This is a very complete book about the Gulf War. The author splits the book into two parts. The first part follows the political process leading up to the air and ground war and the second part of the book covers the battle. What is interesting with this book is that, as the author is from the UK, he tends to take a more worldview on his writing. He does not just focus solely on the U.S. and Bush, but also covers the UK and EU positions. This book is a nice complement to the book The Commanders by Woodward because of the focus of the Freedman book on the politics outside the US and the Woodward books focus on the U.S. side.

The coverage of the air and ground war is good but by no means the full story. Given the space in the book dedicated to it, the author can only give you an overview. Don't get me wrong, this overview is well down and informative. The details he brings out from his contacts in the British military are a nice complement to the vast number of U.S. centered books on the market. Overall if you are looking at a more complete understanding of the conflict this is a good book to have in your library.