Phil Sheridan lacks a worthy biography, but this is the best around. It focuses on the post-Civil War period but ( I think)
could have done more to save the General's reputation from that of a 'bigot and Indian hater'.

For example, the unfair ascription of the so-called proverb 'The only good Indian is a dead Indian' is not challenged, I wonder when it ever will be. From my own limited research, I have found the first recorded public use of this phrase by a Montana politician in 1868, one year before Sheridan is supposed to have uttered similar words. Further, Sheridan's brother Mike also traces the phrase to Montana, saying 'some fool' ascribed the words to Sheridan. Finally, we only have the hearsay evidence
of a single witness (ie someone told someone else who wrote it down), written down 20 years later, that Sheridan used the words at all.

There is of course the larger accusation, that whatever Sheridan said, this is how he felt. Hutton effectively refutes that charge, I only wish he had come out and roundly stated it somewhere in the book. Sheridan shared the objectives of his contemporary humanitarian critics - he wanted Indians to settle down on reservations and adopt white ways, or just live of the bounty of the government. Where he differed was how he treated 'hostiles' or recalcritant Indians. Sheridan believed in waging war on the Indians just as he had made war in the Shenandoah Valley - devastate the enemy's resources, limit his power to make war by depriving him of supplies, with the added extra of rounding up families to be taken to where they white soldiers could watch them.

In essence, Sheridan was given a dirty job, and did in the only way he knew. But he had no especial hate for the Indians - he was not a Himmler figure, as some have made him out. He was fair to Indians who kept the peace. For example, he adjudicated in a dispute between Indians and cattlemen who had leased reservation land. Despite his personal feeling about development, he came down firmly on the Indian side, and thanks to him, the cattlemen were given 3 months to remove their herds, which humbered hundreds of thousands head of cattle.

Sheridan also sponsored early efforts to study Indian lore and customs, and was instrumental in preserving Yellowstone National Park for the nation.

In short this man was not a saint. He had glaring defects - for example, he aggressively defended subordinates even when they were in the wrong, he looked after cronies in the Army and outside. But he was totally uncorrupt in a corrupt age (his personal fortune was quite small at the end of his days, even though he could undoubtedly had many opportunities to enrich himself illicitly). Also, one feels that someone who said "If I owned Hell and Texas, I'd live in Hell and rent out Texas" can't be all bad! Right or wrong, he had a certain spirit, that Little Phil!

It is time we had books that celebrate the great HEROES of freedom like Grant Sherman Sheridan ect instead of the cowadly likes of Quantrill and his gutless backshooting ilk who would have run from a Blue Coat drummer boy or a Federal Army nurse!
It is about time that Americans honored those who stood and fought for freedom and WON. This book is a fine start.

Prof Hutton does an excellent job with the story of "Little Phil" Sheridan and the Army on the post-Civil War plains. This is well written and brings the reader along like a good historical novel -- Hutton is a good historian and a great writer.

(...)It is good to see the publisher is now publishing works of finer
detail than the early volumes in this series which tried to cover the
whole of the US Army and others for the whole period of WW II and
other eras. The subject matter is just too vast for such broad
treatment and the tactical and environmental conditions so different
from theatre to theatre.
As to the content I have perused several
works written and or illustrated by Mike Chappell and have found him
to be a sound researcher and a meticulous illustrator. I make it a
point to buy everything he does covering my period of interest, the
Twentieth Century. I have bought almost all of the available works in
his personally published series British Soldier in the Twentieth
Century. I have yet to find a mistake in his work.
As to the
author I have not read much of his work but the table of contents is
thorough and covers a mass of material gleaned from obscure official
histories that never were widely circulated especially the material on
the ETO jacket and other overseas procurements. The major problem with
the soldier's clothing and equipment in the Northern European winter
was the totally inadequate footwear of a flimsy nature compared to the
ammunition boots worn by the British and Canadians and the lack of
warm clothing which due to the amazing progress of the campaign across
France led to overconfidence that the war would be over before the
fall and such clothing would not be needed. So it was not shipped in
mid summer but was left in the US or in Britain. Also the shipping
priorities were such in France that ammunition and fuel for the
vehicles were first.
Though the bombing campaign against the
French railways stalled the majority of the German army in the south
of France from arriving before Normandy and reinforcing the garrison
troops, it was successful to such a degree that the railroads were
useless to the Allies and great quantities of fuel had to be used up
in the famed Red Ball Express trucking system instead of using it for
the attacking forces. Thus the famed Third Army stalled before the
German frontier for lack of fuel. And you cannot drive tracked
vehicles all the way across France without wearing them out.
All
of these factors combined with the worst winter weather in years to
stall the Allies short of clearing the sea approaches to Antwerp where
they could have had access to a major port and the Allied offensive in
the West bogged down until the spring.

This work is a splendid example of the new emphasis of the publisher on producing comprehensive works in a handy cheap format compared with the earlier broad brush treatments which covered too much in too little detail.
The new emphasis is on sets covering various national armed forces in as much detail as is available, consistent with the current purpose of the works in the series, which have evolved from an original emphasis on serving the military miniature maker market into works intended to enlighten the general reader in enough detail to satisfy the merely curious and to point the way to further reading.
Most of us, including myself, have little need for, or the patience to read, voluminous studies, often in foreign languages, covering many eras and nations. My main interest is in the US forces, their allies and their enemies in the twentieth century.
That said, these works should be purchased as presented, in sets within the series. Since they are produced as a set, the volumes cover only relevent parts of the general history and the clothing and individual equipment is covered as it appears in each period. The French Army, US Army, British Army, and Italian Army series all have three volumes, covering the major theatres and time periods of the war. The German set has five.
See my review of part one for more commentary.
If you want an introduction to the fascinating variety of clothing and equipment of the forces covered, this set is for you.

(...)eventhough it's men at arm series which tend to give us only
intrinsic information about particular armed forces, it was
beautifully illustrated and well searched book of this size very
concise and informative.
the biggest reason I purchase this book
is Mr.Chappell's acurate illustration and it is worth of paying
if
you alredy had variuos informations about U.S. Army in WW II,
this
book wouldn't help you any more, yet. if you were a bigginer and a
modeler . it would be a gem

Wow!Dog days of the West was a great book.I couldn't put it down. It was so exiting, the suspense of finding out who actualy owned The Oakdale Chronicle was fascinating.

I think this Wishbone book is better than others of its kind because the story plot is better written and the book is longer. It introduces more younger kids, now that Joe is going into 9th grade (same as myself). My favorite part in this book was when Wishbone found the deed with the winning hand! Another part I enjoyed was the story where Wishbone is Long Bill back into the Wild West Days. It has inspired me so much that I'm going to read books by O. Henry, because this Wishbone book was based on one of his books. I really enjoyed this book, and I'm in 8th grade!

This is a good book for kids who want to know the story of the book it is based on, Heart of the West. It also has another story worked into it, switching back and forth every two or three chapters. It is also funny, and has a small dictionary of unfamiliar words and phrases with their meanings. I highly recommened this book.

What would the 20th century in America look like without the contributions of its African-American citizens? Henry Gates and Cornel West take up that very question in chronicling how African-Americans shaped the culture of the United States. The authors profile African-Americans from each decade of the 20th century and show how their accomplishments have impacted upon the country.

Overall the authors have produced a good book for coffee table discussions and stimulating conversations about African American contributions. Its weakness lies in the fact that most of these persons are already known, it leans heavily towards those in the field of entertainment and many of the essays are unclear as to what the person contributed beyond being the first Black in their field.

Another element missing is the lack of information regarding what was going on in the person's particular decade that enabled them to achieve against the odds. The African American Century falls short in giving you a full comprehensive look at what Blacks achieved throughout the decades. You are left with individual biographical portraits of those who "made it". I recommend the book as a referance guide for those unaquainted with the persons profiled. Perhaps the authors will come up with another volume that is more comprehensive of the achievements of African Americans in fields other than entertainment and sports.

I found "The African American Century" to be informative and at times entertaining. Most of the time, real proud. I am planning on giving out copies as prizes for our African American History program at church. However, at times, I found some of the information and dates to be inaccurate. Despite that, it is a great book to give to schools and children, and it is highly recommended by me.

Even though this book gives brief biographical sketches of significant African Americans, I still give it five stars for the following reasons:

1) It is a very neatly organized resource for notable African-Americans, that can give quick and accurate information about these people and their times. I like that each page clearly shows the decade during which that person made major accomplishments. For each person profiled, there is at least one photo, and a provocative, "boxed" quote.

2) This kind of book is desperately needed by most of America's schoolteachers. Many are not well-informed about the achievements of African-Americans, and here they get a quick, clear, and stimulating profile of many who made major contributions. Further, Professors Gates and West provide a bibliography that leads the reader to at least one significant in-depth work about each person profiled, so those who want to know more are "pointed in the right direction."

3) While there are some sports and entertainment figures, I don't think there is any bias in that direction. With personages like Muhammad Ali, Jackie Robinson, and Hank Aaron, you MUST include them in a work like this because they really transcended sports, and became larger-than-life symbols of social issues.

4) Professors Cornel West and Henry Gates Jr. write in a very clear manner, and don't candy-coat their subject manner. They point out the contradictions in many of these peoples' lives, mention their social critics, and demonstrate that meaningful lives are seldom neat and tidy ones. To professors Gates and West, I say "Thanks, fellas, for not coming across like the stereotypical "stuffy Harvard scholars!"

Finally, if you know of a school teacher who is well-intended about teaching more about African American history, but maybe can benefit from an attractively presented and easily accessible resource book, think of this as a thoughtful gift to that person. Next time February (Black History Month) rolls around, they will have lots of suggestions for class projects and pupil reports.

This book was alright, but not what I had expected from seeing the other reviews. I found it to be somewhat shallow and lacking in detail. Mostly just repetitions of old newspaper and/or historical society articles. Not that much research done by the author. It is more a thumbnail sketch of a few of the events which reportedly took place in Tallahassee over the years.

Henry Cabbage writes lovingly about Tallahassee, from deSoto's first Christmas a few blocks east of downtown, to Ted Bundy's murderous sorority row attacks. In between, Cabbage brings to life little known happening as the 1851 ring competitions (lancing rings from horse), and provides interesting twists to more well known historical figures. For example, anyone that has visited Tallahassee's Museum of History and Natural Science knows of Prince Murat, but who knew of his attempt to make a recipe of "turkey buzzards"? Cabbage doesn't write just of the "big events" and famous. Followers of the Seminole-Gator football rivalry will be surprised by "the warm relationship that existed then (1927) between the Florida State College of Women (FSU) and the men's college (known today as the University of Florida). " One minor complaint is that no story was included between 1865 and 1917, so I hope for a follow up work.

People who dismiss history as dry and dull should pick up this delightful volume and journey into a city's colorful past, meeting along the way a cast of characters which would do credit to a great novelist or Hollywood script writer. Tales is a series of vinettes ranging from an account of the robust and dangerous game of football played by the indigenous Indians to southern gentleman blazing away at each other with pistols under the oak outside town over some imagined insult. Add to that a ship wreck, the terror of a yellow fever epidemic, battles against invading Yankee armies, and a ghost story or two. There are several reasons why this volume will appeal to any reader, not just hardcore history buffs. The narrative is skillfully constructed and reflects the writer's keen eye for the absurd, the interesting, and the paradoxes of life. This book was designed and crafted for the enjoyment of readers, not as some ponderous dissertation for the terminally scholarly. After almost every page, the reader is tempted to shake his head and exclaim, "I never knew that." The chapters are delicious morsels perfect for enjoyment on a lunch break or while waiting for a plane or doctor's appointment. In short, to borrow from a by-gone television commercial, "Try It! You'll Like It!"

This book is an excellent explanation of the case for Brushy Bill Roberts as Billy the Kid. The authors do a good job of seperating fact from fiction and using all available information to dig to the bottom of Brushy Bill's identity. Before I traveled to Hico, Texas and purchased this book, I didn't beleive the claim of Brushy Bill. Even though I am still not %100 convinced about Brushy Bill, I believe the evidence is heavily on his side. It seems to me that the authors and supporters of Brushy Bill as Billy The Kid have been tormented and shunned by the supporters of Pat Garrett and the New Mexico travel industry. Through all of this torment, the supporters of Brushy Bill have stood firm. You should decide who is on the right side of this battle for yourself. You dont even have to go to Hico, Texas to get it like I did.

BRUSHY BILL DID NOT SEEK ATTENTION TO HIS REAL IDENITY, HE TRIED TO HIDE IT ALL HIS LIFE, ONCE BILL MORRISON CONFRONTED HIM HE ACKNOWLEDGED WHO HE WAS...HE KNEW TO MUCH ABOUT LINCOLN COUNTY WAR TO HAVE NOT BEEN THERE. HIS GENEALOGY HAS ESTABLISHED ALL OF THE SURNAMES HE USED AND ANYBODY THAT HAS READ THIS BOOK AND THE 4 BOOKS WRITTEN ABOUT HIM WOULD HAVE TO CONCLUDE THAT HE WAS THE KID. I HAVE READ ALL 5 BOOKS THAT I KNOW OF THAT DEAL WITH BRUSHY BILL AND AFTER READING THE FIRST 4, THAN READING THE RETURN OF THE OUTLAW BILLY THE KID I'M MORE CONVINCED THAN EVER OF WHO HE WAS. TRADITIONAL HISTORY SHOULD BE RE-WRITTEN. POLITICS & MONEY DEMAND THAT THE TRUTH NOT BE KNOWN. LINCOLN NEW MEXICO'S BIGGEST MONEY MAKER IS THE BILLY THE KID LEGEND AND, IF THE TRUTH WERE KNOWN THEY WOULD NO LONGER HAVE THE TOURIST FLOCKING TO LINCOLN. W.C. JAMESON & FREDERIC BEAN DID AN EXCELLENT JOB OF PICKING UP WHERE THR OTHER AUTHORS LEFT OFF.

At last, some solid science has been applied to the controversy regarding who was killed by Pat Garrett. William Henry "Bushy Bill" Roberts was Billy the Kid, as shown by the computer comparisons of faces conducted by the University of Texas, making them a statistical "match". This is a noteworthy continuation of the work by Harvard Ph.D. Charles L. Sonnichsen who wrote Alias Billy the Kid in 1955, showing Roberts could quite possibly be the Kid. Now computer science has answered the long-debated question. Garrett shot the wrong man. All these years people have relied on the doubtful word of Ash Upson and his fanciful tale of a Robin Hood-type figure, with no facts to support any of his claims regarding the Kid. This is a compelling book filled with facts and statistically valid comparisons of the two images. Only the die-hards now believe the Kid is buried at Fort Sumner. He lies in a pauper's grave in Hamilton County, Texas, having died peacefully of a heart attack in 1950. Garrett, and his ghost writer Upson, were both frauds, and modern science has given us undeniable proof. A great read for those with an open mind!!

I was fortunate enough to be born and grow up in Piedmont, WV. I was also in the same class as author Henry Louis (we called him "Skip") Gates. I was the 1968 Piedmont High Class Salutatorian and he was the Valdectorian.

Despite what Mr. Gates projects in his book, Piedmont was a "wonderful" place to grow up. I adamantly dispute his connotation of any racism in this town. In 1968, the citizens of Piedmont, although a very small town of 2,500 were very progressive. The fact that the foundation he received in Piedmont growing up which propelled him to the Director of Afro-American studies at Harvard should speak something of the childhood rearing and education he received in Piedmont.

I am not aware of any restaurant or establishment that denied service to anyone of color. I personally entered many establishments with him and never once saw him denied service of any kind.

Mr. Gates grossly misrepresents what was truly a great town to grow up in. I was very offended with his use of my name in the book without obtaining my permission and most importantly he greatly distorts a very close and loving relationship that I had with my Italian father. I felt that he mentioned several personal things about me and my family of which he had NO direct knowledge.

I was disturbed to see that Mr. Gates put such a negative spin on a great place, just to "sell" a book for personal gain and recognition of his college position at Harvard.

Buy it if you want - but buyer beware - this is a college professor who is writing because he is expected to publish or perish. Unfortunately Piedmont, WV happened to be in his sights.

John M. DiPilato (Piedmont High School Class of 1968)

Henry Gates is a boy thrown into a life that known would choose but fights to

make it a life that his children would choose. Colored People by Henry Louis

Gates Jr. is a fascinating book that brings you into a life of a boy struggling to be

accepted and understood by the people around him. He is growing up in a racist time and

environment that throws new obstacles at him each day.

What a story. Henry Gates went through a world of racism, hate, and violence. He

was part of a movement that would change a small town forever. The outside world was

fighting for freedom while Piedmont was doing nothing but sitting by and watching. He

saw this and tried to bring it to his town, change his town, make a difference.

I found the writing of the story to be very poor. The memories seemed to be

unconnected; they did not flow well together. The writing never captured me as a reader

but left me with an emptiness when I put the book down. His memories were exciting and

interesting but the writing left you bored and the book seemed unappealing.

This book left me with a feeling of "thank god its over" but a week later I started

to appreciate it more. I thought over each memory and I found a sense of understanding

inside of me. I understood what he was trying to say and how amazing his life was. I

understood why he went into "White only" restaurants, and why he fought so hard for his

cause. I now feel an urge to read the book again and try to understand more of what he

was saying.

Henry Gates Jr. led a life of hardship and pain. He overcame what life through at

him and excelled to become a better person. He struggled through the book to find

acceptance from his father and brother and his peers. He showed you the reader a world

that is unknown to many of us and let you see it first hand.

Personally, I had a heckuva time keeping track of all the various Gates and Coleman relatives, so I gave up after the first forty pages or so and just appreciated this memoir for what it is -- the story of a community that no longer exists but will be alive for generations through Gates' evocation of it for his children and, vicariously, the readers of this book. As a white age contemporary of Gates, I was impressed by the evenhandedness with which he tells the story of the often grudging desegregation of the late 50s and 60s in West Virginia, and surprised by the extent of black/white interaction -- sometimes positive for Gates -- in this small town, even in the days of segregation. That is obviously a function of small town life, but it struck me as more than in many parts of US life today, leading to the question I wondered about throughout this book -- whether 46 years after Brown vs. Board of Education we are more, not less, isolated by color in our social interactions in the United States. If so, that's a tragedy for all of us.

I was hoping to get some interesting insight into Doc Holliday by one of his ancestors and this book does provide information on his early life that you don't usually find. However, there was a little too much information about his family - parents, uncles, aunts - that I personally did not care about. There is also a section of Doc Holliday's genealogy that I felt could have been left out, although actually there was a tidbit of information there that was useful to me. I didn't feel that there was much detail brought in to certain events, but then, there are other books that provide practically second by second coverage of the Tombstone gunfight. His death was not written in detail and his famous last words were left out of the book. That said, I would still recommend this book to someone wanting to know more about the life of Doc Holliday away from Tombstone. It is also an easy, to the point read.

The first time I watched the movie Tombstone, I was heartbroken that it chose to focus on the Earp family, rather than Doc Holliday who seemed SO much more interesting! After the movie, I realized that I knew very little about this man other than his nickname. I started to search for factual information about "Doc" Holliday, and not much is available.

This is a FANTASTIC book. Forget your romantic notions about the gunslinger, and be prepared to meet the real man who is much more fascinating and WORTHY OF ADMIRATION than you would have believed previously.

The greatest weakness of this book is also it's greatest strength since the book is authored by a Holliday cousin. She has access to a wealth of information and photos that the publisher claims has never been available before its 1999 printing of this book. However, when it comes to certain scandals, you can easily see how she chooses to represent history in a favorable light. Probably best read in conjunction with other first hand but less biased sources.

Definately worth owning. A very easy read. Would make a great gift to interest a teenager in reading or in history.

THE TOMBSTONE EPITAPH, July 1998 -- Review by C. F. Eckhardt, Book Bag Editor.

From the publication of this book on, any work about or mentioning John Henry Holliday, DDS, which does not list this book as a source must be considered essentially the product of imagination.

Previous serious attempts at biography of Doc Holliday had their good points, but they lacked one thing: No one had any real information on the background of the young Georgia dentist who became Doc Holliday.

The Holliday Family, for over a century, refused to even discuss their notorious relative with anyone outside the family circle. As a result, the background information in those books was based upon rumor, gossip, and a few matters of public record, some of which was relatively accurate but much of which was pure moonshine.

At long last the Holliday's have broken the silence. Tanner writes, "Enough time has past so that there is no one left who feels either shame or guilt over the life ! of John Henry." Therefore, from the Holliday family Bibles, letters, unpublished family manuscripts, genealogical records, and the gathered memories of the family, she has given us the story of a shy, retiring, handicapped child whose life was turned upside down twice -- once by the War Between the States and Reconstruction, and again by the death of his beloved mother and his father's hasty remarriage to a woman only eight years the senior of his son -- who became the legend known across the American West as 'Doc Holliday.'

This is the single 'must have' book on the subject of Doc Holliday. Any of the other biographies are worth reading, but only if you read them in conjunction with DOC HOLLIDAY, A FAMILY PORTRAIT will you get the full picture of the man who became Doc Holliday.

This intriguing book succeeded in capturing my imagination, but wasn't the type of book I could really savor. Whitehead has reached far and wide, deconstructing a number of accounts to create a montage, or a stamp collection if you will, of John Henry Days. The premise was simple enough. A rat pack of free-lance writers covering the inaugural day celebration of the newest commemorative stamp issued by the post office. One black reporter stood out like a sore thumb, and we are reminded a little too much of this. A few other blacks were sprinkled into this tale set in a remote West Virginia town which still eats Wonder bread. Fortunately, Whitehead didn't stick to convenient racial stereotypes. Instead, he used this town to represent Middle America, which J had to navigate if he was going to come out with a story, and keep his "streak" alive.

The best scenes in my mind were those that played with the John Henry theme more closely. The others seemed to be flights of fancy. Inticing sometimes, but straying wide of the mark on other occasions. Whitehead seemed to have taken Ellison's "Invisible Man" from his underground chamber and brought him to light in a comtemporary setting. John Henry Days seemed like the perfect foil, but Whitehead didn't go very far beyond character sketches. This novel read like a reporter's notebook, a novel in progress, not a full length work of fiction. As such, it left me a little disappointed.

I never thought somebody could have made a book comparing/contrasting a junketeer journalist on the verge of spiritual extinction and a mythical, superhuman former-slave railroad builder "must-reading". I didn't even know what a junketeer was. Never thought much about the building of the railroads (feel a little guilty). And never heard anything about John Henry either. (Am I from a cave?) These subjects just never crossed my mind. But I love good novels, and I'm a hard person to please (a poet no less). After happening on Mr. Whitehead's interview on public radio, I thought it sounded interesting. And then he was on the cover of Poets and Writers. All that hype, and the prestigous awards. The New Literary Darling. I bought the book and it sat on my shelf whilst I read Franzen's "The Corrections". After reading that, my palette was sophisticated. I have not been able to find another novel quite as worth my time, as brilliant and sweeping and amazing. That is until John Henry Days. The prose is not just ostentatious (though he does command with a magic wand), it is succulent, it is mouthwatering. I literally slaver over paragraphs and sentences as I go. I cannot believe someone has such a command, such a god-given gift. But besides the delectability of it all (forgive me, but it is John-Henry strength), it is a story brilliantly weaved, expertly built, and simply GOOD. It speaks on many levels if you listen. Mark my words: Coleson Whitehead will win a Pullitzer (or National Book, or Nobel) Prize. This guy was born to write.

John Henry Days has received so much attention lately (loved by the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, as examples), so much so that I had to run right out and buy the hardcover. Does the novel live up to the hype. Yes, yes, definitely yes. There is so much to rave about in this novel. Whitehead writes like a dream. Each sentence is a work of art, and those sentences add up to a great story filled with uniquely believable characters, witty dialog and observations and an interesting story. J. Sutter is a journalist, a junketeer, taking up every invitation he receives to attend a free conference to cover whatever needs coverage. This time, it is John Henry Days, the celebration of a new postage stamp, in a West Virginia town where John Henry's legend is said to originate. The world and his job are beating J. down, just as John Henry's world and his job beat him down. But this time, it's not as obvious as grueling physical labor, instead it's the day to day grind of the junketeer's life. Whereas John Henry's world was obviously killing him, J.'s world is much more subtle. But J. has hope, whereas, we'll never know whether the legendary John Henry did. The novel juxtaposes tragedy with humor, bittersweet sadness with hopeful optimism. It embraces much of what it is to be American, as seen from J.'s perspective. All in all, a well told tale with much to recommend.

Topic: Single volume overview of W.W.I.

Main thesis: Mistakes. Hart's thesis puts me in mind of the wag's observations on chess: whomever makes the second to the last mistake wins the game.

Style: Hart writes with sardonic wit. Initially, I found it fun to read, but by book's end, p.476, it became a bit of a drag.

Bias: I believe Hart's book is fairly even-handed towards both the Allies and the Central Powers, although Hart frequently waxes in romanticisms, such as, moral and gallant.

But at times, Hart will suddenly and, in my opinion, wrongfully, blame the British citizenry. He seems more critical of the English populace than the enemy forces who killed, wounded and maimed millions of their sons, fathers and brothers.

For example: [on the heavy British losses at Ypres 1917] "And for this lack of moral strength the public must share the blame, for they had already shown themselves too easily swayed by clamor against political interference with the generals, and too prone to believe that the politician is invariably wrong on such occasions. The civilian public,indeed, is apt to trust soldiers too little in peace, and sometimes too much in war." [p 367]

Another example: [on four years of trench warfare] "Thus the ultimate responsibility falls on the British people. Even the military conservatism which obstructed improvements and reorganization during the war may be charged to lack of public concern with the training and selection of officers in peace. In the light of 1914-18 the whole people bear the stigma of infanticide." [p 129] WOW!

These bits of sophistry hold no water. The generals and their staffs are, supposedly, the experts at war, not the public. In a democracy, the politicians and the generals bear the burden of the public trust. In peacetime, the public relies on the politicians and weapons manufacturers, and in war, the generals. Yet, in both examples, the public is responsible what's best for the British military, not their professional military overseers. It seems that Captain Hart preferred to blame the people instead of his own comrades-in-arms. This is a case of the proverbial tail wagging the dog.

Recommendation: Hart's Real War is a good place to start only for a basic overview of the First World War. But the book is seventy years old and Hart's lambasting the British people is questionable at best.

B. Liddell Hart is one of the history (not only military) thinkers whose fertile works will be fully appreciated only when time has passed on. As usually, human being reckon others merits too much time later. The whole Liddell Hart work it's an example. Had military staffs read him carefully before WWII, perhaps the output would has been otherwise, or at least different. So may be said about the further wars. "The Real War 1914-1918" is a veritable good analysis of the entanglement that led to war. But not only on military factors, as often happens. He included political, economical and even psycological considerations. Instead of a narrative reconstruction, his abarcative and reflexive study is a pretty good proof about what a writer can do if he possess knowledge, patience, and vocation to teach. As reader can verify by himself with "Real War" on his hands ("Strategy", "Germans Generals Talk" or the others Liddell Hart's books as well), with a such kind of master, every book becomes sadly too much short. Thus, among the books I have had opportunity to read about WWI, I deem "The Real War 1914-1918" simply the best one. You won't be disappointed by your choice.

I picked this book up somewhat on a whim. I was looking for a book that would give me good overview of WWI, filling in the details left out in the brief mentions found in our high school history books. And this after reading an abridged version of Winston Churchill's "The Great War". Captain Hart's account is not for someone looking for an "easy read". I don't know of any substaintial account of this war that could be written as an "easy read". Of course Captian Hart is writing with 20-20 hindsight, so he is able to see and give account of the miscalculations and errors. Would we have done any better then Foch and the other allied Generals under the times and circumstances? I have my doubts, but we are in the "now" and can learn from the tragic mistakes of the past. If ever war was "hell", it was so in the trenches of France. Somewhere in France near the Argonne Forest rests the mortal remains of Pvt. George Britton, my great-uncle, killed exactly 4 weeks before the Armistice. In Hart's account, I at least find some facts to help me understand what happened there, and come to grips somewhat with why my Uncle died at a young age, far from home and family. RIP