Today's Best Military Writing: The Finest Articles on the Past, Present, and Future of the U.S. Military [Paperback]

Walter J. Boyne (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0765308886 | ISBN-13: 978-0765308887 | Publication Date: August 25, 2005 | Edition: 1st

From various wars spanning two centuries to examinations of how our country's modern armed forces are coping with new threats that are more dangerous than anything they've faced before, these articles represent the best of the best; incisive, thoughtful, and probing opinions and information, written by the people who have lived and breathed the various topics and civilians who have made it a lifelong endeavor to study our nation's military. Contributors include New York Times bestselling author Thomas Fleming, former Army War College professor and author Martin Blumenson, Gulf War veteran and chief of military history at the Center of Military History Brigadier General John S. Brown, and Commander Stephen Flynn of the US Coast Guard, the nation's leading expert on port and container security. Article subjects in this volume include:
*Smart weapons and hi-tech wars to come
*The role of United States Army Chaplains tending to German War Criminals during the Nuremberg Trials.
*A chillingly logical hypothesis that could be the next step in terrorism--mating cruise missiles with biological warfare.
*And much more

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Colonel Boyne's impressive compilation of the best military writing of the past five years reflects the wide range (and excellent quality) of writing on military topics, even if not all of its articles are easily accessible to lay readers. The anthology's 21 contributors cover both historical and contemporary events-from Spencer Tucker's history of Admiral Andrew Foote's service on an anti-slavery patrol during the mid-1800s to Stephen Flynn's proposal that the Coast Guard be put in charge of today's Homeland Security. Major Prisco Hernandez's essay "No Master Plan" even appears to straddle the temporal divide since its discussion of Army artillery during the Indian Wars may eventually be pertinent to the War on Terror, which also must deal with the challenges posed by dispersed targets, rugged terrain and long, vulnerable supply lines. Two articles-"The Looming Biological Warfare Storm" and "The Emerging Biocruise Threat"-make a gruesome matched set, as both illuminate how the potential of cheap (and rapidly proliferating) cruise missiles affects the possible outcomes of a biological war. A former director of the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum and a bestselling author, Boyne (Operation Iraqi Freedom; Dawn Over Kitty Hawk) has clearly chosen his selections not only for the pleasure of their prose but also with an eye to educating readers about the most pressing military issues of our time. For serious students of military science, the result is an absolute treasure trove.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Colonel Boyne's impressive compilation of the best military writing of the past five years reflects the wide range (and excellent quality) of writing on military topics. Boyne has clearly chosen his selections not only for the pleasure of their prose but also with an eye to educating readers about the most pressing military issues of our time. . . . The result is an absolute treasure trove."--Publishers Weekly on Today's Best Military Writing

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books; 1st edition (August 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765308886
• ISBN-13: 978-0765308887
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,873,202 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars List of works from "Today's Best Military Writing", September 27, 2006

By 

Phil Webb "Martini_No.2" (Bahrain, Middle East) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Today's Best Military Writing: The Finest Articles on the Past, Present, and Future of the U.S. Military (Paperback)

As this book consist of a compilation of articles, I thought it would be useful to the would-be purchaser to include a list of all the articles contained herewith. They are (in order):

-"Lieutenant Andrew H. Foote and the African Slave Trade," By Spencer C.
Tucker
-"The F-15 Eagle: Origins and Development, 1964-1972," By Jacob Neufeld
-"No Master Plan: The Employment of Artillery in the Indian Wars, 1860-
1890," By Maj Prisco R. Hernandez, ARNG
-"Clarifying the Origins and Strategic Mission of the US Marine Corps
Defense Battalion, 1898-1941," By David J. Ulbrich
-"Birth of the American Way of War," By Thomas Fleming
-"More than Numbers: Americans and the Revival of French Morale in the
Great War," By Col Robert A. Doughty
-"Task Force Kingston," By Martin Blumenson
-"The Making of a Hero: What Really Happened Seventy-Five Years Ago After
Lindbergh Landed at Le Bourget," By LtCol Raymond H. Fredette, USAF(Ret)
-"Even in Auschwitz...Humanity Could Prevail: British POWs and Jewish
Concentration-Camp Inmates at IG Auschwitz, 1943-1945," By Joseph R.
White
-"U.S. Army Chaplain Ministry to German War Criminals at Nuremberg, 1945-
1946," By William J. Hourihan Ph.D.
-"The Emerging Biocruise Threat," By LtCol Rex R. Kiziah, USAF
-"The Looming Biological Warfare Storm: Misconceptions and Probable
Scenarios," By Col (Dr.) Jim A. Davis, USAF
-"Winged Cowboys: The Story Behind Air Mobility Command's Latest Biennial
Rodeo," By Philip Handleman
-"Defending Against the Non-State (Criminal) Soldier: Toward a Domestic
Response Network," By Robert J. Bunker Ph.D.
-"Homeland Security is a Coast Guard Mission," By CMDR Stephen E. Flynn,
USCG
-"Homeland Defense," By Adam J. Herbert
-"What Can We Learn From Enduring Freedom?" By Dr. Milan Vego
-"Combat Search and Rescue: A Longer Look," By Col Darrel Whitcomb, USAF
(Ret)
-"Pearl Harbor," By Barrett Tillman
-"Mortal Sting: How the USS HORNET Cured the Imperial Japanese Navy of
Its Victory Disease," By Edward L. Byrnes
-"No Gun Ri Revisited: Historical Lessons for Today's Army," By Brig.
General John S. Brown

I hope this proved useful, JPW

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "must-read" for anyone in the field, December 8, 2005

By 

John D. Sherwood (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Today's Best Military Writing: The Finest Articles on the Past, Present, and Future of the U.S. Military (Hardcover)

The market for yearly anthologies of "best" articles in various genres appears to be insatiable. A quick search of Books in Print reveals such titles of as The Best American Short Stories 2004, The Best American Mystery Stories 2004, The Best American Travel Writing 2004, and The Best Adventure and Survival Stories 2003. "Best of" collections promise to deliver the finest writing in a given field to readers overwhelmed by the volume of articles being published. Consequently, it comes as no surprise that some enterprising author would eventually publish an annual anthology of the best military articles. The 2002 edition of the Standard Periodical Directory listed over 450 military related magazines and journals excluding military history journals. No military professional can possibly keep up with all this material, especially during wartime. Walter Boyne's new volume will be greatly welcome by officers, enlisted personnel, and DOD civilians trying desperately to keep up with all the new ideas and information being generated in this field.

No single theme dominated Boyne's choice of articles, but he is sensitive towards the needs of war-fighters engaged in The Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). Navy personnel involved in maritime interception operations, for example, will find insights from Spencer Tucker's essay, "Lieutenant Andrew H. Foote and the African Slave Trade." In trying to interdict slave traders of the coast of Africa during the middle of the Nineteenth Century, LT Foot confronted many of the same challenges that destroyer commanders today grapple with in trying to intercept terrorists in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea. Army soldiers will enjoy "No Master Plan: The Employment of Artillery in the Indian Wars, 1860-1890" by Prisco R. Hernandez, and see correlations between how field artillery was employed in the Indian Wars and how it is employed today in Iraq. Forward deployed Marines at embassies and other outposts will similarly benefit from David Ulbriich's "Clarifying the Origins and Strategic Mission of the US Marine Corps Defense Battalion."

Thirteen out of twenty one articles in this anthology focus on historical events. The balance covers more current operations. One of the most chilling contemporary articles is Rex Kiziah's "The Emerging Biocruise Threat." Another one that air power professionals will appreciate is Darrel Whitcomb's "Combat Search and Rescue: A longer Look." Whitcomb not only discusses the evolution of CSAR, but why it is critical for the Armed Services today and how it should change to meet to the emerging challenges of the GWOT.

A retired Air Force colonel, the former director of the National Air & Space Museum, and the author of numerous military history books, Boyne points out in his introduction that many of the articles in his volume received awards, but that he never allowed these prizes to dictate his selections. One of the few shortcomings of his book is that he relied only on his own expertise to choose the best military writing of the past five years. For subsequent volumes, Colonel Boyne might consider enlisting a panel of experts to help him sift through the voluminous literature of this field. If formed, this panel also may want to consider translations of foreign articles, as well as web published material in its selection process. The Armed Forces desperately need works like this one and Walter Boyne has proven himself to be up to the task. With some refinement in his methodology and annual updates, Today's Best Military Writing promises to emerge as a "must-read" for anyone in the field.