By Christopher Miskimon

A Handful of Heroes: Rorke’s Drift Facts, Myths and Legends (Katie Stossel, Pen and Sword Books, South Yorkshire UK, 2022, 201 pp., maps, photographs, appendices, notes, index, $26.95, softcover).

More Precious than Peace: A New History of America in World War I (Justus D. Doenecke, University of Notre Dame Press, South Bend IN, 2022, 500 pp., maps, photographs, notes, bibliography, index, $35.00, hardcover)

Crecy: Battle of Five Kings (Michael Livingston, Osprey Books, Oxford UK, 2022, 303 pp., maps, photographs, appendices, notes, bibliography, index, $30.00, hardcover)

The Earth is All that’s Lasts: Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, and the Last Stand of the Great Sioux Nation (Mark Lee Gardner, Mariner Books, New York NY, 2022, 543 pp., maps, photographs, notes, bibliography, index, $28.99, hardcover)

Voices of the Army of the Potomac: Personal Reminiscences of Union Veterans (Vincent L. Burns, Casemate Books, Havertown PA, 2022, 359 pp., maps, photographs, notes, bibliography, index, $37.95, hardcover)

The Army of Alexander the Great (Stephen English, Pen and Sword Books, South Yorkshire UK, 2022, 164 pp., photographs, notes bibliography, index, $26.96, softcover)

Degrade and Destroy: The Inside Story of the War Against the Islamic State, from Barack Obama to Donald Trump (Michael R. Gordon, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York NY, 2022, 496 pp., maps, photographs, notes, bibliography, index, $30.00, hardcover)

Going Downtown: The U.S. Air Force Over Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, 1961-75 (Thomas McKelvey Cleaver, Osprey Books, Oxford UK, 2022, 352 pp., maps, photographs, notes, bibliography, index, $30.00, hardcover)

Tales from the Cold War: The U.S. Army in Germany 1960-1975 (Michael D. Mahler, University of North Georgia Press, 2021, 174 pp., $19.99, softcover)

Pirate Killers: The Royal Navy and the African Pirates (Graham A. Thomas, Pen and Sword Books, South Yorkshire UK, 2022, 200 pp., maps, photographs, appendices, notes, bibliography, index, $29.95, softcover)

Short Bursts

The Encyclopedia of Confederate Generals: The Definitive Guide to the 426 Leaders of the South’s War Effort (Samuel W. Mitcham, Jr., Regnery History, 2022, $49.99, hardcover) Although most works concentrate on the Confederacy’s most famous leaders, this extensive work encompasses both well-known and lesser-known heroes of the South. Each entry includes an illustration of the general and a detailed entry on his life and service.

The Somme 1916 Beyond the First Day: Beaucourt and Mametz Wood to the Butte De Warlencourt (Jon Cooksey and Jerry Murland, Pen and Sword, 2022, $28.95, softcover) The author’s second visitor’s guide to the Somme focuses on the secondary battles of the offensive. The well-illustrated work contains invaluable details on the nature and location of each of the these battles.

Flashpoints: Air Warfare in the Cold War (Michael Napier, Osprey Books, 2022, $45.00, hardcover) This coffee-table book is lavishly illustrated and contains in-depth combat accounts of various late 20th-Century air conflicts. It includes chapters on the Arab-Israeli wars, Indo-Pakistani wars, and the Falklands War.

Walther Pistols: PP, PPK and P-38 (John Walter, Osprey Books, 2022, $22.00, softcover) Walther pistols saw extensive use by military forces during the 20th Century. This work highlights their development, design, in conflicts around the globe.

Battlegroup! The Lessons of the Unfought battles of the Cold War (Jim Storr, Helion Books, 2021, $44.16, softcover) War between NATO and the Warsaw Pacts during the 1980s presented a series of fascinating hypothetical scenarios for military enthusiasts. This work plays out some of those scenarios while examining how the two sides were organized, equipped, and trained.

War Transformed: The Future of Twenty-First Century Great power Competition and Conflict (Mick Ryan, Naval Institute Press, 2022, $39.95, hardcover) This work, which is penned by a major general in the Australian Army, examines the factors that influence modern warfare. He suggests ways future leaders can prepare for the difficult challenges they will face.

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