Prodigal Soldiers: How the Generation of Officers Born of Vietnam Revolutionized the American Style of War [Paperback]

James Kitfield (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1997

Documenting the transformation of the U.S. military from Vietnam to the Gulf War, a history of a generation of officers examines changing ideas about war, ending the draft, reducing racial tensions, and integrating women into the ranks.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Freelance journalist Kitfield relies heavily on personal accounts in this story of the officers who reshaped the U.S. Army and Air Force after the experience of Vietnam and then led our troops in Operation Desert Storm. In the 1970s the U.S. began to adjust to a professional military after depending on the Selective Service system. In the 1980s, increased defense budgets enabled the modernization of arsenals and the stockpiling of supplies and equipment, while cumbersome higher command systems were simplified. By the time of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, America's military leaders were eager to demonstrate what 20 years of reform had wrought. This is a highly favorable account of that effort.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

The transformation of the American armed forces from the dispirited shell-shocked military at the close of the Vietnam era to the superbly trained, highly motivated, and universally respected victors in the Persian Gulf War is as dramatic a tale as any in American military history. Kitfield, an award-winning journalist on defense issues, follows the careers of dozens of army, navy, air force, and marine officers from their early service years in Vietnam to their success as commanders in the defeat of the Iraqis. While organizational and technical issues play a role, the book concentrates on the human aspect of this startling redirection of the U.S. military. A useful supplement to Michael Gordon's The Generals' War (LJ 12/94) and Al Santoli's overlooked Leading the Way (LJ 9/15/93), this is an essential addition to Vietnam and Persian Gulf War collections. Strongly recommended for academic and public libraries.
John R. Vallely, Siena Coll. Lib., Loudonville, N.Y.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 478 pages
• Publisher: Potomac Books Inc.; Brassey's Paperback Ed edition (June 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 157488123X
• ISBN-13: 978-1574881233
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 1.4 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #476,084 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Things can get better! May 9, 2005

By D. D Lawson

Format:Paperback

When you read a book like this and have seen the Army at its best and worst. That and have seen the gradual improvement to where the Army is today, i.e. one of the most trusted institutions and one of the greatest killing machines since the Roman Legions under the early Caesars. I just feel better and safer. That and I want to thank all those who did not turn tail and run away from the wreck of the post Vietnam War Military but stayed and fixed it. God Bless you all!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Written in 1995 - Relevant in 2002 July 31, 2002

By Richard J. August

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I first read James Kitfield's book in 2000 and have just finished rereading it. I am recommending it to my sons, an Air Force pilot working on his master's in military science and an Army combat engineer, as one of the four most influential books on the development of the United States military since WW II. The author traces in a very readable style the coming of age of the officers of all branches of service during the Viet Nam and post-Viet Nam eras and how those experiences shaped our ability to win a decisive victory in the 1990 Gulf War. The book also reveals the back room political wheeling and dealing that goes into watershed legislation such as the sweeping reforms of the Goldwater-Nichols Act. It's a "must read" for every professional military leader and student of the art of war.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars a book that has "a message" - for everyone who reads it September 30, 1999

By [e-mail]

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

From the prologue to the epilogue, and everything in between, this book is fantastic reading. Anyone who has ever been associated with the U.S. military will have a much clearer picture of the totality of resurection within all the services after Vietnam. "Duty, Honor, and Country" does not always mean the same thing to different people, to some it means a career that spans over thirty years, to others the words are just something on a recruiting poster. To anyone who reads the book these three words will take on a much clearer meaning. Some chapters will cause tears in even the toughest of old veterans, and even the young generation of future service members will begin to understand some of the major events which have transpired in the military in the decades since Vietnam. James Kitfield tells a story that is not just a chronicle, or a documentary, but a story worthy of telling, and he does it with style.