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How Wars End: Why We Always Fight the Last Battle Paperback – December 20, 2011

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Gideon Rose (Author)
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4.7 out of 5 stars 12 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 432 pages
  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster; Reprint edition (December 20, 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1416590552
  • ISBN-13: 978-1416590552
  • Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.1 x 8.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #722,689 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsFascinating detail, grand conclusions, wonderful writing
By Duke Smith on October 12, 2010
Format: Hardcover
This is a very special book that will change the way you think about war and U.S. foreign policy. The author argues that in all of the major wars America has fought in the 20th century--World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, and Iraq--U.S. officials have screwed up the endings. Too often do they think more about defeating the enemy (the "day of") than planning for the result (the "day after").

Rose goes behind the scenes, using lots of primary sources to find out what decision-makers knew and when they knew it. In doing so, he creates a compelling case that in each "endgame," policymakers were haunted by the lessons they derived from the last war. Thus, for example, the lessons of Vietnam--don't get heavily involved in faraway drawn-out conflicts--cause the George H. W. Bush administration to bungle the end of the Gulf War and opt for an overly cautious and quick approach that failed to achieve the administration's own goals. George W. Bush's invasion of Iraq was, in some ways, a way to finish the job that his father had left undone. The research the author has done for each case is remarkable, and has the added benefit of providing many amusing anecdotes. (His stuff on Kissinger is particularly interesting.)

The most important contribution of "How Wars End" is its sketching of a grand strategy of pacification that has run through 20th-century U.S. foreign policy. In war after war, the United States has tried to put out fires in strategically important parts of the world. World Wars I and II were attempts to pacify Europe (by solving the Germany problem), Vietnam and Korea were attempts to calm East Asia, and the wars in Iraq were efforts to stabilize the Middle East.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsHard to Put Down
By Aasia Louise on October 8, 2010
Format: Hardcover
There have been lots of books recently about how to bring the war in Afghanistan to an end. Anyone who thinks they have an answer (or anyone who is at a loss) should read this excellent new book. By bringing alive the decisions that American leaders from Woodrow Wilson to George W. Bush faced in the course of ending wars, Gideon Rose puts the Obama administration's current policy options in Afghanistan into context and offers sound, practical advice.

The chapters -- all of which are strong enough to stand alone -- open with engrossing vignettes that introduce the reader to each war's cast of characters and policy issues. His chapter on World War II in the Pacific, for example, begins with an almost unbelievable account of Japanese-U.S. negotiations over the status of Japan's monarchy and a last minute coup attempt to prevent the Emperor from airing his pre-recorded surrender message. Nuggets like this make "How Wars End" accessible and just plain fun to read.

In each chapter, Rose's analysis of where policy makers went wrong (or right) is fair and dispassionate, yet still provocative. Unsettlingly often, he argues, leaders got war endings wrong simply because they never made firm decisions about the political resolution they wanted the war to have. He makes a convincing case; this book is a must-read as we approach the tenth year of war in Afghanistan.
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5.0 out of 5 starsThe important link of military action to political purpose
By Jakob Bruhl on September 11, 2011
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
as a professional Army officer, most of my personal and professional study has been focused on the tactical level of war. I have learned much from reading accounts of Soldiers facing adversity, of commanders determining the best tactics to defeat their enemy, of organizations working together to achieve their mission. This book is significantly different.

Gideon Rose connects the wars of the past century to their political purpose through an examination of how each war ended. He does this in a heavily footnoted academic work that is very accessible to non-academics, like me. He very briefly recounts some of the military action that led to the conclusion of combat and relies on the reader to know (or look up) the history of why the war began and how it progressed because that is not the purpose of this book. His purpose is to explain how political purpose is achieved as a war reaches its end.

What I found particularly enlightening was his discussion of how various administrations had to revise or update their political goals of a conflict given realities of the time and the political goals of their opponents. Even when war ends with "unconditional surrender" there are political realities to consider of our adversaries.

As a professional Army officer, it is important for me to remember that I'm not asked to participate in war for only military purpose. I'm part of the government of this great country and am asked to succeed at my assigned mission so our political leaders can achieve their goals. While my job isn't to determine those political objectives, it is my job to give my best to my organization within the Army, ensure my organization's objectives are linked to those of my higher command which ultimately are linked to the political objectives.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsRose's Best Work Yet!!
By Mitchell I. Gordon on October 12, 2010
Format: Hardcover
Rose is a master at taking a complex set of issues and explaining it to his readers in an understandable, yet nuanced way. He is a master of insightful dialogue and indepth discourse.

This is a must read for anyone interested in a war that will impact American policy for the next 50 years.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Perfect!

Published 20 months ago by xhavit gashi
5.0 out of 5 starsFinishing the Job

As many other reviewers have stated, Gideon Rose's How Wars End is an engrossing book that does not discuss how the United States fights wars, but discusses how it fights the peace... Read more

Published on March 17, 2012 by Marc Korman
4.0 out of 5 starsSolid, real world discussion of issues

There's nothing grand and earthshaking here, but Rose does a good job of summarizing the basic issue of the the title from a "why" perspective. Read more

Published on September 30, 2011 by S. J. Snyder
4.0 out of 5 starsHow Wars End Review

Gideon Rose's "How Wars End" is an easily read review of America's 20th Century wars and the conditions of their conclusion. Mr. Read more

Published on August 25, 2011 by Ellis Hopkins
5.0 out of 5 starsOutstanding Review of U.S. Wars and Modern Post War Failings

Utilizing the theories of Prussian General and theorist on war, Carl Von Clausewitz and starting with references to the Iraq war of post 9-11, Rose evaluate and comments on all... Read more

Published on August 10, 2011 by Daniel Hurley
4.0 out of 5 starsStop worrying about America's First battles - worry about it's last!

America should stop worrying about winning the first battle - in fact, America should plan for the end before it starts to plan to start a war and Rose does a great job of... Read more

Published on May 16, 2011 by Charlie
5.0 out of 5 starsAn excellent and quick read...

As the title describes, Rose gives the reader an unbiased primer on the American experience of several conflicts end. Read more

Published on March 27, 2011 by Richard F Ganske
4.0 out of 5 starsVictory is Only the First Step

As a work focusing on just the conclusion of the American conflicts of the last hundred years; the aftermath and post war dynamics, Gideon Rose's work is a worthy addition to the... Read more

Published on January 2, 2011 by Henry Oliner

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