Customer Reviews

Russian Sideshow: America's Undeclared War, 1918-1920

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4 star:		(1)
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Willett is a Joe Friday type writer.."Just the facts....." He has done a tremendous amount of research on a narrow area; reporting facts with diligent reference work. He always separates the facts from the opinions and impressions of the participants of the campaign. As he states in the beginning of the book, it was not his purpose to delve into the geopolital issues heavily, but to document what really happened. He acomplished his goal of describing the campaign accurately. "Russian Sideshow" is an excellent study in the issues that military forces face when they receive "fuzzy" orders. An excellent read for anyone interested in "small wars" or, for senior military officers interested in what happens when they get those "fuzzy" orders.

.... is but a footnote in our country's diplomatic and military history. Robert Willett does a masterful job of presenting the arguments used by the British and French to convince President Wilson to commit troops to the Allied Intervention in North Russia and Siberia, as well as describing the chaotic military situation the American troops found themselves thrust into and how they performed. As the grandson of a U.S. Army "Polar Bear" soldier who fought in North Russia, I have a keen interest in this subject and have read many of the books that have been written on this subject. Of all those I have read, I believe that "Russian Sideshow" does the best job of covering all facets of this military intervention and does it in a style that is accessible to the average reader.

As an avid reader of Russian wartime history, especially since 1891, I found this to be an excellent addition to my library. I was somewhat familiar with the American expeditions in Russia toward the end of WWI but Russian Sideshow added much to my knowledge with the bonus of being a very interesting read.

This is a fact filled book about a little known part of the history of ww1 and the US involvement.
The book was listed as near new--it was brand new and a great price.

As a graduate student of history I am always trying to find subjects which are not taught even at the university level. This book is a prime example of history the average american should know about. Mr. Willett does a fantastic job with this little known military mistake by the United States and in the process, gives honor to those who fought and died. At every opprotunity, Willett gives the reader the names of those americans who died, thus honoring their forgotten sacrifice. If you love military history and want to know where the Cold War trully began, read this book!