Gulf War: The Complete History (Paperback)

by Thomas Houlahan (Author), Thomas G. Houlahan (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Readers will not only learn the history of the war, they will understand the tactics and weapons of combined arms, armor and mechanized warfare. -- Marine Corps Gazette, January 2000

Product Details

• Paperback: 471 pages
• Publisher: Schrenker Military Pub; 1st edition (April 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966845609
• ISBN-13: 978-0966845600
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,521,017 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 'Our Equipment Worked, Theirs Blew Up-Why Were We Surprised?, July 19, 2001

By	Kevin F. Kiley - See all my reviews

This is one of the two best books I have read on the Gulf War, the other being the excellent Crusade by Rick Atkinson.

This is a thorough history of the war, and much of it is oral history. The list of participants in the back of the volume is quite impressive and gives credence to the author's points of view. Well-documented and thorough, this book is highly recommended and is a definitive history of the war.

The author covers all aspects of the conflict: the invasion of Kuwait by the Iraqis, the American/allied response, the air war, the ground fighting prior to the invasion, and the invasion itself, covering the US Army, Marine Corps, and the allied forces (British and French) as well as the Arab participation.

This volume is detailed, the prose is crisp and straight-forward, and the author dispels some of the myths of the war. The Iraqi losses, especially in the Republican Guard units, were actually heavier than thought previously, and the Iraqi Army was mortally hurt in Kuwait and southern Iraq. Full credit is given the 24th Infantry Division and the elements of the American VII Corps (including the 2d Armored Cavalry Regiment, whose commander, Col L.D. Holder, was one of my instructors at West Point) in the decisive tank and armor battles with the Iraqi Republican Guard units, the Americans always winning, and the destruction and rout of the Iraqis the ultimate result.

The author has done a masterful job with this volume and has communicated to his readers the complexity of modern warfare as well as its human side. The title for this review was borrowed from one of the chapters in the book, and not only is this subject covered in the text, but also the problem of the Gulf War Syndrome and the possible causes for the illness.

This volume is a stellar example of oral history and analysis, and is one of the best books of its type in print. Not only is it enthusiastically recommended, but it belongs on the bookshelf next to Eric Hammel's Chosin, English's On Infantry (1st Edition), and Field Artillery and Firepower. I have been fortunate to have met Mr. Houlihan briefly, and he can be assured he has accomplished the intended mission with this outstanding history. Having gone through the breech into Kuwait with the 10th Marine Regiment of the 2d Marine Division, I can only add that Mr. Houlihan has captured in writing what was accomplished in the sand. The army the United States deployed to Saudi Arabia and which invaded Iraq and Kuwait in 1991, liberating the latter and fulfilling the UN mandate, may very well have been the best army the United States ever sent anywhere. That army, and what it accomplished, is portrayed with realism, heart, and accuracy in this book.