Rating: 
Summary: If you read just ONE book abt the Gulf War, make it this one
Review: This book will satisfy military history buffs and people who merely want more detail on why we really went into the war alike. The focus is not only on the military operations; Atkinson also alternates between that and the political motives engagingly.What I especially appreciated about Atkinson was that he was very fair to the overall coverage. He was not shy nor timid in pointing out all aspects of the event; the strengths and weaknesses, the just causes and the more politically motivated ones, the triumphs and tragedies, the brilliance and stupidity, etc. The readers end up having a very balanced viewpoint of the entire affair. Atkinson doesn't mince words. He doesn't try to make it sound like the Gulf War was solely a product of Americans fighting for a just cause, he outlines many other circumstances (some purely political and self-serving) surrounding the many decisions made during the conflict as well. All in all, a totally satisfying read. Like I said in the title of this review, if you decide to read only ONE book on this war, let it be this one!
Rating:
Summary: If Only Tom Clancy Could Write a Novel Like This . . .
Review: This was one of the first detailed books out about the Gulf War, and one I read exhaustively when it first came out, having participated as a member of the 24th Infantry Division. It is well written, suspensful, but in most cases focuses only on the "official" story as it was told by the Pentagon. It's difficult to write history so quickly after it happens -- for example, Atkinson barely covers the post-ceasefire battle in the Rumayla Oilfield, a very large engagement which took place after the ceasefire -- and after all the reporters had returned to Riyadh. On the whole, very solid and will give a good view of the war. Supplement by reading Seymour Hersh's New Yorker article from May 2000 to get a feel for what it was like on the ground. As a veteran, and the author of an upcoming novel about the war (Prayer at Rumayla: A Novel of the Gulf War), this is a book I would recommend.
Rating: 
Summary: Good book but not deep enough
Review: This was one of the first detailed books out about the Gulf War, and one I read exhaustively when it first came out, having participated as a member of the 24th Infantry Division. It is well written, suspensful, but in most cases focuses only on the "official" story as it was told by the Pentagon. It's difficult to write history so quickly after it happens -- for example, Atkinson barely covers the post-ceasefire battle in the Rumayla Oilfield, a very large engagement which took place after the ceasefire -- and after all the reporters had returned to Riyadh. On the whole, very solid and will give a good view of the war. Supplement by reading Seymour Hersh's New Yorker article from May 2000 to get a feel for what it was like on the ground. As a veteran, and the author of an upcoming novel about the war (Prayer at Rumayla: A Novel of the Gulf War), this is a book I would recommend.
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