The Savage Wars Of Peace: Small Wars And The Rise Of American Power,   ISBN:9780465007219

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I bought "The Savage Wars of Peace" because it seemed to cover a number of military events in our nation's history that I knew little or nothing about. I knew what "the shores of Tripoli" was essentially about, I knew that there was a first Korean War under the Grant Adminstration, I'd read about the Boxer Rebellion and the Pancho Villa expedition, and I knew the marines seemed to always be landing somewhere in the Carribean and the surrounding area. However, there was more, lots more, that I didn't know. Author Max Boot tells us the details of almost every engagement that saw US armed forces on foreign soil under hostile circumstances. Max Boot's career is more along the line of journalist than historian which, in this case, makes for better reading. He gives us the who, what, when, where, and why (or at least as much as he could given some of the unique circumstances). He also gives us the heros (and some "villans") and has an interesting way of connecting different servicemen who seem to pop up a lot in the different theaters of war. There are great exploits if not always great causes and Boot makes sure we see the glory of the soldiers even when the politicians seem to fail in their roles.

Max Boot tells an interesting and, often, fascinating series of tales of bravado (and boredom). His accounts of the Viet Nam war is very compelling and I noted with interest how his account of the Tet Offensive was totally misinterpreted by the US Press. Indeed, his comments on the overwhelming losses that the Viet Cong (and North Vietnamese army) suffered came to mind recently with coverage of the late Walter Cronkite's career. He is still feted for having analyzed that victory as a loss to the US efforts in Viet Nam. I also appreciated the coverage of the US involvement in the Russian Civil War. That episode in history is one of the least mentioned military events in the 20th Century. Boot was able to analyze the situation there and do so in a way that let me understand, for the first time, why that war was winnable and how the lack of decisiveness left it unwinnable.

The author concludes with a couple of chapters analyzing the role of the military in the small engagements and how the lessons learned in the past were often ignored. The results of that ignorance often led to needless losses. I found myself in agreement with a number of Boot's points while I was also in doubt with some of his other points. After having written such a readable, informative and essential book, he's entitled to his opinions.

Customer Rating: 

Max Boot's book the Savage Wars of Peace is chock full of fascinating information about America's history of small wars, fought overseas without the serious attention of the nation. Sound familiar? It should. Mr. Boot wrote the book with the intention to educate people that our current situations overseas are not exactly unique in our history. He succeeds quite well. What's more, he's able to, by drawing on history, provide some insights into what should work and what won't work in our ongoing wars against fundamentalist Islam.

The book is broken down in rough chronological order and by region of the world. It goes from the famous conflicts, such as the fight against the Barbary pirates (... to the shores of Tripoli ... from the Marine Corps hymn) to the obscure, our fights in Nicaragua (which I'd never heard about before). In between are other events that aren't covered in a lot history books, our attempts at the overthrow of the Soviets during World War I in Archangel and our part in the fights in China during the Boxer Rebellion are just a couple of examples.

Throughout the book, the writing is interesting and facts are riveting. The lessons learned and lost by our military are recounted at length. For some, who may not be students of this type of history, many of these lessons might be a bit surprising. For others, the lessons could be a reinforcement of beliefs held without good information to back them up. Regardless, readers should come away with an education into America's rich history of involvement in the small and nasty wars overseas during the last two hundred years.

Customer Rating: 

I picked this book up at the Wichita Public Library after finding it on Amazon.com. The book is broken up into several parts, the first being Commercial power, about the Barbary Pirate wars, the Chinese wars (1859), and Korea and the rest of the Pacific. The second part is called Great Power and has China, the Philippines, the Caribbean, Pancho Villa, and China again. The last part is called Superpower, and tells about the lessons learned, and those that weren't. I've read about many of the subjects of the book in other places, but this brought together all of the small wars. The book was short on detail which is why I rated it lower.

Customer Rating: 

this bookstore should be receiving 5 stars. I received this book in time in the shape it was promised at a great price. I am surprised original review was for a different book I ordered around 6 months or longer ago.

************ 5 STARS ********************************

Dennis W.

Customer Rating: 

This book has three parts to it. The first is a review of the foreign "small wars" the U.S. has been involved in since the 1800s: the Barbary pirates, Korea 1871, Samoa, the Caribbean occupations, Boxer Rebellion, and Philippine insurrection.

The second is a critique of U.S. actions in Vietnam; the third is a summary of lessons to be learned and policy prescriptions for the future -- as of 2002.

It's that third part that's most interesting given the current (2008) situation in Iraq. How might the U.S. have fared in that conflict if it had stuck more strictly to his precepts? What effect would his style of counter-insurgency have had on U.S. recruitment, retention, and morale? Does the Powell doctrine still have a viable application?

These are some of the questions I've been wondering about since finishing it....