Customer Reviews

Spanish American War, 1898 (Great campaigns)

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

 

 

If there is one space in your collection for a book on the Spanish American war, this one's it. Dr. Nofi does an excellent job covering all the campaigns of the war plus adding detailed background information. The book is written in a style that would suit the occasional history reader and satisfy the hard core history buff. I came across it while researching Dewey at Manila Bay and promptly bought it for my collection (all the other books went back to the library...). I loved the sidebar stories on the behind-the-scenes events (like the short bios of the major players plus stories like the "Civil War Veterans in the war", etc). My only complaint is that the campaign maps look like they were originally done in color then printed in grey scale for this edition (which lost some of the detail). I would recommend this as an starting point to read about the war. There are other books that cover some of the events with more detail (Chadwick comes to mind). But this is by far the best single source on the conflict. I actuall give it 4.5 stars!

This book is published by Combined Books in Pennsylvania and is presented in hardback with eight chapters, 352 pages, extensive Appendixes, maps, biographies, sidebars and illustrations. The book offers a clear and concise account of the Spanish - American War fought in 1898. The author reveals the reasons and circumstances leading up to this conflict after giving an account of Commodore George Dewey's attack on the Spanish squadron under the command of Rear Admiral Patricio Montojo y Pasaron at Manila Bay on the 1st May 1898.

The author then covers the Santiago Expedition to Cuba, the naval campaign of Santiago, the fall of Santiago, the American campaign in Puerto Rico, the campaign in the Philippines and then finally the result and outcome of the war. Overall the story is easy to read and the narrative flows along quite well. A small number of typing errors where noted which should have been picked up by the editor but these were very minor in nature.

The book is well presented and researched and offers the reader details on other good books covering specific areas of the conflict for further reading. The author also offers details on places to visit (in the United States only), simulation games on the market and films.

An interesting detail about this book, which is common with most Combined Books, is the use of 'sidebars'. These sidebars are at the end of each chapter and they provide further or more detailed information about subjects in the narrative. Being at the end of the chapter they do not interrupt the reader, as some footnotes tend to do.

The sidebars are there if you wish to obtain further information on a certain personality, weapon, organisation or incident. You do not have to read these sidebars to keep abreast of what the author is telling you, you can miss them all together and go onto the next chapter if you so wish. I found some of the sidebars very interesting, like the one covering why the USS Maine blew up, the 'Rough Riders' or the Medal of Honor.

Overall this! is an enjoyable book offering the reader a decent account of this "splendid little war".

At great book if you want a military history of the "Splendid little war". The side bars make it interesting enough for the military history reader who just wishes to check the Spanish American War box. Since we conflict was more of a political/social event (US attitude twords war/Yellow journalism/isolationism/birth of the US empire), you might want to check out Musicant and Trask's books instead.

I purchased this book because an ancestor won the Medal of Honor in Cuba and the book has an account of the action he was in. This book is a good detail picture of the combat and personalities involved. While reading this book never becomes a chore, it never is a pleasure. The narration while interesting, lacks the ability to grab the reader and make you part of the story.

As stated in other reviews, this is a good account of the war, while lacking in-depth background and analysis of the changes in both nations that resulted from the war. The sidebars can be distracting but do add to the overall narration. The 11 maps are basic and can be very busy. Since there are so few, it can be difficult to follow the development of a battle. While this has nothing to do with the author or the content, I feel the book is cheaply made with less than average paper quality and printing.

Overall, this is a good introduction to the fighting in Spanish-American War but spends little time on the events that caused the war and the resulting changes.

This is an outstanding historical account of the war that launched the US into the 20th century as a major world power! Be prepared; wear your bulletproof jacket and your Kevlar helmet because you're going to war with Nofi. Here you will find accurate and very easy to follow accounts on the political and military players of both sides, the events that lead to the war, and the military campaigns. This book provides, like no other I have read, excellent details on all theaters of operations including Puerto Rico. In addition, Nofi provides unbiased information on places to visit, films, simulation war games and other books - all related to this war. Orders-of-battle (naval and ground), weapon systems, units (American, Spanish, volunteers), you'll find them all here! So "man your battle-stations", "lock-and-load" and "charge up San Juan Hill" with this outstanding history book!