Customer Reviews

The Big Red One: America's Legendary 1st Infantry Division from World War I to Desert Storm (Modern War Studies)

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My husband is recovering from surgery and I purchased this book to keep him occupied. He truly enjoyed the book. He was a W4 in the Vietnam War and served with The Big Red One. He said he learned things about the war and the division he did not know. He shared it with other Vietnam pilots who also enjoyed it and then donated it to the local library which was thrilled to get it.
Roz Santay

James Scott Wheeler's "The Big Red One: America's Legendary 1st Infantry Division from World War I to Desert Storm" is a very good, comprehensive history of the 1st Infantry Division in the 20th century. Established during World War I, the Big Red One has been in continuous service since and has fought in every major conflict since then except the Korean War.

When I joined the Big Red One in 2002, I was shocked that there was not a current comprehensive history of the division. Fortunately, the Cantigny First Division Foundation encouraged Dr. Wheeler to write this authoritative division history.

Wheeler traces the history of the division from its early training in World War I as it was the first American division to ship to France and fight in Europe. He focuses his story on the units that did the fighting, their commanders, and many of the division commanders. He also focuses on the training that the unit went through and their inter-war missions, from the occupation of Germany to the Pentomic division-era to its Cold War mission. Most interestingly, Wheeler parallels the history of the Big Red One with the 20th century Army's history, and shows how the division's mission and circumstances represented the bigger Army's high points and difficult times.

Despite these strengths, the book does have a couple of minor weaknesses. One is that the maps, so important in military history, are taken from other sources and are of uneven quality - most are not very good. Also, Wheeler seems to shy away from confronting or discussing any of the controversial aspects of the division's history, such as the firing of Terry Allen and Teddy Roosevelt in Sicily or the sometimes-criticized tactics and doctrine of General Dupuy during Vietnam.

Still, this book is a very good unity history of the First Infantry Division. Although it is not as gripping of a read as some other military histories, that is because Wheeler focuses on telling the whole story - even the duller parts. This is a much-needed history of the Big Red One and I hope that Dr. Wheeler will soon produce a second edition covering the division's actions in the Balkans, Turkey, and Iraq.

Excellent. Wonderful. My Dad was in the First Infantry Division and after reading this book I felt as though I knew something about what he lived though. Very well written and highly recommended.