Rating: 
Summary: Great book. A must for students and researchers.
Review: I have researched the Gulf War for several years and found this book to be one of the best to give an inside look into the corps command level. Clancy and Frank's book shows the campaign through the eyes of the VII Corps commander, which was in charge of the main effort during the Iraqi campaign. It contains facts and details that are unavailable elsewhere (at least not in non military sources). This book, together with Schwartzkopf's "It Doesn't Take a Hero", Atkinson's "Crusade" and Gordon's "The Generals'War", is a must for every Gulf War researcher.
Rating: 
Summary: Too long, too myopic, and too complaining!
Review: I was disappointed with this book. I have really enjoyed Clancy's other fact based books, but this one came up short. With Gen Fred Franks (an American Hero, no doubt, and not to be confused with Tommy Franks from a decade later) Tom Clancy wrote this detailled account of 7 Corps actions during the Gulf War in 1991.--The book is very long winded. It just doesn't get into the action, and approaches the story with a patronizingly long professorial on military thought that really amounts to little. He spends half the book describing how the US army got itself into trouble from Vietnam and an overfocus on the Cold War which did not address all the mission areas required. That background is important, but it is too long and too academic. Then he goes on to spend pages and pages and pages describing a 4 day drive across the desert, skipping several details -- such as the Air Campaign which made that possible. Make no mistake, the details are there and the story is interesting, but boy does it take a long time to come out. Also -- I am not belittling the valor of our forces then or now. Exciting as the brief ground campaign was in 1991, it pales beside the recent performance of 3 ID, 1 MEF and our Brit allies in Spring 2003. They went a lot further, with less forces and certainty, at a much more rapid pace. That story deserves a long treatment, and I am looking forward to some good books on it when the time comes. --Into the Storm is also very myopic. Gen Franks perspective is very limited to what his division was doing, and not the entire war. Perhaps without meaning to he neglects the contributions made by the other services and neighboring divisions. Having been thru some battles myself, I know that it is hard to make any sense out of battle. Information is always incomplete, and no one gets the whole picture. Unfortunately, Into the Storm is predictably parochial and blinded to what else is going on. Part of that comes from its focus on justifying the decisions made during the campaign, but of course, without the whole picture, it comes out pretty narrow. --The most distasteful element of the book was it's nagging tendendany to be at times accusatory, self justifying and bitter. Into The Storm does provide a solid, interesting personal story, but there is also a strong tone of self-righteousness and old fashioned CYA mixed in. Schwarzkpof had many complaints about Franks, and Franks is eager to answer up in this book. That's exactly what poisons the simple story of a four day desert drive, vicious and dangerous as it was. This book was pretty obviously written to explain "Why and How" Gen Franks made his decisions. Although that is interesting enough as a study in command and execution during war, the book's tone gets downright whiny. It has "something to prove", and comes up short, especially as I read it last spring and then witnessed the two division sized elements tearing thru Iraq in 2003: a far greater campaign with more risk, less forces, and hopefully more permanent results. Also, compare this book to Every Man A Tiger, Lt Gen Horner's story of the Gulf War also written by Clancy, and you will notice right away the difference. Horner had nothing to prove, but just a grand story to tell of American Heroes (and allies/coalition partners) in battle in the desert in 1991. I am proud that the story has continued, and was not left with the bitter tone that comes from Into The Storm. ------> If you're wondering why I have this perspective, I will say that I am an Airman and believe that maneuver thru the skies and precision engagement -- coupled with all the force and support that airpower brings -- is the key to our victories since WWII. I read this book while I was stationed with the Army Command in Kuwait last Spring just prior to and during our team's rapid defeat of the entire Iraqi army, terrorists, and thugs from assorted countries. I also spent years patrolling the border of Iraq from the air, and am very gratified to see the end of that. My prayers and thoughts go to all our servicemen and women still in Harm's Way.
Rating:
Summary: Too long, too myopic, and too complaining!
Review: I was disappointed with this book. I have really enjoyed Clancy's other fact based books, but this one came up short. With Gen Fred Franks (an American Hero, no doubt, and not to be confused with Tommy Franks from a decade later) Tom Clancy wrote this detailled account of 7 Corps actions during the Gulf War in 1991. --The book is very long winded. It just doesn't get into the action, and approaches the story with a patronizingly long professorial on military thought that really amounts to little. He spends half the book describing how the US army got itself into trouble from Vietnam and an overfocus on the Cold War which did not address all the mission areas required. That background is important, but it is too long and too academic. Then he goes on to spend pages and pages and pages describing a 4 day drive across the desert, skipping several details -- such as the Air Campaign which made that possible. Make no mistake, the details are there and the story is interesting, but boy does it take a long time to come out. Also -- I am not belittling the valor of our forces then or now. Exciting as the brief ground campaign was in 1991, it pales beside the recent performance of 3 ID, 1 MEF and our Brit allies in Spring 2003. They went a lot further, with less forces and certainty, at a much more rapid pace. That story deserves a long treatment, and I am looking forward to some good books on it when the time comes. --Into the Storm is also very myopic. Gen Franks perspective is very limited to what his division was doing, and not the entire war. Perhaps without meaning to he neglects the contributions made by the other services and neighboring divisions. Having been thru some battles myself, I know that it is hard to make any sense out of battle. Information is always incomplete, and no one gets the whole picture. Unfortunately, Into the Storm is predictably parochial and blinded to what else is going on. Part of that comes from its focus on justifying the decisions made during the campaign, but of course, without the whole picture, it comes out pretty narrow. --The most distasteful element of the book was it's nagging tendendany to be at times accusatory, self justifying and bitter. Into The Storm does provide a solid, interesting personal story, but there is also a strong tone of self-righteousness and old fashioned CYA mixed in. Schwarzkpof had many complaints about Franks, and Franks is eager to answer up in this book. That's exactly what poisons the simple story of a four day desert drive, vicious and dangerous as it was. This book was pretty obviously written to explain "Why and How" Gen Franks made his decisions. Although that is interesting enough as a study in command and execution during war, the book's tone gets downright whiny. It has "something to prove", and comes up short, especially as I read it last spring and then witnessed the two division sized elements tearing thru Iraq in 2003: a far greater campaign with more risk, less forces, and hopefully more permanent results. Also, compare this book to Every Man A Tiger, Lt Gen Horner's story of the Gulf War also written by Clancy, and you will notice right away the difference. Horner had nothing to prove, but just a grand story to tell of American Heroes (and allies/coalition partners) in battle in the desert in 1991. I am proud that the story has continued, and was not left with the bitter tone that comes from Into The Storm. ------> If you're wondering why I have this perspective, I will say that I am an Airman and believe that maneuver thru the skies and precision engagement -- coupled with all the force and support that airpower brings -- is the key to our victories since WWII. I read this book while I was stationed with the Army Command in Kuwait last Spring just prior to and during our team's rapid defeat of the entire Iraqi army, terrorists, and thugs from assorted countries. I also spent years patrolling the border of Iraq from the air, and am very gratified to see the end of that. My prayers and thoughts go to all our servicemen and women still in Harm's Way.
Rating: 
Summary: An ILLUSTRATION of command
Review: If you are interested in what the awesome responsibilities of military comand are and what makes a great military commander, this book is a must. Granted, understanding the military's lanquage- such as acronyms, terms, and slang-helps when reading this book. I even found myself, a U.S. Army vet, skimming some portions. What struck me after reading the book however, is how it intimately llustrates Gen. Franks' thought process-how he overcame a severe leg wound in Vietnam, the lessons he learned there, his commitment to troops under his command, and more importantly, the mental abilty required to command 50,000 plus mult-national troops in combat. You come to realize just how awesome "burden of command" is. This book could also serve as a warning to our current civilian and military leadership-most notably our current commander-in-chief-as to the dire consequences of returning to a "hollow" Army and commtiting our troops to ill-defined missions abroad. After reading the book I felt tremendous respect for Gen. Franks-not only as a military commander-but as a human being as well. I am sure that he will go down in history as one of the unsung heroes of Desert Storm.
Rating:
Summary: Not what you might expect!
Review: If you think this book is a compreshensive analysis of Operation Desert Storm, think again. If you think this book is an exciting, riveting Clancy story, think again. If you think this book will be an easy read, think again. It is none of the above, but, as the subtitle implies, this book is a study in command with the life of General Fred Franks and his combat experiences as the lens. With that purpose in mind, it is a great effort. General Franks' insights into the complexities of command at all levels are worthwhile reading for any student of the military arts. The autobiographical elements of the book serve to add color to Franks' evolution as a commander and give a fresh perspective on how he executed the war against Iraq's elite Republican Guard. But this book is not an easy read. The military lingo and technical terminology force the reader to go slow. And, by Franks' own admission, this book is not a comprehensive analysis of the war. It is, however, a great "study in command" and is a commendable book for anyone who enjoys reading about great military leaders and their exploits.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating
Review: INTO THE STORM is a fascinating account of modern strategy and tactics under the ultimate test of combat. I found it particularly interesting because I'd just read the new WWII novel, THE TRIUMPH AND THE GLORY, and it was enlightening to compare the tactics and weaponry of the old days with the high-tech battlefield of today.
Rating:
Summary: War Strategies and Techniques
Review: Oh boy this book was incredible. Anyone who has ever wanted to be general or military leader this book tells you what you need. The book revolves around the life of General Franks and his expereiences from Vietnam to the Gulf War.
It also shows how the US Army was pretty much shattered after Vietnam.... I was also surprised to learn of all the controversy involving the higher up's and with Franks.
The best part of the books for me was how Franks tells you detail by detail how the US Army figths and the tactics and strategies it tries to implement against the enemy. You really get into the mind set of a general in the US Army.
The book at times gets pretty heavy in military jargon but if you really want to learn how the military operate this is it. I strongly recommned it and definately should be required reading at any military institution.
Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating as biography, flawed as history
Review: Since this is one of the relatively few popularly-available, yet widely-distributed, histories of the Gulf War published to date, I approached this with certain mixed feelings. Tom Clancy's involvement was a plus and a minus - he is a moderatly capable writer (though his ability to craft character, vs. technology, is sub-optimal), but he has become something of a military-industrial complex on a small scale in and of himself, the McDonalds franchise of military fiction. Fred Franks was, at the time I bought the book, somewhat less well-known, but as a corps commander in an operation I wanted to understand much better than existing published material would allow, he was a more credible source. What results from this mix is an unexpected melange - mostly for the better (relative to, say, Clancy's take on potential Russian/Chinese conflict, which was abysmal), but with certain flaws. Franks certainly has the expertise, credibility, and transferable wisdom to lend some real substance to Clancy's usual wanna-be star-stricken jingoism. The background on Franks' experience as a junior, and then senior, officer in the Army during and after Vietnam also help provide valuable context to close the vast conceptual gulf between 1973 and 1991, socially, personally, and militarily. What is lacking is a coherent, detailed story of the overall Desert Storm (versus VII Corps-perceived) operation itself - a story that is implied, if not promised, by the book's title and stated premise. At times, the narrative loses focus and does not follow the overall action closely enough; at other times, it dives into tantalizing description of individual unit actions that are not fully placed in context or followed up; or divergences into Franks' personal thoughts and schedule, which (though interesting on the level of understanding the blow-by-blow experience of a large-unit commander) do not add much to the overall clarity of the action. Some points of leadership philosophy become repetitive - nor is it clear where the boundary between Franks' (Clancy's?) specific beliefs diverge from some assertion of universal concepts. At times, the narrative becomes a thinly-veiled personal defense against higher-level criticism of Franks' asserted failings in pursuing the Iraqis in the early stages of the ground action. Given the overwhelming victory achieved and the extremely lopsided casualty ratio, this seems unnecessary - since the internal discussion among theater- and corps-level command in the operation has been largely invisible to the public, it is difficult to assess to what extent the implicit back-and-forth indicated in this book is valid, but the results speak for themselves. Whether the Iraqi Army could have been defeated 207-0, instead of 200-0, seems irrelevant compared to the larger strategic question (still alive today) of whether or not Coalition forces should have gone after Saddam Hussein's regime at its root - a question that was answered at a much higher level than any to which Franks had access. As it is, the nitpicking and (apparently bitter) counter-criticisms that sortof-kindof surface in the book between Franks' VII Corps and CENTCOM (Schwartzkopf) appear to be more a reflection of the power ploys within US command structures than anything that will (ultimately) have any real meaning to anyone but the immediate participants. In real terms, they seem to have relevance primarily to the pros and cons of different styles of leadership and command, rather than to any real possibilities for different outcomes for Desert Storm - given the constraints operating at national command (rather than tactical or even theater) levels. Ultimately, this is an interesting primer in tactics for (patient and committed) lay readers, and a solid contribution to a future body of first-person perspectives on a critical event in late-20th-century history. However, it is neither objective enough, comprehensive enough, sufficiently researched, nor inclusive enough of Iraqi (or non-US Coalition) perspectives to constitute a major historical contribution to our understanding of this particular conflict.
Rating:
Summary: Dull
Review: Some authors have the knack of writing non-fiction and creating a vibrant, readable narrative. In this category, Winston Churchill, Bruce Catton and Shelby Foote come to mind immediately. Tom Clancy's fiction is good but I found this latest of his books mired in trivia and dull, dull, dull
Rating: 
Summary: Poorly written for such an important topic
Review: The book is very dense and poorly written. I expected a clearer narrative from Clancy. The book is repetitive and could be much tighter. Franks complains about being criticized for the tempo of his forces during the war. While he may have been wrongly criticized, it seems to be eating him up and the book reads like a 700 page justification of his decisions. I think it really detracts from what could have been an expert level description of the ground war. I appreciate that Franks is describing the war from his perspective, but I would have preferred less of his emotions and more matter of fact information about how the war progressed and the battles fought. He uses much more ink describing how the criticism of him was incorrect than he does describing his corps elimination of the Iraqi divisions.
|
