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James F. Dunnigan

A quick and dirty guide to war: Briefings on present and potential wars Paperback – January 1, 1986

by James F Dunnigan (Author)

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Reference book. The Author's, Dunnigan and Bay present an enormous amount of information in a series of concise, insightful briefings coupled with their shrewd projections of potential outcomes, making "A Quick and Dirty Guide to War" a thought-provoking reference on the face of war in the 21st century.

Print length

415 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Quill
Publication date

January 1, 1986
ISBN-10

0688062563
ISBN-13

978-0688062569
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Quill; Updated ed edition (January 1, 1986)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 415 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0688062563
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0688062569
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.35 pounds

Best Sellers Rank: #4,572,472 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #7,203 in History of Technology

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16 ratings

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Whoa.

Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2020

Verified Purchase

This is an excellent overview. Follow the news and understand trouble spots. Generally, American news does not cover any of these battlegrounds. Listen to the BBC for international news.

This is a good source on public policy – we use it for debate prep/current events for homeschool students.

Published in 1985, updated (4th edition) 2008. Details back through the Cold War into the 60’s for the origins of some of the conflicts. It’s interesting, how many of these predictions have come true in the intervening years. The introduction claims an 80% correct hit rate, and climbing.

MY NOTES:
In the section on the GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR:
- Most victims of Al Qaeda are Muslims
- Al Qaeda is perceived as just another gang of predators
- Islamism requires the expulsion of non-Muslims from “Muslim territories”
- The Caliphate is an attempt to restore Islam’s imperialistic hegemony.
- Details on the purity purges of unfit leaders
- Learn more: how does US fracking disrupt islam terror organizations?
- America’s weakness is intelligence – human assets
- The terror tool kit is: money; plastic explosive; weapons and ammo; propaganda documents
- Learn more: the Nazis had two Muslim SS divisions (p. 198)

THE BALKANS:

- who’s who p. 203
- info on 206 is helpful
- desperately needs a table or chart with map details

KOREA:
- the *problem* is reunification
- Look at Germany. South Korea does not want this.
- China does not want this either – huge refugee crisis
- No good way for a modern nation to absorb these illiterate, brainwashed, starving millions
- No good solution
- Norks are a pawn for China – threaten instability, keep region off balance
- 2017 collapse of nuclear program
- 2016 Trump – how change?

CHINA 2019:
- The communist party is weakened
- The economy is weak
- They are disease-ravaged
- Vulnerable
- Savage repression of ethnic minorities and political rebellions (Hong Kong)
- No longer confident leadership

INDIA:
- Superpower pretensions

IRAN:
- Desperately craves political power
- Searching for global status
- Population restive – sense of government corruption and failed revolution
- Super cult of personality

CONGO:
- Good explanation
- Total mess
- Needs graphics, maps, and tables in this section
- The primary policy in post-colonial period has been *revenge.*

Learn more: Comanche cavalry tactics

Part 7 (begins page 589) is excellent – info table, glossary – students should begin here

The maps in this book are great but there are NOT ENOUGH maps
The political trend carts are excellent (eg page 129)

Thank you, Austin Bay -- and please release an updated edition soon

Helpful

Dayton Lavon Kitchens

Come for the History, Stay for the Future

Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2016

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A Quick and Dirty Guide to War is an outstanding book that looks at the background of various possible major and minor areas of conflict around the globe with ample amounts of history and analysis. It and its subsequent updated editions do a fine job of rendering the background of various conflicts, including those with thousands of years of history in an understandable and often humorous manner.

In particular the book is very clever when it comes to listing the various participants and their goals "The U.S. wants a lot." and "Once again the U.S. is probably dreaming".

The parts that will probably interest readers the most are the outcome projections which are given in various percentage terms. I would advise readers to get the original 1985 edition and the most recent edition from 1988 to see how various situations and how they were projected have resolved themselves (or remained the same) over the course of nearly a quarter century.

2 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Should be on every pundit's desk, well-worn

Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2009

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On their Strategy Page website, analyst James Dunnigan and (retired) Colonel Austin Bay state their mission: to view news as history. In this spirit they give us the fourth edition of A Quick and Dirty Guide to War.

It is a compilation on the many wars, conflict, tensions, and potential tensions around the world today. They provide the necessary history, the driving issues today, and a complete list of the various actors, state and non-state including people, political parties, "popular" movements, and terror and criminal organizations. Charts (in a uniform format) describe economic, political, and historical interest of the parties involved, near and far, as well as their ability to intervene. They follow these with predictions: not single predictions, but possible outcomes with ranges of probability. And their record on predictions, from the first three editions, is quite good.

Most readers (excluding perhaps professional analysts and foreign affairs experts) will find here much they have never heard of and much that was mentioned once or twice in the news years ago, but never given follow-up. For them--for us--this book is the cure for our popular education and haphazard news media.

10 people found this helpful

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Redgriffin

I must read for everyone.

Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2009

Verified Purchase

The Authors have a clear grasp of what is going on in the world and how we as a people are effected by the events all over the world. I started reading this series in the 1980's and found their predictions on where a war was going to break out to be on target about 80% of the time.

The author's cover the ethnic and historic causes of conflict a which group and where they are located and how they effect a conflict. They explain how certain thing will effect the way and reason for a conflict, like negative growth. After the quick history section they explain the events that could happen most likely to least likely. Some are chilling, see Russia, some are just eye opening, see Sudan.

In all this book is a good read for the Armchairs Strategist, the pacifist and a person who wants to join a NGO overseas. Reading it you get an idea of what the CIA is telling the Government. In other words BUY II!!!

8 people found this helpful

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Bruce D. Clayton

This is the only book on FUTURE history.

Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2001

Verified Purchase

This is a book about future wars. Who will fight, where, over what, how it will probably turn out, and when it might happen, for fifty or more perpetual hots spots around the world. People fighting in the Balkans have been repeating the same war for 1300 years and nobody ever wins. Roughly the same for Iraq and Iran, England and France, France and Germany, Japan and Korea... you name it. Peace is only an interlude while the endless war sleeps for a while. It will break out again, in the same place, over the same issues, with the same results. It is only a matter of time.
I wish they had taught us about this in high school. Every American should read this book and keep it handy.

5 people found this helpful

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A quick and dirty guide to war: Briefings on present and potential wars Paperback – January 1, 1986

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