Most historical wargamers have a great love of history and, by direct association of books on history. I would like to encourage readers of the Digest to send in reviews of good books you have read; I will start the ball rolling with four books from my recent readings:

Histories of History...

Pickett's Charge in History & Memory, Carol Reardon, The University of North Carolina Press, 1997, ISBN 0-8078-2379-1

History in Three Keys: The Boxers as Event, Experience, and Myth, Paul A. Cohen, Columbia University Press, 1997, ISBN 0-231-10650-5

There has been a great deal of discussion, if not just plain uproar in the hobby over the past few yeas about historical fact and historical opinion and how it is or should be used in wargaming design. If you are interested in this area of discussion, you will find these two works to be an enjoyable read. While each provides a brief overview of the event in what might be called a - "classical history" format, the real focus of each work is the history of the history of the event in question.

Reardon's work is a very readable description of the evolution of the history of Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg, and by the time you are finished, you may find yourself describing the book as the history of the hijacking by Pickett's Virginians of the story of Longstreet's assault at Gettysburg! She not only provides a fascinating description of how various individuals and groups attempted to mold the events of July 3rd, 1863 to meet their own peculiar needs, but also an interesting view of how the nation started to put itself back together again following the Civil War through the commemoration of Gettysburg and its heroes by participants from both sides.

Cohen's account of the Boxer Rebillion is a bit more scholarly both in temns of style and organization, but without sacrificing readability for the general audience. Since my knowledge of the Boxer Rebellion consisted mainly of the odd paragraph or footnote from books dealing with other subjects and many viewings of 55 Days at Peking, Cohen's overview of the causes and flow of the Rebellion were very informative. He then also describes the Rebellion as it was experienced by the people who were actually caught up in it and also how the Chinese people have continuously remolded the myth of the Rebellion to help support the ever changing evolution of modern China.

Theory and Practice...

The Art of Maneuver, Robert Leonhard, Presidio Press, 1991, ISBN 0-89141-532-7

Fighting by Minutes; Time and the Art of War, Robert R. Leonhard, Praeger, 1994. ISBN 0-275-94736-X

Undoubtedly because of my engineering background, I love theory. I enjoy reading theory about wargame and about the military art. Robert Leonhard is an army officer, a theorist on the military art, and a good writer; a combination that puts him high on my list! If you are not into the theory and philosophy of how wargames are designed or into 20th Century warfare, these books are probably not for yoo. But, if either or both of those are of interest to you, these are good reading.

Leonhard's purpose in both books is to analyze and promote improvements in US military doctrine that he feels are important. As a gamer reading these books you will get a good insight into the history of our current doctrine and more than a few ideas of how you can improve your gaming technique! The Art of Maneuver describes the competition between the attrition school and the maneuver school to win the soul of US Army doctrine. As Piquet gamers you will find this discussion of great interest if you view the attrition school as the traditional method of gaming and the maneuver school as the Piquet school.

Fighting by Minutes is a much theoretical work that sets forth to describe and define how time impacts warfare and can be used by the commander to his advantage, or misused to his ruin. This is not a history book it might be described as more of a philosophy book in many ways. But it is the best description I have read of the impact of time on military operations and the job of the commander. If you are into game design I would recommend it highly.