Book Reviews & Books of Interest

Wooden Ship: The Art, History, ^and Revival of Wooden Boat­building

% Peter H. Spectre and David Larkin. “°ston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, ¹⁹91. 272 pp. Photos. $45.00 ($40.50).

Reviewed by Melbourne Smith

Here is a book to enjoy. The full-color Photography reproduced in Wooden Ship ^ls some of the best to be found. These Photographs are more than just good ex­posures and compositions; they are en­hanced and used in many different ways by book designer David Larkin to cre­ate an elegant format for a “coffee table book.”

Wooden Ship is ⁿ°t an encyclopedia °f the art, history, or J^vival of wooden boatbuilding. Rather,

't brings to the fore- ^r°nt the incredible oauty to be found in *he construction of a ₁^e,^w selected vessels.

his is done through ^the deft use of actual instruction details ^and scale models to illustrate the com­P exity and intricate assembly of both ^arge and small craft. The photographs do it dwell on the common or usual that is be found in everyday vessels from the Phst. The wear and tear or peeling paint ypically found in working craft is not the °"im °f these authors, lik '™°^<>^^en Ship zeros in on the fumiture- k ^e d^eta>ls of new construction for the ann ^°^SS'^^e examples of the shipwrights’ modelmakers’ abilities. Only the ^hest examples of the present-day skills ^e °^Und on these pages. And, except for the '^^erences 'ⁿ scale, the model and ch- ^rSa* ^S^'P ^{are as one}> ^anc* inter- „j ^an8eable. The book designer’s tech- _t0 ^Ue °f ^masking and silhouetting pho- fornrf^^{18 e}*^uc'^ates the elaborate Rations to be found in a rediscovery ^ot historic ships.

2oq ^{Ut not onl}y the eye is pleased. Over With ^COl°^{r p}h^otog^raphs are augmented _enii £^aPtions and text that are helpful and dersr ^,en’ⁿ® ^{t0 som}eone wanting to un- Pete ^{ttle necess}ary disciplines. Author ^r Spectre contributes greatly to the book because he is versed in the practice of wooden boatbuilding. His words are not wasted on flowery descriptions that usually embarrass a sailor or shipwright. Rather, he chooses phrases that pleasantly describe the diverse examples of con­struction details and interesting points from history. A few well-chosen quota­tions are strewn among the pages.

The work will promote an apprecia­tion of why modelmakers and ship­builders become captivated in their work. It will also serve well the present revival in the reconstruction of historical sail­ing vessels. The replica of the Susan Constant (1605), recently built by Allen Rawl in Jamestown, Vir­ginia, is featured in superb detail, and the Batavia (1627) and the Amsterdam (1748) are also noted in the splen­did photographs. While a multitude of details can only be supposed in a re­construction, much of the finishes with modem methods that reproduce so well in camera surely surpass the older tech­niques and limited paint colors that are known to have been present in the orig­inal ships.

Criticisms of the book are few. Un­fortunately, credits or locations for the models are not provided except for their photo source. In a reference to the Mary Rose that sank in 1545, she is dubbed, “the pride of the Royal Navy,” although the English fleet was not known as such in those days. The authors claim the Con­stitution won several battles against larger British ships, but history tells us that she was the larger ship and delivered the heavier broadside.

A description of the New England schooner L. A. Dunton states that, “her fishermen jigged for cod,” but the pre­dominant fishing method in use was the tub-trawl or long-line. A caption about Chesapeake log canoes claims that they are now used “strictly for racing,” but Fred Hecklinger, a knowledgeable Bay historian, points out that a few others still sail without the extravagant racing rig, and some of the hulls are still in use after being converted to power.

The authors submit that the hulls of vessels designed for dredging have a shal­low draft because of the oyster beds, but the real reason is that Chesapeake har­bors are no deeper than the morning dew. Oddly, the bugeye Edna Lockwood is misidentified as the skipjack Rosie Parks. And twice the reader is reminded that the modern rusty-red bottom paint gets its color from copper, whereas a paint ex­pert tells me that the distinctive color

CO.. 1991); REPRINTED BY PERMISSION OF THE PUBLISHER

A mid-17th-century Dutch yacht, elaborately decorated with carvings and giltwork (above left), and the turn-of-the-century motor launch Aida, providing stylish comfort for her guests (above), are but two stirring examples of “a certain undefinable essence that is inherently present in a wooden ship.”

comes from the added ferrous oxide.

Those few lapses may be overlooked, however. Wooden Ship is one of those

books that I would suggest you write your name in, in ink, before leaving it on your coffee table.

The Pacific Campaign World War II: The U.S.-Japanese Naval War, 1941-1945

Dan van der Vat. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1991. 401 pp. Ind. Maps. Photos. $30.00 ($27.00).

Reviewed by Vice Admiral William P. Mack, U.S. Navy (Retired)

Dan van der Vat has succeeded in condensing thousands of engagements and hundreds of military and political decisions into a readable history of both the Pacific campaign of World War II and the events that preceded the war. He has the advantage over previous authors in that many documents that he draws upon have recently been declassified. The book is skillfully written, well or­ganized, and carefully researched. The Pacific Campaign World War II contains a few technical errors, however: a tan- noy is British, not American English, for loud speaker; TBS does not mean Talk Between Ships, but is the U.S. Navy’s technical designation for that particular transmitter-receiver; U.S. destroyers did not have the ability to reload torpedoes, although the Japanese did. Some words such as “hiving” and “spatchcock” will confuse a U.S. reader, but other than these minor problems, the writing flows smoothly. Those who like the occasional quotation from observers will be pleased. Those who dislike them will be happy that they appear infrequently.

Van der Vat traces the path of the war through two approaches to Japan: New Guinea and the Central Pacific. He calls the U.S. high command to account for its failure to make decisions as to which route to follow, who should command, and which areas should have been by­passed. He feels, as do others, that Tarawa, the Palaus, the Admiralties, and other subcampaigns (including the clear­ing of Northern Luzon of the Japanese by General Douglas MacArthur) were all unnecessary and resulted in the needless death of thousands.

The author also describes both the U.S.

and Japanese perspectives of the Pearl Harbor incident but does not take sides It is evident, however, that he has a low opinion of Admiral William Stark’s per­formance of duty and feels that Admiral Husband Kimmel was not given suffi­cient credit for his activities after Pearl Harbor.

The one figure of history who suffers most in the author’s eyes is General MacArthur. Van der Vat acknowledges that MacArthur was personally coura­geous before the enemy in World War I, but almost every act of his in World War II is criticized. Van der Vat censures President Roosevelt for allowing the Philippine government to appoint MacArthur to head its military. He then shifts to the flagrantly unacceptable be­havior of MacArthur on 8 December when, upon being notified of the attack on Pearl Harbor, he apparently froze, refusing to see his subordinate comman­ders. As a result, General Brereton’s Army Air Force was destroyed on the ground at Clark and other fields. MacArthur compounded this initial tragedy by over-confidently positioning almost all of the Filipino forces’ ammu­nition and food on the plain of Lingayen, which the Japanese captured easily, forc­ing the Allies into submission at Bataan and Corregidor. Van der Vat rightly asks why MacArthur was awarded a Distin­guished Service Medal for this miserable performance while Admiral Kimmel and General Walter Short were summarily re­moved from command.

Likewise, generals Arthur Percival, Si^f Thomas Blarney, and George Marshall' together with Admiral Ernest King and Vice Admiral Richmond Turner, all re­ceive well-researched—and probably well-deserved—salvos.

In summary, the book can be read wid¹ interest by both historians and military buffs as well as those just looking for^a good story.

Admiral Mack served aboard destroyers in sever³ major engagements in World War II, including af' phibious landings in the Pacific. He is the recipi^el11 of the 1981 Alfred Thayer Mahan prize for literal excellence presented by the Navy League.

Sea-Launched Cruise Missiles ^and U.S. Security

H. Arnett. New York: Praeger,

PP- Bib. Gloss. Ind. Notes.

W5.00 ($40.50).

Reviewed by Captain Roger W. Barnett, ^ ^Navy (Retired)

The competition that characterized §' ^llary relations between the United ^^tes₍ ^ancl the Soviet Union after World _as^ar ^ has frequently been referred to vid^ ^{3rms race}- That arms race pro- Prod ^t0nS ^^r'^sl ^^or thousands of mills Mo ^UC'ⁿ? recipes for its termination. _Wg ^St activists assumed that weapons [L ^r.^e problem; only a few recognized Chu f,⁰''¹'⁰®^{5 was} to blame. Winston rateT*" r*’ ^a*^t^^lou8h not alone, had accu- fore h‘^a8ⁿ°sed the malady years be- how ^{6 WaS more} eloquent than others, Sciem^Ver’ ^3nC* ^{us w}'th these pre-

Com ^Words’ delivered to the House of

Possihi'.'^{nS ln l934:                 11 is the} greatest

With ^{C mista}Re to mix up disarmament Win ,T^eace- When you have peace you ^{111 have} disarmament.”

^r°rredin_Ss/J_u|y 1993

Today, no arms race bedevils those who fervently wish for peace. In fact, the velocity of reductions in weapon arse­nals—those already effected and those promised—far exceeds the pace of any historical arms race. The process has emerged so quickly that it has outstripped the ability of even the most witty pundits to attach a clever name to it. When the subject is disarming rather than accu­mulating arms, however, it seems obvi­ous that the cause cannot be found in the weapons themselves. In the case of re­ductions. more observers recognize that the cause, once again, is politics.

Sea-Launched Cruise Missiles and U.S. Security stands captive both to the 45-year arms race and to the pell-mell rush to disarm over the past year. It col­lates in one place much of the imperfect wisdom of the arms control lobby—col­lected folklore about weapons, strategy, disarmament negotiations, and threat per­ceptions—that has masqueraded as com­mon knowledge for decades. Thus, the book’s general themes fail to surprise:

► The Soviet Union has had legitimate

cause to amass a huge arsenal of weapons because it has been encircled and threat­ened by adversaries.

• Arms control will help assuage Soviet fears and reduce the risk of war.
• The United States cannot improve its security by insisting on maintaining cruise missiles in its arsenal, for they benefit the Soviet Union more than the United States, and countermeasures are easy and inex­pensive to implement.
• Nuclear sea-launched cruise missiles (SLCMs) are not useful in deterring So­viet nuclear attacks on fleet units, nor would they provide a coupling link to U.S. strategic forces in the event of a fu­ture conventional war on the continent.
• The deployments of nuclear-powered attack submarines should be limited by arms control.
• Land-attack SLCMs would make lit­tle contribution to the waging of major wars against regional powers.

Yet, the dispatch with which conven­tional and nuclear arms reductions, both unilateral and negotiated, have taken place over the past year has rendered the book anachronistic.

The central arguments of Arnett’s Sea- Launched Cruise Missiles and U.S. Se­curity stem from a conviction that such weapons have little or no value, and on balance may even be harmful to U.S. se­curity. This message has been steamrolled by events. Both the United States and Russia have pledged to remove all tacti­cal nuclear weapons from their ships, in­cluding nuclear versions of cruise mis­siles. This reflects an apparent assessment on the part of both sides that the geostrategic environment permits such unilateral moves, that no complex mech­anisms for verification will be necessary to validate compliance, and that national security will not be jeopardized by these actions. They might be right.

Still, the world holds its breath and hopes, because if the political climate should change abruptly, all bets are off. Observers of the fascinating struggle in the Soviet Union in August 1991 were accorded only a sampling of what a po­litical explosion there might look like. The fuel for a major conflagration within the now-independent parts of the former Soviet Union has been gathered and primed. Unfamiliar forces are loose, and their direction and ultimate outcomes are uncertain. What appears to be a safe, sta­ble situation could change literally over night to a newly threatening—indeed, a terrifying—one. Should that happen, Ar­nett would counsel against providing U.S. ships or submarines with cruise missiles. Thus, although the process is political in its essence, the advice offered

101

pretends to be outside the realm of pol­itics. This can be evaluated only as a classic example of unreconstructed tech­nocratic faith.

Even if the book’s central arguments were not moot, it adds only marginally to the existing literature on the subject. Its arguments are unbalanced; its asser­tions are breathtaking (for example, it claims that most of the active-duty Navy has been and remains hostile to both the conventionally armed and the nuclear- tipped cruise missile); and its military judgments are deficient. Sea-Launched Cruise Missiles and U.S. Security suc­ceeds only in registering its author’s views on what might have been a spir­ited debate in a very different world.

Captain Barnett is Vice President at the National In­stitute for Public Policy and has taught in the Na­tional Security Studies Program at Georgetown Uni­versity’s graduate school since 1981.

In the Field: The Language of the Vietnam War

Linda Reinberg. New York: Facts on File, 1991. 273 pp. Bib. Chron. $22.95 ($20.65).

Words of the Vietnam War

Gregory R. Clark. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1990. 600 pp. $45.00 ($40.50).

Reviewed by Lieutenant Commander Thomas J. Cutler, U.S. Navy (Retired)

Dear Jack,

The full bull came in from Disneyland East on a slick this afternoon. Our but­ter-bar went di-di-mau over to the BN head shed to get the skinny. Top says we 're due for some hump time, so we ’d better sky on over to Dogpatch for a last round of jack-in-the-black and Ba-Muoi- Ba. If we do get sent back to the bush, I hope that dinky-dow trung-si doesn ’t give me point or drag because I’m now offi­cially a two-digit midget and sure don't need to meet up with Victor Charles when I’m this short. Can’t wait to book for the world and leave the land of toe-poppers and Commander Orange. On Deros-day I will climb on that freedom-bird most ricky-ticky and go back to CONUS where the round-eyes are something other than Donut Dollies and Dixie Cups.

Bill

Those who can understand this letter have either served in country Vietnam or have purchased one or both of two new books that unlock the secrets of that strange argot once spoken by G.I.s in

Vietnam. With Words of the Vietnam War by Gregory R. Clark, or In the Field: The Language of the Vietnam War by Linda Reinberg, one could translate the above letter as:

Dear Jack,

The colonel flew in from Military As­sistance Command Vietnam headquarters in Saigon on a UH-1D Iroquois heli­copter this afternoon. Our second lieu­tenant hurried over to battalion head­quarters for a briefing. The company first sergeant says that we are due for some combat patrols, so we had better leave the base and go over to the nearby clus­ter of Vietnamese bars for a last round of Jack Daniels whiskey and Vietnamese beer. If we do go back out on combat op­erations, I hope that crazy buck sergeant doesn’t assign me to walk as the first or last man of the patrol because I now have less than one hundred days left on my tour of duty in Vietnam and would prefer not to make contact with enemy guerrilla troops when I have so little time left. I am most eager to go back to Amer­ica and leave the land ofM-14 anti-per­sonnel mines and malaria pills. On my last day I will board that airplane as soon as I can and return to the United States where the women are not all Red Cross workers or nurses.

Bill

Like most professions, the military ser­vices have always spoken their own pe­culiar version of the English language. This special jargon arises as a means of abbreviated and efficient communica­tions, specially tailored to the unique requirements of the profession. But it also serves as a form of member identifica­tion, similar in nature to the secret hand­shake once practiced by fraternities: if one speaks and understands the special cant of the organization, one is an ac­cepted member. This practice is ampli­fied in wartime when camaraderie is en­hanced; when the unique circumstances of the war and its theater of operations cause the specialized jargon of the troops to become more and more developed These special vocabularies are often hu­morous (though sardonic might be a more accurate description), frequently lewd, sometimes full of pathos, and col­lectively, reflect the times, attitudes’, and nature of the particular war itself.

To further complicate the would-be in­terpreter’s challenge, there are usually sub-vocabularies within the overall lan­guage of a given war. As John Del Vec- chio writes in his foreword to Dr. Rein- berg’s book: “grunts and gunbunnies doorgunners and LRPs, have vocabular­ies different from each other, and very different from those spoken by REMFs.”

Both of these books offer extensive glossaries of terms unique to the Viet­nam War and serve the needs of the would-be interpreter well. Dr. Reinberg is a psychologist who specializes in post­traumatic stress disorders, which brought her into frequent contact with Vietnam veterans. She found that the veterans “used a lot of expressions that I didn’t know. I became fascinated.” She began compiling these terms, and the result is this collection of nearly 5,000 acronyms, nicknames, technical terms, and slang.

Mr. Clark is a veteran of the war, hav­ing served in 1969 as a sergeant with the Military Assistance Command along the Cambodian border west of Saigon, train­ing South Vietnamese troops in the use of unattended ground sensors. His 10,000-term collection is extensively cross-referenced and includes slang, jar­gon, abbreviations, acronyms, nomen­clature, nicknames, pseudonyms, slogans, specs, euphemisms, double-talk, chants, and names and places.

The chief difference between the two works is size, Clark’s having roughly twice as many entries as Reinberg’s. This may be significant to a serious researcher, but for most readers, Reinberg’s book is more than adequate. A less significant difference is that Reinberg’s book in­cludes a bibliography, a chronology, two maps, and appropriate accent marks on Vietnamese words, while Clark’s book has none of these. The substantial dif­ference in price may, for the more bud­get-conscious reader, make Reinberg’s book more appealing.

There are other, minor variations as well. For example, the Smitty Harris Tap Code—used by U.S. prisoners of war—' is defined in both books, but Reinberg’s is more difficult to locate because she lists it under the heading “Smitty Harris Tap Code,” which requires the user to know its formal name in order to find it, whereas Clark includes it under th® more generic “Tap Code,” which enables the user to find it more expediently. Rein' berg, however, actually includes the code itself, which is more useful than Clark’s mere definition.

Overall, each book is excellent and will serve as an efficient vehicle into the complex world of the Vietnam veteran and his war. No one using either or both of these books will be disappointed.

Commander Cutler served in Vietnam from Jan^u' ary to December 1972 as a naval advisor to Sou^ Vietnamese forces. He is the author of Brown Wotef< Black Berets ( Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Pre^sS* 1988) and writes the Books of Interest feature both Proceedings and Naval History.

Books of Interest

By Lieutenant Commander Thomas J. Cutler, U.S. Navy (Retired)

l"¹’" M. Collins. Riverside, NJ: Brassey’s (US), b 305 pp. Append. Figs. Gloss. Ind. Maps. Notes. $30.00 ($27.00).

^AeS'^s: Guided Missile Cruiser

tennis M. Bailey. Osceola, WI: Motorbooks international, 1991. 96 pp. Append. Gloss. Ind. ttiotos. $9.95 ($8.95) paper.

The incredible technology of the Aegis cruis­^e'^s is explained in layman’s terms in this read­* photo essay. Included are the background, ^evelopment, current employment, and antic- tpated future of these impressive ships.

America's Small Wars: Lessons for the future

,ⁿ hght of many experts believing that “low- ¹'density conflict” will be the challenge of the ⁿ®^af future, this study—written at the request the U.S. Congress—is particularly relevant. ⁰¹ 'ns emphasizes evaluation rather than _s ^ere history, and each of his 60 informative ummaries outlines congressional action taken ⁿ assesses the outcome of those actions.

desert Storm Sea War

Arnold Meisner. Osceola, WI: Motorbooks ^er^nati°^na| 199 j 130 pp Append. Ind. Maps. ^Pho'°s. $12.95 ($11.65) paper

A hundred photographs (nearly all in color) sid ^an '^rdormat'^ve narrative capture the naval d_e ® °f 'he recent war with Iraq. Carriers, bat- and *^PS’ ^Aeg'^s cruisers, Tomahawk missiles, asn ^arnPh'hious forces are among the many Pects of U.S. naval power depicted. Eminent _an . ^nder’ 'he amphibious feint that was such is _<j™*^,0rtant P^art °' the overall U.S. strategy, list m^{CUSSed some} detail, and appendixes ^e many units who participated.

Adv^^a* ^Arms Trade: Commerce in W_e ^ance<f Military Technology and capons

TechnT °^f *^{he United S,ates}’ °^{fflce of}

Gove_r° °^{gy Assess}ment. Washington, DC: U Append"¹?' ^Printing °^fflce- '991. 190 pp. ($8 ! n ^lgs' ^Gloss- Notes. Photos. Tables, i '1°) paper.

'hrelq ^current atmosphere of Third W U.S p ^{and gl}°hal economic pressures and 1 "^{n8reSS mus}' consider two impo

the prorf^{COnneCted issues: (1) contro} the h„ ^{1 era}'i^on of modem weapons; am

Anns r ? ^t*^1e defense industry. Gi gardjno^n P^rovides useful informatioi ^vant _dL ® challenges by evaluating and abr ,i ^current practices both at h sidered °³ n ^Among *h^e important issues is the growing practice of intemati

arms sales conducted outside of government agreements.

Men in Green Faces

Gene Wentz and B. Abell Jurus. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1992. 288 pp. $19.95 ($17.95).

This novel, co-authored by a highly decorated Navy SEAL and an award-winning freelance writer, takes place during the Vietnam War and is described by Kirkus Reviews as “all war, no politics.” Protagonist Seaman Gene Michaels is a member of a SEAL Combat In­telligence Platoon who must call upon all of his innate and acquired strengths and skills when his best friend is killed in battle.

Missile Defense in the 21st Century: Protection Against Limited Threats: Including Lessons from the Gulf War

Keith B. Payne. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1991. 170 pp. Figs. Ind. Notes. Tables. $13.85 ($12.45) paper.

Focusing on “the recent redirection of the Strategic Defense Initiative towards a capa­bility for global protection against limited strikes,” this book explores “whether missile defense against limited threats is a reason­able response to the changing security envi­ronment, and whether the decision to forego missile defense,” as formalized in the recent ABM Treaty, is sound.

The Noriega Years: U.S.-Panamanian Relations, 1981-1990

Margaret E. Scranton. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1991. 256 pp. Bib. Ind. Notes. $30.00 ($27.00).

During the 1980s, U.S. interests in Panama varied as the decade progressed. From work­ing with the military regime in the earlier years to carrying out its destruction at the end, the evolving story is recounted and evaluated in this well-researched and thought-provoking book.

Operation Just Cause: The Storming of Panama

Thomas Donnelly, Margaret Roth, and Caleb Baker. New York: Lexington Books, 1991. 475 pp. Append. Figs. Gloss. Ind. Maps. Notes.

Photos. $24.95 ($22.45).

U.S. military intervention in Panama in De­cember 1989 is effectively recounted by these eyewitness authors who describe the air as­sault on Tinajitas, the Battle of Colon, the capture of the Rio Hato airfield, and the even­tual surrender of General Manuel Noriega.

They also examine Panama in the aftermath of the intervention and proffer thoughts on the eventual success or failure of democracy there.

Pursuit of the Seawolf

William P. Mack. Baltimore, MD: Nautical & Aviation Publishing, 1991. 420 pp $22 95 ($20.65).

Most Proceedings readers do not have to be told that among his many notable achieve­ments, Admiral Mack served aboard destroy­ers in several major engagements during World War II. This experience and his proven writ­ing ability (demonstrated in his previous novel, South to Java, released in 1987 by the same publisher) combine once again to produce a historical novel that centers on the Operation Torch invasion of North Africa. The USS O’Leary moves from the Pacific, where she had fought surface engagements with the Japanese, to the Atlantic, where she now faces the perils of a new and formidable class of German U-boat. Library Journal writes “sea fiction enthusiasts demanding technical detail with historical accuracy will read this novel in hopes of future Mack novels.”

Satellite Surveillance

Harold Hough. Port Townsend, WA: Loompanics Unlimited, 1991. 200 pp. Append. Bib. Figs. Ind Photos. $21.95 ($19.75) paper.

The technology and employment of satellite surveillance is described in a manner that

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will appeal to both engineers and laypeople. Actual satellite photos are included, and the chapters address such matters as “Fundamen­tals of Satellite Imaging,” “Satellite Mapping,” and “Avoiding Satellite Detection.”

53 Storm Center: The USS Vincennes and Iran Air Flight 655

Will and Sharon Rogers, with Gene Gregston. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1992. 288 pp. Ind. Maps. Photos. $21.95 ($17.56).

For the first time in print, the captain of the U.S. Navy cruiser that shot down a com­mercial Iranian airliner in 1988 gives a full account of what happened. He details ship­board events that led up to the firing of the surface-to-air missiles and describes the Navy’s investigation of the incidents. On the homefront, his wife endured threatening phone calls, aggressive reporters, and a bomb attack on the family’s van. Storm Center pin­points the complexities and ambiguities of high-tech warfare and the stresses placed on military personnel who must react in­stantly to life-and-death situations while op­erating state-of-the-art electronic equipment. The Rogers’s is a dramatic story of two peo­ple determined to weather rough storms and carry on with their lives.

Triumph Without Victory: The Unreported History of the Persian Gulf War

Staff of U.S. News & World Report. New York: Random House, 1992. 495 pp. Append. Ind.

Maps. $25.00 ($22.50).

Contending that the outcome of the recent Gulf War was a “hollow victory,” and that much of the war was “largely waged in secret,” this stimulating and controversial work contests many of the official claims of the U.S. gov­ernment regarding the war. For example, con­trary to the administration’s denials that Sad­dam Hussein had been personally targeted, the authors claim that on the final night of the war, two U.S. Air Force planes dropped specially designed weapons on an Iraqi command bunker in a deliberate attempt to kill the Iraqi leader. Other interesting aspects include the use of a computer virus to disable Iraq’s air defense system, and revised casualty figures for both sides.

Other Titles of Interest

The American Military Ethic: A Meditation

James H. Toner. New York: Praeger, 1992. 266 pp. Ind. Notes. $49.95 ($44.95).

Disasters: Your Right to Survive

Martin E. Silverstein, M.D. McLean, VA: Brassey’s (US), Inc., 1992. 256 pp. Bib. Ind. Maps. Tables. $26.00 ($23.40).

From Pilot to Poet

Bert McDowell, Jr. Manhattan, KS: Sunflower University Press, 1991. 144 pp. $14.95 ($13.45) paper.

The Reagan Wars: A Constitutional Perspective on War Powers and the Presidency

David Locke Hall. Boulder, CO: Westvievv Press, 1991. 279 pp. Ind. Maps. Notes. $46.95 ($42.25).

The Soviet Conduct of Tactical Maneuver: Spearhead of the Offensive

David M. Glantz. London: Frank Cass, 1992. 263 pp. Illus. Ind. Maps. Notes. Tables. $37.50 ($33.75) hardcover; $25.00 ($22.50) paper.

Women Pilots of World War II

Jean Hascall Cole. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1992. 165 pp. Gloss. Illus. Ind. Photos. $19.95 ($17.95).