Book Reviews Archives

Book Reviews

Mark Stille’s ‘Midway: The Pacific War’s Most Famous Battle’

By Christopher Miskimon

Japan’s striking force sailed for Midway on May 27, 1942, a day later than planned, after some late preparations were complete. Read more

After consolidating their positions on Utah Beach and catching their breaths behind the cover of a stone wall, U.S. troops begin the long trek inland on the morning of D-day.

Book Reviews

Flint Whitlock’s ‘To the Last Cartridge, Book II’

By Christopher Miskimon

There are no large cities and few sizable towns in Normandy between Cherbourg and Caen. One of those towns is Sainte-Mère Église, a crossroads valuable for the invading Allied forces in June 1944. Read more

This early in the war, British soldiers still carried sword bayonets of the pre-WWI pattern. The older weapons proved invaluable for hand-to-hand fighting in Crete.

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Robert Kershaw’s ‘The Hill’

By Christopher Miskimon

Captain Stanton Johnson’s company of New Zealand infantry slowly recovered from a bombing raid by the German Luftwaffe. Read more

Hitler and several of his generals pore over a military map in this photo taken in 1940. Four years later, Hitler had become dissatisfied with many of his top commanders. When his subordinates expressed concerns for the success of the desperate gamble in the West, the Fuhrer was undeterred and ordered the Ardennes Offensive to proceed.

Book Reviews

Harry Yeide’s ‘Betting Against America’

By Christopher Miskimon

The United States played an important role at the end of World War I. Even during the 1930s, gripped by economic depression, America had enormous actual and potential industrial capacity. Read more

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John T. Kuehn’s ‘Strategy in Crisis’

By Christopher Miskimon

The Pacific War of 1941-1945 really stems from the Sino-Japanese conflicts of the 1930s. It most likely would not have happened had Japan not been embroiled in a war in China, which began with sporadic skirmishing and “incidents” in the early 1930s. Read more

A Coast Guard crewman aboard a landing craft is shown at lower right as his human cargo of combat troops exits toward the Easy Red sector of Omaha Beach in Normandy on D-Day. This photo was taken while the Americans were under tremendous German fire from the bluffs visible in the distance.

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Gregory Fontenot’s ‘No Sacrifice Too Great’

By Christopher Miskimon

The U.S. 1st Infantry Division, nicknamed “Big Red One” for its distinctive shoulder patch, fought during the entirety of U.S. Read more

Though smiling for this photo, 99th Pursuit Squadron pilots Lieutenant W.V. Eagleson (in cockpit of his P-40) with Captain Lemuel R. Curtis, Lieutenant Charles B. Hall, and Lieutenant Willie Ashley and the rest of the Tuskegee Airmen were often frustsrated at being considered less capable then white pilots.

Book Reviews

Samuel de Korte’s ‘Tuskegee Airmen’

By Christopher Miskimon

The 332nd Fighter Group was the only segregated American fighter group to see combat service during World War II. Read more

Weary from days of combat, German infantrymen dig into an embankment during a lull in the Murmansk fighting. The Germans and Finns were nearly successful in taking the city, but dogged Red Army resistance and the harsh climate took their toll.

Book Reviews

Jaap Jan Brouwer’s ‘The German Way of War on the Eastern Front’

By Christopher Miskimon

The Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union that began on June 22, 1941, involved three million German troops and their allies, against nearly five million Soviet soldiers. Read more

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Simon Schuster’s ‘The Showman’

By Christopher Miskimon

The distant thundering of Russian missiles and bombs awoke Olena Zelenska, First Lady of Ukraine, at 4:30 a.m. Read more

Troops of the 11th Battalion wait in the trenches at Arras, France. The battalion was typically hard hit by casualties.

Book Reviews

Terrence Loveridge’s ‘ The Road Past Monchy’

By Christopher Miskimon

The village of Monchy-le-Preux sits on a low hill east of Arras. During World War I, this otherwise minor local became a focal point for the hellish fighting of that conflict. Read more

Douglas MacArthur with Matthew Ridgway on a tour of the front lines in Korea in 1951.

Book Reviews

Jeffrey J. Matthews’ ‘Generals and Admirals, Criminals and Crooks’

By Christopher Miskimon

There are many American flag officers who stand as exemplars of duty, integrity and honor. Unfortunately, there are others whose legacies are examples of immoral and unethical conduct, lessons in what not to do. Read more

Book Reviews

Mikael Cook’s ‘Life and Death at Abbey Gate’

By Christopher Miskimon

As the United States withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021, the situation quickly became chaotic. A group of veterans, intelligence operatives and even legislative aides worked to evacuate Afghans who had worked with them for two decades and were now being left behind. Read more

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Gregory Fremont-Barnes’s ‘Urban Battlefields’

By Christopher Miskimon

The Russian Army attacked the city of Grozny in Chechnya on December 31, 1994. It sent several columns into the city from the north, east and west simultaneously, intent on quickly overawing the local population and seizing control of the city. Read more

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Michael Livingston’s ‘Crecy: Battle of Five Kings’

By Christopher Miskimon

On August 26, 1346, the British army had ceased its northward retreat as its leaders decided to make a stand against the pursuing French forces. Read more

Book Reviews

Kenneth P. White’s ‘The Battle of Bong Son’

By Christopher Miskimon

Two months after the hard fighting in the Ia Drang Valley, newly promoted Colonel Harold G. Moore led a new operation against the North Vietnamese Army (NVA). Read more

The Japanese Navy commenced the Russo-Japanese War with a surprise attack on the Russian fleet at Port Arthur on February 8, 1904. The attack, like Pearl Harbor, preceded any formal declaration of war by Japan.

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Robert Forczyk’s ‘Port Arthur 1904-05’

By Christopher Miskimon

The Russo-Japanese War began with a surprise naval attack by the Japanese Navy on the Russian Pacific Fleet at Port Arthur. Read more

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Alex Kershaw’s ‘Patton’s Prayer’

By Christopher Miskimon

The U.S. Army’s summer campaign of 1944 proved hard-fought, but successful. The Normandy landing succeeded in establishing a lodgment in mainland Europe. Read more

The Northrop P-61 Black Widow was the first aircraft designed with an integral nose-mounted radar that made it an excellent night fighter.

Book Reviews

Paul Hendrickson’s ‘Fighting the Night’

By Christopher Miskimon

On September 20, 1944, 1st Lt. Joe Paul Hendrickson said goodbye to his wife and two small children. Read more

Following a successful raid against targets in the Marianas, a Grumman F6F Hellcat fighter sets down on the USS Hornet. A tough, powerful fighter, the Hellcat ultimately dominated the skies over the Pacific.

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Cdr. Hamilton McWhorter III’s ‘The First Hellcat Ace’

By Christopher Miskimon

Georgia-born Hamilton McWhorter III wanted to be a fighter pilot. When the Pearl Harbor attack happened on December 7, 1941, he was a naval aviation cadet still in training. Read more

An American soldier takes aim with a captured Japanese 6.5mm light machine gun. The weapon was taken during the savage fighting for Guadalcanal.

Book Reviews

William Swanson’s ‘The View from my Foxhole’

By Christopher Miskimon

William Swanson described himself as an ordinary rifleman, but there was nothing ordinary about his experiences as a United States Marine in World War II. Read more

Book Reviews

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