Customer Reviews

Modern Insurgencies and Counter-Insurgencies: Guerrillas and their Opponents since 1750 (Warfare and History)

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

 

 

The author writes an very interesting book, sometimes it races along and at other times it becomes tedious. The author also offers many quotes and what appears to be tons of background, supportive and historical evidence to support his claims; Yet the author gives absolutely no footnotes or endnotes that one might validate or verify his sources. I was able to correctly identify many of his sources, but an over reliance on one's memory is not a useful academic tool. If one is seeking a credible research source, I can not honestly recommend this book, strictly on the basis that an indiviudal can not substantiate primary and or secondary sources as the author has used them.

The author does offer a substantial recommended reading list at the end of each chapter, but does not provide the standard alphabetically listed bibliography. Its tedious to search the reading list because of the way he has structured it.

The chapters are well organized and flow well through history from approximately the 1750's to roughly 2000. Although the book would benefit the novice as a "starter" in terms of the amount of historical information that the author provides; the scholar or researcher will not be able to validate or verify the veracity of the Authors quotes, examples or dates.

All in All I would rate this book 3 stars for its readability. I would rate it 4 stars for its contribution to the debate on modern insurgency/counter-insurgency and I will rate it at zero stars for its usefulness to research, simply because it has no endnotes or footnotes. In comparison with other books I would suggest that Robert B Asprey's updated Volume I, War in the Shadow's, long considered the academic baseline on the guerrilla in history is far superior.

Mr. Beckett's coverage of the development of insurgency movements from the time of Napolean to recent years is a daunting goal. He covered a great deal of material and seemed to cover a lot of material in not nearly enough detail for the sake of mentioning every guerrilla movement imaginable while covering only a few in detail. In fairness, I believe his intent was to track major shifts in insurgency philosophies or counter-insurgency doctrines. But one could hardly help getting the feeling of being dragged on a guided tour where the tour guide would let you linger only at the sights he wants you to see while mentioning the others only in passing quickly by. It is a noble task but could have been shorter by avoiding the side stories or longer by providing more details on the ones mentioned. It seems too much for 250 pages to hold. Still, overall, it was a good read and gives plenty of direction for those wishing to discover some hidden corner of insurgency others might have left unnoticed. Read Mr. Beckett's Modern Insurgencies to get your bearings then head out in one of the many directions he points for a specialty that suits your interests.

Beckett's volume is a veritable goldmine of counterinsurgency arcana. Unfortunately, its flaws are apparent, and other reviewers have pointed to them already: Lack of footnotes and a seriously fragmentary narrative hamper the overall usefulness of this treatment. So, f you want to know your Lansdale from your Abrams, go elsewhere. If it's of interest to know that the SAS' torture practices were honed in Aden, and then imported to Northern Ireland, then this is a book you'll want to have on your shelf. Treat it like a pocket encyclopedia -- skip the table of contents and dig in via the index.