Customer Reviews

How to Make War (Fourth Edition): A Comprehensive Guide to Modern Warfare in the Twenty-first Century

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Dunnigan was part of the now gone SSI war gamers generation. This books is not a collection of war stories but a lay person's guide to how wars are managed from a broad perspective. This is not the book written by a beltway bandit trying to sell the next generation of wonder weapons, or an author who uses the usual beltway pompous pointless semantics that offend no one and says nothing. This is a book that talks about war at the retail and wholesale level. There are comparison tables, weapons charts and explanations of what it takes for modern war. You might get a 5 second blip about this on CNN. Dunnigan's books should be required reading for all those who want a more than casual shoot'em up approach to war. His chapters are organized around topics and themes such as "Leadership" or "The Poor Bloody Infantry". Those who are military academy students or citizens who want a more direct explanation of the mechanics of warefare management should read this book.

Mr. Dunnigan is an respected authority on wargames and military simulations, having produced more than one hundred (mostly manual) games between the late 1960's and early 1990's. The rise and complexity of computer and video games has mostly left him behind, however, in producing profitable products in recent years. This book is best suited for a reader interested in wargaming or as a basic introduction to broad military topics. If you already own the Updated Third Edition (1983), very little substance has changed in the Fourth Edition. The post-9/11 war on terrorism and current war in Iraq are not covered in any useful detail. In fact, lessons from the first Gulf War are not explained much at all. The "How to Make War" editions are written very much from the perspective of a wargamer and to a lesser extent a civilian historical and military analyst. Mr. Dunnigan is not a military professional and did not command men and machines in combat as a career soldier, sailor or airmen. His insights are good and in many cases spot on, but an experienced reader will quickly realize that the book superficially covers most topics and never really explains the psychology, politics, and specialization behind the numbers. It portrays an idealized and romantic view, akin to Tom Clancy`s fiction, by simplifying the issues into mathematical analysis and technical explanations of systems. John Keegan's books do a much better job of giving readers a good understanding of men at war and how they win. Mr. Dunnigan's writing style may also put some readers off, as he tends to lecture and ramble. Given his expert stature in the wargaming community, this professor to pupil style is easily understood. In summary, this book makes a good introduction for non-professional military readers and in particular wargamers.

This book is one of the best I've come across on the subject of modern warfare. The chapters are well organized , easily read, and brutally honest on the truths of modern war as it is today and will be in the future. Dunnigan delves not only into tactis and strategy, but also other, often overlooked details of war in the modern world. Among these topics are morale of soldiers, training, equipment and technology, and logistics. Recommended for any student of warfare and current global issues.

J.F. Dunnigan's How to Make War (H2MW) is an essential piece for all those who make war and who study war. Part history and part instruction manual, H2MW not only gives the reader an insight into modern warfare, but also the book illustrates the manner in which current innovations came to pass. From the historical impact of body armor to the tactical application of the hand grenade, H2MW is a great reference for those that study or operate in battle-space.

Amazing book. Every "military freak" (or let's say, enthusiast of this topic) must read it! Updated database of all types of modern warfare all over the world. Written in a simple however accurate language with a bit of joke will never get you bored. Dunnigan has collected a detailed knowledge about both the weaponry and strategy or tactics. This book will really make you understand how do people make wars nowadays. Then you can sit down and think WHY do they do it at all.

a book that discusses the all around nature of war. It doesn't focus on only the infantry or only tanks but dabbles into a little of everything. For that same reason, it doesn't go into specifics about any one branch of the military but that's not the point of the book. It also not a book of tactics nor a book trying to explain why wars happen. It just tries to lay out the different weapons and branches of the military armies use in war. I recommend it if you want to know what happens in war, how armies fight, and why war is so expensive.

For anyone who wants to get a basic understanding of the military, this book is not only fantastically informative, but absolutely fascinating and absorbing, with occasional flashes of truly wonderful deadpan humor.

This has been a very interesting book. Anyone who is into military things should pick it up.

This is just the book I was looking for to get an introduction to modern warfare. It is comprehensive, thoughful, and insightful. Dunnigan is not afraid to provide an educated opinion where precise data is not available.

The book is full of facts and detailed information about weapons and systems, and the various armed forces, but also covers broader issues like leadership and even the effect of military spending on the economy and what is the real source of military strength.

I was blown away by the amount of information and insight packed into just over 600 pages. I have no military experience so I am not in a position to verify the accuracy of everything in the book but in the areas I do know about he was spot on (computers, in the chapter on cyberwar).

The author of this book does a good job of explaining what is going on behind the scenes before, during and after a war. However, his attempts at placing numbers on things are misleading. He goes on and on about tactics and strategy yet he fails to see that there is more to war than just sheer numbers (he does mention that but doesn't follow his own advice). The analisis in this book, in my opinion, are leading a lot toward the superiority of US forces while diminishing the fighting potential of any other nation. This makes the book bias to one side and thus useless when one wants to see a honest comparison. Some of the numbers given are incorrect or misleading, for example Canada does not have 2400 AFV (maybe if you count all the trucks :)). Overall good explanation of war as long as you ignore comments about country X vis country Y that are not a direct result of an actual combat (i.e. ignore predictions).