Certain Victory: The U.S. Army in the Gulf War (The History of War) (Paperback)

~ Robert Scales (Author) "By late afternoon on February 23, Captain H>R. McMaster had been at war for 72 hours..." (more)
Key Phrases: regular army heavy divisions, precision revolution, breaching operation, Republican Guard, Saudi Arabia, Desert Storm (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Written in a colorful, readable style, Certain Victory chronicles the Army’s remarkable regeneration in the two decades after Vietnam–the foundation of the Desert Storm victory. Each chapter starts with a compelling personal combat story that puts the conflict into human perspective. A "quick read" without military jargon, Certain Victory brings the civilian reader into battle alongside individual soldiers. With a foreword by former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Gordon R. Sullivan.

About the Author

A U.S. Army brigadier general at the time, ROBERT H. SCALES, JR., headed the Army’s Desert Storm Study Group. It comprised eight officers—most veterans of the conflict—drawn from different combat specialties and backgrounds. The group’s research involved thousands of official documents and hundreds of personal interviews with soldiers from the grade of private to general officer.

Product Details

• Paperback: 434 pages
• Publisher: Potomac Books Inc. (October 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1597970093
• ISBN-13: 978-1597970099
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,467,545 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very informative, September 19, 2002

By	"byu99" (El Paso, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Certain Victory: The U.S. Army in the Gulf War (Ausa Institute of Land Warfare Book.) (Paperback)

Scales' book holds very true to it's title: The U.S. Army in the Gulf War. The contributions of other services are analyzed (and criticized) only in relation to their support of the US Army. I think anyone studying the Gulf War should read this book, but should also supplement it with other works.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Book - Lots of useful information, December 2, 2005

By	Mark T. Sorna (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Certain Victory: The U.S. Army in the Gulf War (Ausa Institute of Land Warfare Book.) (Paperback)

This book was required reading for a class I took on the Gulf War. It has a lot of good information written in an easy to understand format. It begins with a brief history of the U.S. military since Vietnam and explains the evolution in training, equipment, and doctrine since Vietnam.

The book also keeps you entertained with accounts of different battles at the begining of each chapter. This is a good book for those interested in getting a history of the Gulf War from the perspective of the US Army.

3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Bad, bad, bad., April 12, 2004

By	Justin James Mccorkle - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Certain Victory: The U.S. Army in the Gulf War (Ausa Institute of Land Warfare Book.) (Paperback)

Certain Victory, The Offical US Account of the the first gulf war, is a long treatise on the support and command and control efforts that went into the war, sprinkled with details of the combat operations. The book, written by Brigadier General Robert H. Scales and his staff is a poorly written, but well intentioned, attempt to convey the meaning of the work and planning that went into the war. Robert H. Scales planning and staff details are interesting, if not informative, however given the immense amount of history crammed into the first few chapters, this book does have some value to those interested in one mans perspective on the evolution of the modern army. If Robert Scales other books are anything like this one I would only recommend them to someone who is not looking for a good read but mearly searching for a book on a military reading list to tire through, this book could have been written in about a hundred and fifty pages, it is filled with drab and unexciting language. For anyone looking for an unbiased and factual history of the first Persian Gulf War I would recommend they skip this staff propaganda and instead read Rick Atkinson's Crusade, The Untold Story of the Persian Gulf War . By contrast it is a thoughtful and accurate account written by a distinguished author, unbiased by the reaction of others to his work. Not only is this book more accurate and insightful, it is also fun to read.