Fighting in Normandy The German Army form D-Day to Villers-Bocage Greenhill, 2001 £ 19.95, ISBN 1-85367-460-5, 256 pgs., hardback The sequel to Isby's Fighting the Invasion is ever bit as good as the original. Indeed, Isby's plunge into the archives could result in a plethora of fine Western Front books as told by the German officer corp. Like Fighting the Invasion, the book consists of transcripts of interviews, reports, and other de-briefings of German Army officers. It covers the week after D-Day (from June 7 to 13, 1944), where the increasingly outgunned and outnumbered German Army attempted to hold back the Allies. What makes this book great is the level of information--operational to tactical--presented in a dry, straightforward tone. From corp to battalion, the actions are retold by the Commanders in their own words and with their own thoughts as to why defense gave way or counterattacks failed. Indeed, the low-level opinions are more fascinating than high-level ones. Despite his top billing on the cover, Guderian takes up 10 pages of general information that most of us already know. But generals down to captains get the chance to explain what happened to their division to kampfgruppe. It is, in a word, fascinating. Take the Allied air supremacy. Here are wonderful examples of units under attack by medium bombers and fighter-bombers. Tiger battalion in the woods? Only half left after a tactical air strike. Regiment of 21st Pz Division? Again, half left operational from bombing--though damage was slight and ultimately repairable, the troops suffered and you can't repair the dead. Tank repair and divisional maintenance are discussed in bits and pieces throughout. Flak strategies, night marches, and Luftwaffe queries repeat themselves in many accounts. You'll also get a glimmer of understanding naval gunfire support and how it affected more than just a coast. Also, the signaling traffic gets a say in the operation of German tactical doctrine and practice. It's all marvelous information. I'm guessing that all the info exists on microfiche or perhaps even in book form at a large public or university library. And certainly you'll read a passage and want to know more. But give Isby credit here for selecting and editing some of the best info from the archives. And for those without a major library, this is a great place to start. Feedback from Publisher: On the review of FIGHTING IN NORMANDY you comment that I'm guessing that all the info exists on microfiche or even perhaps in book form in a large public or university library. Not to our knowledge. The content of this book was obtained by researching in archives, and we printed in an edited form from the archive material itself. Patton: Operation Cobra and Beyond MBI, 1998, $19.95, ISBN 0-7603-0498-X, 160 pgs, trade paperback You can't find many books about Operation Cobra. Bits and pieces in other books, but Cobra books are rare. So, I was quite pleased to find this one, although I should point out that this book starts with the landings, shifts to Cobra, and then finishes with the Lorraine campaign and advance to the Rhine. Cobra takes from page 37-114, so it's the bulk of the book. This is a very well illustrated book with the bulk of the 198 black and white photos attributed to the Patton museum, Real War Photos, and the National Archives. Fortunately, these are mostly not ones I've seen before, and the captions are quite extensive. This text is brief, staying at divisional level descriptions, though occasionally delving into battalion areas. Green does a good job describing the effects of the one-hour saturation bombing prior to H-Hour. Two nits to pick: Layout and Maps. With so many photos and extensive captions, the text "jumps" too much, which interrupts the flow of the narrative. You'll read a half page, then the next will show a paragraph and the next offers up two paragraphs and so on. Meanwhile, captions hold extensive information that really should be blended into the text. As for the 10 maps included, they are, to be polite, inadequate. My knowledge of French geography is sparse, so a good map of the area would really help--especially if it includes some terrain. There's one map that's passable and holds the major cities of the area, but too often I'll read about this strongpoint of German resistance, or that important objective, and be baffled about where it is. Admittedly, these are US Army maps, but surely there are better maps available of the Normandy-Brittany area. Although it seems the WWII Western Front consisted of D-Day, the Battle of the Bulge, and "something in between," that "something" included Cobra. And Cobra included a sweeping US Blitzkrieg, sharp German counterattacks at Avranches and Mortain (Falais), and numerous river crossings and city attacks. This book offers a good operational summary of Cobra with enough photos of terrain, people, and vehicles to create a vivid portrait of the attack. Portraits of Combat: The WWII Art of James Dietz Friedman/Fairfax, 2001, $29.95 ($44.95 Canada), ISBN 1-58663-080-6, 160 pages, 12x11" hardback This coffee table book contains the wonderful artwork of James Dietz, an obviously talented artist who shifts between ground, air, and sea subjects with ease. The book contains 88 color illustrations and 43 black and white sketches or preliminary studies. Now Dietz is a very talented guy. And although I don't know much about art, I know what I like, and I like much of what I see. Indeed, while perusing the back of military history magazines, I see Dietz prints for sale at $150--the exact same image is inside this $30 book. So getting 88 of them is a bargain. Most are page-sized or slightly more, overlapping onto the next page. Mind you, I would prefer to see the entire image on one page because spilling over to another page puts the gutter about a third into the image. This ruins brilliance, and the art director/layout person should suffer a multitude of paper cuts for doing this. Ideally, coffee table books should be like calendars-one image fills one page. Intact. Unblemished by curvature into the binding. As inspirational and untouched as the day the artist completed the painting. Because every time my eye hits the valley of disconnecting perspective, I realize I'm looking at a book, not looking at a scene. Broze's prose is amiable enough, but let's face it, you're not buying the book for the text. I prefer the description to highlight the scene in the image, which most do not, or do so only in passing. Descriptions often focus on unit history, which is adequate, but the very best ones tell me about the scene. What is the scene from? Why is this vignette important? What made Dietz want to paint this action and not another? One notable description is Maximum Effort. Granted, this is two pages of background interspersed with multiple sketches and progressive color paintings. But this collaboration of Broze and Dietz is at its best here. The USAAF never looked so good. At the other end of the scale is The Last Hurrah, which I believe is the 2nd SS Panzer Division on the attack in mid-February 1943. Mostly, I just don't like the painting--the angles seem wrong, the tank mix seems odd, and I know nothing about what I'm looking at or what this action represents. However, don't let one clunker dissuade you from the book. So many others really pull you in: Dunkirk (two-page spread), Too Late to Save the Day (MG 262), Hurtgen Forest, 29th Let's Go (D-Day), and Rommel Takes Command are some of my favorites. I also lingered over many others too numerous to name, and indeed, went back to the book time and time again. Portraits of Combat is an excellent coffee table book and well worth a look. Auchinleck: The Lonely Soldier Cassell, 2001, $19.95, ISBN 0-304-35646-8, 288 pgs., trade paperback $29.95 Canadian, £ 14.99 As part of Cassell's Biography series (Hess, Donitz, Himmler, Wolfe, and Auchinleck), this reprint of a 1981 biography covers Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck, the "first British Commander to defeat in battle a German General" in WWII. At a time when Rommel achieved near-mythic status among the British officers, Auchinleck became commander-in-chief of North Africa and the Mideast. The Germans had Tobruk under siege, an uneasy stalemate existed at the Libyan-Egyptian border, and British morale was sinking lower and lower. His November 1941 riposte, Operation Crusader, swept the Germans from Cyrenaica and reached El Aghelia on January 6, 1942. Two weeks later, Rommel counterattacked and retook Cyrenaica, launched the Gazala battles, captured Tobruk and made his run east to a little town called El Alamein. Although "Monty" gets the lion's share of credit, it was Auchinleck who stopped Rommel at first Alamein. Auchinleck was sacked after Churchill became frustrated with the lack of offensive operations. Certainly, WWII North Africa forms a dramatic highlight of this soldier's career, but here is much more to his story than that. Warner traces his impoverished past from youth to posting in India. His efforts against hostile tribes in what is now Pakistan and Tibet receive ample attention, as does his WWI experience against the Ottoman Turks. In WWII, prior to North Africa, Auchinleck took over command of the Narvik (Norway) invasion and later India. After North Africa, he became Commander-in-Chief in India during the critical years of 1943 and 1944, when Japanese efforts intensified. And it was Auchinleck as the last British commander who gave the order (August 14, 1947) disbanding the Army of India. The post army years (age 63 when retired, but lived to age 96) were less than happy as Auchinleck settled in London and UK before his final home at Marrakech, Morocco. In Morocco, he was much happier than the UK as the climate suited him. Warner's deft touch comes off well, and the book read quickly. It is, of course, very favorable to its subject, especially in regard to North Africa. Still, the subject is often lumped together with all the other career catastrophes before "Monty." So it's good to read a book about a lesser known, or perhaps, less publicized, commander. And this is a pretty good read. At Hitler's Side: The Memoirs of Hitler's Luftwaffe Adjutant 1937-1945 Greenhill, 2001, 18.95 pounds, ISBN 1-85367-468-0, 256 pages hardback The real trick in reading memoirs is to judge the validity of honesty inherent in the work. Winners tend to exaggerate their own efforts and overlook failures while losers tend to deflect blame. Diaries, such as the Halder diaries, are inherently more honest than say, memoirs written in Spandau. And yet, even the most self-serving memoir contains bits and pieces of the whole picture, that when compared with all the other memoirs and the actual events, yield a greater understanding of the subject. Von Below's memoirs, released in 1980 as Als Hitlers Adjutant 1937-1945, ranges from incredibly interesting to utter rubbish. As Luftwaffe adjutant, I find his explanation and descriptions of the progress and decline of the German Air Force to be genuinely accurate in tone and fact. The sheer number of events, decisions, and reactions handled by Hitler will amaze you, and the facts and reports generated by others provide an inside look at HQ Central. For example, the JU-88 debate in 1937 exemplifies the facts side of history, and Mussolini's dealings provide the tone, which is most important in a book like this. There's one part when the world starts to unravel for Hitler. The Battle of Britain is not going well, and talks with Lavel of Vichy France and Franco of Spain about joining the German Alliance with Italy, Romania, and Hungary just fell through. A letter arrives from Mussolini to the effect of, "Good News. We just invaded Greece." Now the many pages before report on Hitler's efforts to secure the Balkans from turmoil as plans to invade the Soviet Union progressed. And in one fell swoop, Il Duce ruins everything. Strangely, Hitler, he of many tantrums in other books, is calm and quickly patches together an invasion of Greece and Yugoslavia. As for the rubbish part of the bargain, here's a fellow who universally idolized Hitler, thought Hitler's marathon after-dinner speeches were terrific, and knew the war was lost long before anyone else did. He had no knowledge of any mass murders, concentration camps, or final solutions. Hitler liked honest reports from his generals. Hitler hinted the war was lost in mid-July 1944, and then acknowledged the fact after the failed Ardennes offensive, but his iron will kept Germany fighting. The prose for all of the above is straightforward, if a tad dry. The events and impressions are related simply. Von Below's memoirs offer a ring of truth surrounded by some fuzzy dismissals of reality. He shifts blame here and there, emphasizes his clear thinking and sage advice to Hitler, and upholds the tradition of the officer corps. Parts of the book show what a memoir should do to examine events and enlighten us. Other parts embody the "hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil" plague of defeated leaders. Yet it does offer a glimpse, no matter how rose-tinted the glasses, of the internal workings and emotions of Fuhrer HQ, and especially the Luftwaffe. For that, At Hitler's Side is a valuable addition to any study of WWII leadership. The Moscow Option: An Alternative Second World War Greenhill, 2001, 16.95 pounds, ISBN 1-85367-463-X, 223 pgs., hardcover Originally published in 1979, this 2001 reprint "with revisions" tells the fictional tale of WWII if Hitler had been persuaded to allow Guderian and company to lead to Moscow rather than turn south into the Ukraine in 1941. And like all such alternative histories, the farther in the future you look, the more fantastic the improbabilities. Most of this book's problem is that it is 20 years out of date. It's pretty obvious the author's revisions have not accounted for the multitude of new info coming out of the former Soviet Union. He lists only four books with a post Cold War publication date: Why the Allies Won the War (1995), Hitler (1998/2000), Stalin (1997), and Russia's War (1998). Everything else is form the 1950s, 60s and 70s. And to a certain extent, it shouldn't matter--this is essentially fiction, not fact, with analysis of possibilities, not definites. It's just that with 10 years of new archive material coming out of the former USSR, which you can find summarized in lectures by Col. David Glantz and Charles Sharp here in MagWeb.com, it'd be nice to do more. The whole mess starts with Hitler in a plane crash. The coma takes him out for several months, and the panzers run wild. Winter supplies are delivered promptly, and 1942 roars across more of the USSR, capturing oilfields and heading into Persia. Somewhere in there Hitler gets better and starts screwing things up, but not too badly. On the Pacific Front, the Japanese switch codes and fake out the US, so that at Midway, four US carriers are sunk. Then they attack the USSR in 1942 and take Vladivostok, are stopped from doing anything else, and lose four carriers at the Panama Canal. Go figure. And that's where the book ends. Rommel's outside Jerusalem, Guderian is heading to Baghdad and Tehran, and the Germans are stalled east of Moscow. The Japanese hold Midway, Vladivastok, and a little more of the South Pacific. There are some random paragraphs hinting at atomic bombs on Stuttgart in 1945, the Army-SS Civil War and other events, but that's about it. It's almost as if there was going to be a sequel. The prose varies between inspired and insipid. Sometimes the analysis is spot-on. Other times, famous people float in to toss off a one-liner like some disjointed name-dropping game. Mostly, you just plod along trying to fish out the details from the dullness. Don't get me wrong about alternative histories. Sharp, focused examinations of "what ifs" can be exciting, challenging, and stimulating. In many respects, that's what we wargamers try to do on the tabletop by computer game, boardgame, or miniature game. The Moscow Option may have been in that category back at its initial release because we could only guess at the information. Now that we know more about numbers and strategy, the premise should alter and so should the conclusion. Jutland: The German Perspective Cassell, 2001, $9.95, ISBN: 0-304-35848-7, 350 pgs., trade paperback This reprint of a 1995 book brilliantly and exhaustively explains the battle of Jutland in 1916, as well as briefly summarizes other actions, like Dogger Bank. This virtually minute-by-minute, shell-by-shell account of the battle draws heavily on the official German Navy records, indeed, quoting them extensively through the text. And best of all are the marvelous multitude of maps plotting movements down to the individual destroyer. Also interspersed are waterline and overhead views of various ships with brief statistics on displacement, length, beam, and number of main guns. How many? Eighty-one, about half maps and half ship views. Now this is how a battle should be diagrammed. The text reads well and Tarrant does an outstanding job of piecing together a multi-element battle into a coherent narrative. I applaud the use of minutes (Central European time--remember, this is from the German perspective not the British Greenwich Mean Time perspective), and yards in describing events concerning 100 German and 151 British ships. Appendices list them, plus shells fires and hits taken casualties, and a 30-page summary of German wireless transmissions and signals. If you have even the slightest interest in Jutland, or if you'd like one book on the battle, Jutland: The German Perspective deserves a spot on your library shelf. It is an excellent reference book that's also a good read. No Picnic: Falklands War 1982 Cassell, 2001, $9.95, ISBN 0-304-35647-6, 173 pgs., trade paperback Written by Brigadier Julian Thompson, the commander of the 3 Commando Brigade, Royal Marines, No Picnic covers his brigade's actions during the invasion of the Falklands Islands. First published in 1985, re-issued in 1992, and now reprinted in 2001, it remains an important ground view of the brigade. Note, that I write, "brigade," for unless it directly affected the brigade, other activities are not described. Naval and air forces and their battles are hardly mentioned unless it affected 3 Commando Operations. Likewise, Argentinean dispositions and actions are mentioned in Thompson's sector, but not elsewhere. Thus, consider No Picnic to be a personal memoir, or more like a brigade after action report, than a history of the Falklands War. I suspect, though, that if you look in the bibliography of Falklands War histories, you'll find Thomson's book. It is a first class account of the landing and subsequent ground assault across the main island. Detailed descriptions of command friction, small unit actions, and tactical expectations abound in the fast moving narrative. A few points hover at the forefront: Training: The Royal Marines were top of the line troops with excellent equipment (except boots), highly motivated, and confident of victory. Weather: Winter on these islands is really miserable with damp, borderline freezing, conditions. Terrain: If you like soggy bogs intermixed with craggy rocks and uneven stony surfaces, the Falklands is a great place to visit. Fighting across it is another matter. Excellent discussions of night patrol tactics versus Argentinean troops with IR goggles flesh out the actual combat descriptions. Recon: Intelligence gathering via the "Mark One Eyeball" shows the value of knowing enemy dispositions when planning tactical attacks. Attack Adaptability: This is probably part of training. When things go wrong, or the enemy isn't where his is supposed to be, or officer and NCO casualties occur, changing plans and tactics is a big plus to the success of the operation. Thompson's prose marches on, if not with élan, then with competence. The descriptions are vivid enough with a soldier's eye for detail. It is, of course, very pro-British, but not necessarily anti-Argentinean--as if there's a grudging nod for the troops and NCOs, but not much for the Argentinean command staff. Indeed, in several sections Thompson wonders why particular tactical actions (counterattacks, patrolling, etc.) were not ordered. In all, No Picnic is an excellent first person account of modern tactics. For Falkland War buffs, it's a must-have book. Tito: The Story from Inside Phoenix Press, 2000, $19.95, ISBN 1-84212-047-6, 185 pgs., trade paperback Milovan Djilas was Tito's good buddy before WWII, a trusted comrade during the partisan attacks during the war, and ultimately the number two guy in power in Yugoslavia after the war. In 1954, he bolted from the Communist party but remained in Yugoslavia (sometimes in jail) and wrote books about market economics and other such Communist heresies. You'd think he'd be in a good position to write a Tito Biography. Nope. This disjointed, disorganized disaster of a bio offers precious little information about Tito, or what made him tick, or much of anything. Miserably written, often repetitive, and lacking even the most basic information about Yugoslavia, this "inside story" staggers all over the place like a drunken sailor--and is about as coherent as one, too. It's obvious Djilas idolizes his former boss, much like an innocent puppy continues to follow a master who kicks dogs. Yet he also tries to put distance between Tito's actions and his own. Post-war "re-education camp" at Goli Otok? Gee, the number two guy knows nothing about it. Hmmm. Sounds like a bunch of Nazi generals after WWII. This book was originally printed in 1981--one year after Tito's death. This pathetic little book has all the symptoms of a rush job. Save your $19.95 and ignore this alleged book. Use your money and time for far better works. The Ottoman Empire: The Classical Age 1300-1600 Phoenix Press, 2000, $19.95, ISBN 1-84212-442-0, 258 pgs., trade paperback This reprint of a 1973 work reads like a textbook, which should probably not be a surprise since Inalcik was a college professor. The prose, relatively uninspiring, conveys the information, although it may take some mental grit to plow through it. The information within provides a good general overview (call it Ottoman Empire 101) regarding cultural, administrative, and historical events. Part One: An Outline of Ottoman History is the best as it recaps important aspects of the expansion of the Empire. For those with a sparse knowledge of Ottoman history, this will fill you in nicely. The rest of the book begins a decline in interest which accelerates the farther you go: Part Two: The State, Part Three: Economic and Social Life, and Part Four: Religion and Culture. That is not to dismiss the info, only to say it ranges far from military and history. If you can find another book, it'll probably be better than this one. But if not, this will do. As a textbook, consider this a "C+" grade--not great, but not bad. Ryoma: Life of a Renaissance Samurai Ridgeback Press, 1999, $40, ISBN: 0-9667401-7-3, 614 pages, hardback The title word "Renaissance" refers to knowledge about many things, as in "Renaissance Man," not that Ryoma was a samurai in the Renaissance period. Indeed, the period covered represents the mid-19th century, especially the pivotal years in the 1860s. Sakamoto Ryoma, born November 15, 1835 into the samurai class, laid the foundations of modern Japan, helping transform the feudal system of 260 han (or provinces) ruled by daimyos (feudal lords) into a single nation ruled by the Emperor. His vision for a democratic two-house system of government may have been short-circuited by his assassination in 1867, but his efforts to topple the corrupt Shogun and his Bakufu ministry succeeded after his death. Hillsborough divides Ryoma's life into three stages: his early years as he travels to study fencing until he became a noted sword master; his days as a ronin outlaw drumming up support for his vision of government amidst the threat of Western colonization; and finally, the economic and military skirmishing that led to the Shogun's resignation. Ryoma is an odd duck in the samurai system, rejecting the caste structure in favor of a merit-based social and political system. He also has no lack of self-confidence, boosted no doubt by his sword skills that help him fend off assassins, and a clear vision of an independent and unified Japan. He steadfastly sticks to his vision despite jeers, official prosecution, and threats. Along the way, you learn the, ahem, eccentricities of Ryoma, including an obliviousness to attire, hygiene, and manners. Even his own wife can't stop him from public urination, and his outburst and straightforward talk often creates amusing situations. It's hard to imagine George Washington going to visit Thomas Jefferson, announcing himself to the butler, and then peeing on the rose bush next to the front door. Ryoma's quite a character. And Hillsborough's quite a storyteller. The book is a biography, but is written more like a novel. At times, especially in the beginning, it's hard to keep switching back and forth between straight bio information and novel-style conversations, but by book's end, you realize you've digested much more than facts and dates. With multiple han to cover and an enormous cast of characters, it's not easy, but give the author credit here. By the end of the book, the prose reads pretty well, in part because you've become accustomed to the method and in part due to a strong writing style. Ryoma is more than a biography. It's an examination of how a technologically backward nation can gather itself in the face of Western expansion and avoid colonization. It took a civil war to achieve that unity, but like the U.S. it emerged stronger from the contest. Japan can thank a far-sighted samurai for its independence, and we can thank Hillsborough for his far-reaching biography. Wars of National Liberation Cassell, 2001, $29.95, ISBN 0-304-35272-1, 224 pgs., hard cover The great strength of this book consists of the multitude of revolutionary movements covered since WWII. These meanderings over globe and 50 years are terse and contain scant information, but their brevity serves as a good introduction. Profusely illustrated with 70 color photos, 80 black and white photos, and 23 color maps, the eight main chapters cover: China, Korea, Southeast Asia, Algeria, Africa, Latin America, Israel, and Vietnam. The less you know, the more valuable the chapter. The chapters on China and Algeria proved most valuable to me and provided basic background on insurgency and counter insurgency operations. Chapters on Africa and Latin America were less useful, as their many insurgencies and guerilla wars receive only a few paragraphs and perhaps a big photo or map--far too little to even contemplate being more than an encyclopedic entry. Moran offers a straightforward and competent prose, and the book moves right along. The maps are generally informative and interesting. Oddly enough, for a 2001 book, there's precious little on the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, only a photo about Chechnya, and nothing about the breakup of Yugoslavia. For an author who teaches international and military history in the Dept. of National Security Affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School, the omission is especially noticeable. Wars of National Liberation makes for a nice coffee-table book, and indeed will inform you about a wide variety of movements in a short period of time. It may not be more than a brief background, but for most of us, I suspect that's all we need. Goshawk Squadron by Derek Robinson Cassell, 2001, $9.95, ISBN 0-304-35643-3, 224 pages trade paperback This reprint of a 1971 novel shows flashes of the genius that would appear 10 years later in War Story. Again, the slightly daft Squadron Commander, the loose Collection of numb war-weary pilots, and the lunacy of high command collide in a poignant novel of WWI flying circa 1918. Occasionally amusing and frequently ringing with the tone of hopelessness, Goshawk Squadron follows Major Stanley Wooley as he attempts to turn a gaggle of new pilots into flying death. He drills them in flying, firing, and tactics, and above all, relentlessly drums into them the cold fact that war meant killing not a contest between gentlemen. Robinson pursues this utter indifference to life and death with a passion for detail and a penchant for harrowing description: Callaghan's "bath," Findlayson's last air to air duel, and Lambert's balloon-busting raids come to mind. Although not as humorous as War Story, Goshawk Squadron reads just as well, though a bit grittier and darker in its anti-war message. Goshawk Squadron is another excellent novel by Robinson. If you enjoy WWI air warfare, this novel will nicely complement War Story. War Story by Derek Robinson Cassell, 2001, $9.95, ISBN 0-304-35642-5, 344 pgs, trade paperback This reprint of the 1987 novel tickles the funnybone in its display of British wit, wisdom, and absurdity. Set amidst WWI in 1916, the novel follows Royal Flying Corps Lt. Oliver Paxton as he graduates from flying school and gets sent to the front in France. Right from the start, the gung-ho nature of young Paxton clashes with the sensibilities of veteran pilots and the slightly daft commanding officer. The informal nature of officer life during wartime jars Paxton's enthusiasm for spit and polish. He manages to make enemies at every turn, even, and perhaps especially, those who attempt to educate him. Slowly, terribly, and inevitably, Paxton changes as aerial warfare claims more of his squadron. He becomes grimmer, wackier, and deadlier as the air war changes from a gentlemanly game to murderous work. After being wounded and returned from the hospital during the Somme offensive, the cycle completes and he is now that disillusioned veteran who lambastes the new pilots. The aerial combat sequences are a minor quantity of the book, but certainly a qualitative display of Robinson's prose. You can't help but chuckle about some ground-based escapade. The juxtaposition of life with death make it all the funnier and absurd. War Story massages the glamour of WWI aerial warfare into a thoughtful reflection of the waste of war. The stress and fear of front-line combat plays off the fantasies and promises of rear area life and general's wishes. Eminently readable, brilliantly executed, and often exceptionally funny, War Story delivers that rare combination of action and pathos in a novel more about life than death. Back to MWAN #116 Table of Contents Back to MWAN List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2000 by Coalition Web, Inc. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com