Customer Reviews

Aftermath: The Remnants of War: From Landmines to Chemical Warfare--The Devastating Effects of Modern Combat

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The substance of this book has been covered by other reviewers. This intriguing generalist's work documents the author's on-site investigation of the lethal persistence of modern weapons dating from the First World War. Beyond this, Webster has communicated to American readers what happens after a modern war is fought on your soil. Webster's writing style is pleasing and readily accessible by any reader, and in one chapter he builds on his very well-written and moving piece on Verdun which ran in _Smithsonian_ some time ago.

The reason that this reviewer has not accorded a "five star rating" is simple: this work leaves the expert hungry for more. Webster is an intelligent and articulate man who could easily expand on this work. Overlooking a number of essentially editorial errors (such as Tiger and Panther tanks rolling across France in 1940), one wishes that Webster had further developed his theme of the violation of the social compact through the use of persistent agents and explosives. The work as written should be read by any historian who is serious about the study of modern war.

Beyond any one overarching theme, Webster has uncovered the answers-- or at least more evidence-- to a number of "mysteries" of military history.

Webster's compelling chapter on the fate of the German Sixth Army at Stalingrad may answer the question of what happened to many of the 250,000 Axis soldiers who "disappeared" on the Russian steppe in 1942-1943: those who did not perish in Soviet camps were literally left to rot where they fell. This unpalatable but now evident conclusion is borne out by the author's visits to the "bone fields" around the sites of the German military airfields and evacuation sites at Pitomnik and Gumrak. Webster reports the view of his Russian hosts that the dead fell defending those airports, but their contention falls flat in the face of eyewitness accounts and the acres of unburied bones seen by the author.

Webster is, first and foremost, a chronicler. Without passing judgment on any particular "side" in the wars he covers, Webster chronicles the physical aftermath on the battlefield. This reviewer would have valued more of Webster's own analysis and critical commentary than is offered. He has, after all, walked the ground and has thoughts to share on the horrific aftermath of modern warfare.

Aftermath, which Webster researched personally and in incredibe detail, is thought provoking to the point of being shocking. The history and scale of this century's warfare that he reveals has given me, a former US Navy officer, a new-found respect for foot soilders and their terrible burdens. As a father of young children, Aftermath left me with a sadness for those people of France, Kuwait, Viet Nam, and a thousand other battle sites, who have grown up with the explosive and toxic remnants of modern man's conflicts. Be warned. Don Webster's prowess as a writer (National Geographic, NY Times, etc.) is obvious. You won't want to put the book down once you start.

I did not expect his book to grab me the way it did, yeah I'd read about all the land mines left in Iran etc. but to learn about the extent of unexploded munitions left worldwide from conflicts dating back a century was a shock. Mr. Webster took me around the world to places I wouldn't have imagined, the affluent young French wife who found her son playing in the yard with live German artillary shells, the plains of Russia still hiding live munitions, even a forgotten test range that is now a San Diego suburb where children playing found live unexploded artillary.

Twenty, forty, a hundred years later this stuff is unstable and more dangerous than new, triggers have deteriorated, anything can set them off, and men go to work daily risking their lives to clear high explosives from places that were once battlefields and now are parks, farms, and residential areas.

This was one of those books that left a permanent impression on me, Mr. Webster's frank narrative showed a world more dangerous and unpredictable than I ever imagined.

Mr. Webster has documented a sobering and horrific walk through time. He has described the international problem of Unexploded Ordinance (UXO) from past wars, which continues destroy lives even 80 years later. We have all been exposed to the images and the glorious stories of armed conflict over the decades, which society teaches new generations to honor. Much of the sheer inhumanity, the utterly cold necessity of combat is ignored. Mr. Webster traveled the world to seek out the continuing reality of sudden death, perpretrated by soldiers long gone or dead.
This reader, even while working in the field of disposing of such items safely, was stunned to learn how widely the problem spans the globe. The brutal maiming and death of hundreds of people, the inestimable expense of cleaning up the trash of war will do doubt continue for decades, if not centuries. I admire Mr. Webster for his unenviable task of collecting these horific stories to share with people who know nothing about the massive problem.
This collection of observations is a must-read work for anyone who wants to know more about the struggles of millions of common people around the world. I would have liked to have more detail in many sections, hence the four stars. Still, a very moving portrayal of a deadly serious issue.

As the title would suggest, Aftermath deals with the consequences of war ordinance in every day life. I was particularly interested in the lingering effects of World War I, a war fought nearly 100 years ago. There are amazing accounts of the bomb clearing squad searching uninhabitable areas of the French countryside and turning up thousands of live and/or unexploded shells from battles fought in 1918. The stories of the millions of people slaughtered in the great wars of Europe is unsettling in and of itself, but the descriptions of Russian fields that are still strewn with the bones of these soldiers is unfathomable. The details of more current events puts a more contemporary perspective on the aftermath of conflict and makes one realize that the technology may change, but the mess still remains. Aftermath is an easy and engrossing read for anyone interested in history, military or otherwise.

If you've followed Webster's career at all (Outside, The New Yorker, National Geographic), you already know his ability to unearth all the right local characters, draw them out and distill their musings into a coherent sense of place. In this, he applies the same brand of cozy reportage to a timely (needless to say, overlooked) issue of global (though not necessarily domestic) significance. This is also good, fun stuff to read. And despite Browne's concern about the author's facts in his NYT review (from a reviewer who badly misspells the author's name in the very same review, no less!), the book is deeply researched and lucidly told. If you at all study the tragedy of war and the follies of humankind (and who can avoid that, anymore), this is a good stand-alone primer.

The author did a perfect job of telling a story that keeps you interested in a topic that could easily be lost in statistics and jargon. My only complaint was the lack of any photos.

Donovan Webster's writing style is rich in observational detail. He paints vivid and evocative word pictures as he leads the reader through the battlefields of France, Russia and Vietnam examining the dangerous and tragic remnants of war. Things slow down when he turns his attention to the legacies of America's nuclear and chemical weapons programs.
I blew through this book in a couple of sittings - partially because it's an easy read and also because it's fascinating stuff for a military buff. Fortunately, he keeps the "man's inhumanity to man" hand-wringing to a minimum and gives us mostly straight reportage.
I read this on the recommendation of history podcaster Dan Carlin and, like Carlin's other recommendations, it didn't disappoint.
I guarantee you'll find interesting stuff you didn't know if you read this book.
The information is more than a decade old, but it's still worth the price of admission.

The chapters on UXO remediation in France, and the Boneyards of Stalingrad were gripping. I could not put down the book during these chapters. I have walked these areas of France, and his descriptions of the people and the terrain are perfect. I found that the Nevada Test Site, and Vietnam chapters were a bit sleepy. As a Gulf War Veteran, I enjoyed the chapter about mine clearing in Iraq, but think others may find it plodding.

I have a vague understanding of the Toelle situation in the final chapter, and I am not sure my information agrees with the authors. He may be dealing with some employees with alterior motives.

What I found lacking in this book was anything writen about lessons learned from clearing UXO's. Donovan observes a lot, but he doesn't yield any analyzed solutions to expedite remediation of UXOs gleaned from his experience.

The author did a wonderful job painting a picture of his surroundings that made me feel I was right there. The details and research he must have done are astounding. His writing doesn't center on every little detail of a battle but gives enough background to establish meaning to why he chose a particular place. The chapters on Stalingrad and the "Cordon Rouge" are beutiful. I have read this book at least three times and will read it even more.