A detailed, balanced and often fascinating account of the life of one of the twentieth century's most successful and lesser known military commanders. It is written by a British Brigadier (that's a one-star general in the US).

What makes this work different is that it doesn't pull punches in terms of 'political correctness'. It might therefore upset the odd Frenchman, the occasional American (or even some Japanese readers). Those that might have pre-conceived or ill-informed notions as to the role of their respective nations in the various wars in Vietnam during Giap's years as a commander.

It should be required reading at Army Staff Colleges, such as Leavenworth (if it isn't already) and France's Ecole Militaire at St.Cyr, where it probably is not, although it seems that there is a french translation.

In all, a thought provoking title, and well worth a read by those interested in the subject from whatever angle.

MacDonald, a Britisher, had easier access to the Vietnamese than an American or French writer would, as the Vietnamese judged he would be less biased in his approach. Their faith was rewarded; in a book which draws much on personal interviews with Vo Nguyen Giap and other veterans of the Vietnamese war, MacDonald has given us a clear, balanced, interesting portrait of one of the major military figures of the 20th Century.

In a career spanning three decades, having only the resources of a small third-world country (though with powerful international friends), Vo Nguyen Giap managed to bring the armies of two major Western powers to their knees. MacDonald tells us the military and some of the political story of this remarkable leader.

What is missing is the personal side. Except for a little information surrounding his first wife's death and his second marriage, the book is silent on Giap's private life. It would be fascinating to know more of this man as a person, but apparently Giap was unwilling to discuss personal matters with MacDonald. Perhaps this is just Vietnamese reticence, but there is no real insight into the man himself.

The political Giap is only a little more fully drawn. The blank spots here are a function of Vietnamese and Communist ways of thinking. Giap was a member of a collective leadership which took the collective part very seriously; no policy or initiative is attributed to an individual, only to the complete Politburo. A few hints of personal positions, a vague suggestion of a possible difference of opinion, and the screen of the collective solid front descends again.

Though primarily a biography of Giap, the book is also a history of the series of armed struggles in Indochina beginning in the late 1930s. The Japanese invasion, the French war (which MacDonald calls the Indochina war), and finally the war with the U. S. are all described tersely but clearly. It is refreshing and revealing to read an account which is designed neither to justify nor excoriate the U. S., but instead is a sober report on the facts.

Especially as the U. S. and Vietnam approach normal relations and as U. S. investment and interest in Vietnam increase, this is a useful and valuable book.

Then Major Peters produced an interesting work on the counterdrug effort, an effort that the US still remains commited to throughout Latin America. It is evident that when you sort through the fictional relationships established in the book, the complexity of providing these nations support from multiple levels of the US Gov. This is a task too large for any single agency or individual. What Mr Peters fails to paint is the total INABILITY of the US military ever taking an active part in any counterdrug effort, restrictions driven by US Law. The US Govt assists in many ways, but the problem remains that drugs have NOT been recognbized for the WMD they represent to America. In the end, US power and capabilities often appear handcuffed by a multiple groups of drug dealers made up of a mix of wise businessmen, political and military associates, and thugs, otherwise known as terrorist organizations.

This book is Ralph Peters' best work, period! War in 2020 got me bogged down in technical doodads and gadgets, not so with this offering. This book even examines the tense relationship between the military and how the press spins its coverage. ( Over dinner in one instance). It does so without EVER slowing down its pace, and you'll want to read it again like me. As a matter of fact you may read it thrice...now where is my copy....? Geron L- a reader

This ambitious book covers the insignia of the Commandos, SAS, OSS, Rangers, Allied airborne units, various private armies and other 'special forces' of the WWII era. This is accomplished through many illustrations of rare insignia and of personnel wearing them, and through text sketching the history of the units and their insignia. As tends to be the case when one addresses a broad topic, the quality and depth of coverage is uneven. I noted several errors and the inclusion of a few insignia of questionable authenticity in sections where I have expertise. Whether this trend continues throughout the book, I cannot say. (I would expect that it does not, as those sections I do not feel qualified to judge are ones where I would expect the author, who is British, and his sources to be on firmer ground.) My overall sense is that with a little more research and greater care editing for accuracy, the text of this book could have been raised to the level of the illustrations, producing a truly outstanding reference. Even then, this book would fall short of being all-inclusive, leaving to other authors the opportunity to expand the coverage and address missing topics. Nevertheless, this is a reference that collectors with an interest in the topic that is the title of the book will wish to add to their libraries. (As an aside, those who find the subject of this book to be of interest are encouraged to seek a copy of Len Whittaker's now out-of-print "Some Talk of Private Armies," a book of substantially narrower focus than the one reviewed here, but one that speaks, in the opinion of this reviewer, with greater authority.)

I find this a really rather interesting book which covers the subject well. The maps and illustrations are good. On the negative side I would like to point out a few comments made by Al Nofi on the subject of amphibious warfare - After searching the index only a single reference to General John Lejeune can be found. There is no reference to the walkie talkie or bazooka in the index. - I do not feel these are serious flaws, and I think the book rather good.

David Fletcher, of Britain's Tank Musem, has written a useful, if limited, history of British cruiser tanks in the 1941-43 period. Despite the book's title, the content is split about evenly between two competing designs, the Crusader and the Covenanter. While the Crusader was Britain's main battle tank in the Western Desert battles against Rommel's Afrika Korps, the Covenanter stayed behind in Britain (its cooling system was woefully inadequate). After the Sherman tank became available in large numbers, Crusaders were rebuilt as antiaircraft vehicles and gun tractors, while the Covenanters were scrapped. Aimed mainly at the model builder, this title has all the strengths and weaknesses inherent in Osprey's military booklets. The color drawings of operational vehicles reproducing their camouflage and unit markings are quite useful, but the book's 48 pages are very limiting, particularly since it covers two distinct vehicles. Osprey favors text over photos, and most pictures are small and murky, so you might also want to track down "Tanks in Camera," Mr. Fletcher's hardbound photo essay on the desert war. Thomas Jentz has also done a photo book on the early desert war.

This book was intended to argue against Friedman's monetary description of the Great Depression. However, it is hard to say that Temin responded to Friedman's main contention properly. For, while Friedman maintained that the Depression could have been alleviated had there been some appropriate actions of the Fed (namely, policies related to monetary expansion), Temin's response was composed of two parts which kill each other's clarity; namely, (A) there was no monetary constraint before September 1931: however, (B) we cannot say whether or not macroeconomic policies which were not used then could have been effective if they were actually used. At the same time, Temin's logic which made him say (A) above is based upon a coarse (and probably wrong) interpretation of Friedman's another article, ''Money and Business Cycles''. Nonetheless, I have to be fair to add that this book is one of good materials to examine Friedman's position from various points of views.

The Asian Meltdown of 97/98 has yielded complicated results for Indonesia. Economic implosion spawned anti-Chinese rioting and the downfall of Suharto.

In its wake we have seen serious efforts by the country's political elite to develop viable and legitimate institutions, but political instability and executive incompetence has impaired the psot-Suharto transition. The military has attempted to play a background role, yet it is still vastly influential in civilian politics; the eruptions in Aceh and Borneo, as well as inter-religious and ethnic strife, will make the military more central to the stability of the country as a whole.

This RAND report starts with two generalized scenarios for Indonesia's possible future: 1) Successful transition; 2) Centrifugal disintegration.

Right off the bat, the study correctly identifies the implications for longterm US policymaking: the stability of the Southeast Asian region will directly impact the extension of China, and consequently impact the meaning of US-China relations. Thus, Indonesia's future not only has vital implications for a huge, disparate country with lots of resources and a huge population, but also implications for geopolitical relations among two great power for years to come.

The study gives a brief historical sketch of the political (mis)rule of Wahid, et al; a study of individual separatist movements; possible futures for Indonesia and the consequences for the future of the region as a whole. A brief section on militant separatist movements in Thailand and the Philippines is also included; which is very intelligent since ethnic and religious identities transcend national borders.

The book ends with the implication for US policy, and the necessity for US-Indonesian military relations. This is somewhat inadequate, both for the two-dimensionality of the political recommendations, and RAND's institutional habit of considering Air Force concerns first, and the concerns for defense policy as tertiary to this. The involvement of US Army special forces in the country -and the political implications of that- as well as the extreme importance of the US Navy as the Great Balancer in Asian geopolitics, is not treated.

Thus study's background work is typical RAND: incisive, concise, and useful. Their recomendations are typically rote and two-dimensional as well.

Steve Zaloga is an expert on Soviet Armored Fighting Vehicles. This is a well written study of the history of Soviet Heavy tanks. I particularly enjoyed reading and seeing the prototype tanks that never made it into production. There are many line drawings and text to help clarify some of the misconceptions of Soviet tank manufacture. I only wish that the cut away drawing were not cut in half by the pages. Can't have everything, but this is a very good primer, I definately recommend adding this to your collection.

Fun science projects for kids with simple instructions. Areas covered include motion, forces, electricity, and magnetism. While the purchaser has to hunt around for a few items, a lot of good ones are already included -- magnets, pulley wheels and more.

This is a fascinating look at papal elections. Hebblewaithe regales us with wonderful historical and behind-the-scenes details which alone make the book worthwhile. His descriptions of the likely candidates, though likely to be outdated when the actual event arrives, are informative. Hebblewaithe's own agenda tends to permeate the book; he seems intent to replace the "intricate and highly politicized process" with an intriccate and highly politicized process of his own, to ensure the election of what he hopes will be a more "liberal" Pope. Fortunately, this partisanship doesn't spoil an otherwise engaging work.