was a fascinating read. The author's understanding of his subject makes Frederick come to life. One can understand the forces that created the man, his strengths and weaknesses.

Asprey also provides a clear view of Europe in Frederick's times. The constant conflicts between its nations is difficult to understand from the perspective of the modern reader. In our times Europe has been at peace for more than 50 years (despite the conflagration in the Balkans) yet in Frederick's time the great nations could not stop warring with each other.

Most fascinating in this book, however, is the suspense filled descriptions of Frederick's major battles and the masterful way the king manuevered through the 7 year war. This was very exciting reading. It also provided insights as to how an inferior force can prevail against what appeared to be overwhelming odds.

Robert Asprey writes well, and convincingly. This is a very entertaining book, on a subject that is not well-worn in the English language. He has written a competent History of the German High Command, exposing them where they deserve it, and those who read it will better understand how and why the allies won. If there is a criticism to be made, it is that he glosses over some important points, or fails to go into enough detail, or smoothly avoids the real issues. He also should more carefully document some of his statements. For all this, it is a worthwhile book. Alan Culpin Austin, Texas. Western Front Assoc.

I would definitely recommend this book. I have read many books on the Great War, and none have given Hindenburg and, more importantly, Ludendorff (because he was really the one who pulled the strings) such detailed attention. I think the author portrayed the ideological background that so often drives Germany and its people to seek glory in conquest or transcendence through hardship and hero worship (in this case, of the book's namesakes), and that is good because too many historians forget this all too important, almost racial, Wagnerian ideological aspect to Germany's quest for world hegemony. Indeed, the author quotes one German general as comparing Ludendorff being stabbed in the back by a weak home front and politicians with Siegfried in Wagner's Gotterdamerung. However, the author lambasts Hindenburg and Ludendorff so mercilessly, without quarter, that he sometimes appears biased and as if he had an agenda to destroy the myth of the Iron Duo. This may very well be the actual case, as I think he even admitted in the preface, but still, I don't think you can blame two men for a society and political structure that allowed, even encouraged authoritarianism, and the eventual rule of such a strong man. Moreover, Ludendorff was singlehandedly controlling the entire nation, and while obviously in hindsight he made a general mess of it, he did do some remarkable things and was a master of tactics and of recognizing military skill and promoting it, if not grand strategy. The author emphasizes his failures (after all, Germany did lose), but never seems to credit the military insights of Ludendorff. These are simply stated as fact but not really anaylzed, or they are given a negative slant. Overall, however, this was an extremely informative and deatiled anaylsis of these two men, what they meant to Germany, and their place in history.

I agree with the previous reviewers. I would give this five stars, save for the fact that I would have liked to see more detail on some points. Still, this book changed my thinking about the Great War for all time. Study of the 1914-18 war is an exercise in frustration -- so many "what ifs," such an unsatisfactory conclusion. I suspect I will go to my grave still debating Haig's generalship -- at times I tend to agree with John Terraine et. al. that we at least have to credit Haig with sound strategic sense in realizing that the war was going to be won or lost on the Western Front and sideshows like Salonika and the Middle East were a waste of effort. Then I look at the operational blunders in 1916 and 1917 and wonder whether he wasn't a bloody fool who was saved by having good subordinates like Plumer, Monash, Currie, Maxse, et al. I raise this point to illustrate that at least here there remains room for debate. I defy anyone to read Asprey's book without coming to the conclusion that Hindenburg and Ludendorff weren't criminally incompetent, waging aggressive war until they had bled their own country white. The British at least had the excuse that this was the first -- indeed only -- time in history that their army had to take on the main force of a preeminent land power (see Terraine's writings on this point). In other words, they had to fight a war they weren't ready for in 1914. By 1918, against all odds, they won. The Germans, on the other hand, squandered every advantage.

This extensively researched book tells the story of Colonel Redl, who was the head of counter intelligence for the Austrian empire before WWI -- and who was a Russian spy, blackmailed because of his homosexuality. Redl was the basis for a play "A Patriot for Me" and the movie Col. Redl with K M Brandauer was based on the play. The real story is a bit more interesting.

The true story of Colonel Redl, the head of counter intelligence in the Austro-Hungarian empire before WW1, who was a spy.

Quite fascinating.

This book is not overly analytic, but I thought it was good reading. His account of Frederick the Great's 14 great battles (Mollutz, Chotusity, Hohenfriedberg, Soor, Lobositz, Prague, Kolin, Rossbach, Leuthen, Zorndorf, hochkirch, Kunersdorf, Liegnitz, and Torgau)are very well done. This is a fun book to read.

Asprey, by and large, has done his homework for this book. It follows the course of Napoleon's military career from its beginning up to his great victory at Austerlitz in 1805. As far as its coverage of military events is concerned, this volume is excellent.

However, as a biography, this work has many limitations. Asprey claims his intention in writing this book was to present the full Napoleon; in this, the book fails. Perhaps the most obvious failure is the tiny amount of space given to Napoleon's childhood on Corsica (less than ten pages) and his time as a student (about the same). Even during the discussion of his adult years, Napoleon's personal life is discussed almost in passing, while his military career is covered in great detail. Napoleon's political contributions are covered in only slightly greater detail than his personal life. One almost gets the sense that Asprey doesn't want to bother with such things.

All in all, this book should be seen for what it is: a study of Napoleon's military career. It is not a biography in the sense that it does not do a good job describing the course of Napoleon's life.

For all that, this book contains useful information and it is certainly worth reading.

In what is perhaps the first full-length biography of Napoleon in English of the twenty-first century, Robert Asprey turns to the nineteenth century for his inspiration. Asprey, a former U.S. Marine captain, has previously written on military topics. The present volume covers Napoleon's life up to his stunning victory at Austerlitz. Primarily a military history, in spite of Asprey's apparent aspirations as revealed in his "Note to the Reader," Asprey glosses over lightly Napoleon's political achievements. The political changes wrought by Brumaire as quickly dealt with in one short chapter. The Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte therefore does not replace other biographies of Napoleon, such as Vincent Cronin's, that gives more attention to the political and cultural aspects of Napoleon's life. Asprey points out Napoleon's egoism, his ambition, his quick temper, all of his faults, but does not dwell on them unduly. The events of Napoleon's life are given precedence over moralizing about or psychoanalyzing that life. Generally Asprey avoids trying to divine what Napoleon was thinking and instead tries to explain Napoleon's actions in the context of the times and of Napoleon's life.

Written in forty-eight short chapters, the book is based entirely on secondary sources, both in English and in French. Asprey relies largely on the classic work of historians of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries for his sources, though he does make extensive use of research done by modern historians in journals and in papers presented to the Consortium on Revolutionary Europe. And Asprey often lets Napoleon speak for himself through liberal use of the Emperor's voluminous correspondence. After a perhaps too brief an overview of Napoleon's life before 1789 -Napoleon's early years are dealt with in a mere 80 pages before his arrival at Toulon. Asprey jumps almost immediately into Napoleon's military career. The author presents a highly simplistic overview of the background dynamics of the French Revolution (which Asprey obviously abhors).

Asprey presents a fairly even-handed look at Napoleon's career, however. He does not excuse Napoleon's actions, but does not moralize over them either. At times I found the analysis somewhat superficial, especially when dealing with political matters. Another criticism is that the volume could use more maps. There are just seven maps included (the advertised maps of the end papers are missing) and those are all of whole theaters of war except for one small, not very detailed, map of the battlefield of Austerlitz. There are just 27 illustrations spread throughout the text, mainly portraits of personages mentioned -nine of which are of Napoleon's marshals. On the whole, these pictures don't add much to the book. Some minor errors have crept into the books, some of which could be editing errors. Another shortcoming of the book is that the index is only partially analytical. The prose is straightforward, factual and unadorned. It lacks the élan that the subject lends itself to and there are no literary flourishes or vivid descriptions of battles. I get no feeling of an "old soldier" writing of another old soldier as I do when reading Elting's books. Asprey deals with the battle of Marengo, for example, in a scant five pages.

Asprey has taken a fresh, if somewhat superficial, look at Napoleon's life. The book is factual and informative and can be recommended especially to those new to Napoleon and his life. It would make a fine companion to Vincent Cronin's Napoleon Bonaparte which, while laudatory, does give a much better picture of the non-military side of Napoleon's life. I look forward to the second volume.

This is a beautifully written, excellently researched book on Napoleon Bonaparte's rise to power, from the perspective of his military leadership. Although a great book, packed with military campaign detail, I was looking for more of a Biography of Napoleon's life. I suppose you can argue that his battles were his life, but I wanted more his life, and less battle detail! I still give this five great stars, it deserves it, but let you know that if you are looking for a standard biography and not a military history, this one isn't it. Well done, nonetheless.