Marine Corps selects one book that he believes is both relevant and timeless for reading by all Marines. The Commandant's choice for 1993 was We Were Soldiers Once . . . and Young. In November 1965, some 450 men of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, under the command of Lt. Col. Hal Moore, were dropped by helicopter into a small clearing in the Ia Drang Valley. They were immediately surrounded by 2,000 North Vietnamese soldiers. Three days later, only two and a half miles away, a sister battalion was chopped to pieces. Together, these actions at the landing zones X-Ray and Albany constituted one of the most savage and significant battles of the Vietnam War. How these men persevered--sacrificed themselves for their comrades and never gave up--makes a vivid portrait of war at its most inspiring and devastating. General Moore and Joseph Galloway, the only journalist on the ground throughout the fighting, have interviewed hundreds of men who fought there, including the North Vietnamese commanders. This devastating account rises above the specific ordeal it chronicles to present a picture of men facing the ultimate challenge, dealing with it in ways they would have found unimaginable only a few hours earlier. It reveals to us, as rarely before, man's most heroic and horrendous endeavor.

    Massie has written a richly textured and gripping chronicle of the personal and national rivalries that led to the twentieth century's first great arms race. Massie brings to vivid life, such historical figures as the single-minded Admiral von Tirpitz, the young, ambitious, Winston Churchill, the ruthless, sycophantic Chancellor Bernhard von Bulow, and many others. Their story, and the story of the era, filled with misunderstandings, missed opportunities, and events leading to unintended conclusions, unfolds like a Greek tratedy in his powerful narrative. Intimately human and dramatic, DREADNOUGHT is history at its most riveting.

    Miller has written what critics are calling one of the most powerful accounts of warfare ever published.Here are the horror and heroism of World War II in the words of the men who fought it, the journalists who covered it, and the civilians who were caught in its fury. Miller gives us an up-close, deeply personal view of a war that was more savagely fought—and whose outcome was in greater doubt—than readers might imagine. This is the war that Americans at the home front would have read about had they had access to the previously censored testimony of the soldiers on which Miller builds his gripping narrative. Miller covers the entire war—on land, at sea, and in the air—and provides new coverage of the brutal island fighting in the Pacific, the bomber war over Europe, the liberation of the death camps, and the contributions of African Americans and other minorities. He concludes with a suspenseful, never-before-told story of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, based on interviews with the men who flew the mission that ended the war.

    . . James Jimmy Doolittle was one of America\s greatest heroes. In a life filled with adventure and achievement, Doolittle did it all. As a stunt pilot, he thrilled the world with his aerial acrobatics. As a scientist, he pioneered the development of modern aviation technology. During World War II, he served his country as a fearless and innovative air warrior, organizing and leading the devastating raid against Japan. Now, for the first time, here is his life story - modest, revealing, and candid as only Doolittle himself can tell it. Doolittle tells a story of the sucesses and adventures, the triumphs and tragedies of a true American hero - a far-seeing leader whose courage, devotion, and daring changed the course of modern history . . . and continues to make its influence felt to this day.

    A Vietnam veteran and Medal of Honor recipient describes his experiences with an elite Special Forces unit in Vietnam from 1966 to 1972, where his missions ranged from intelligence gathering to search-and-destroy operations in enemy territory.

    . . .The U.S. Marine Scout Snipers were among the most highly trained soldiers in Vietnam. With their unparalleled skill, freedom of movement, and deadly accurate long-range Remington 700 bolt rifles, the Scout Snipers were sought after by every Marine unit--and so feared by the enemy that the VC bounty on the Scout Snipers was higher than on any other elite American unit.Joseph Ward's letters home reveal a side of war seldom seen. Whether under nightly mortar attack in An Hoa, with a Marine company in the bullet-scarred jungle, on secret missions to Laos, or on dangerous two-man hunter-kills, Ward lived the war in a way few men did. And he fought the enemy as few men did--up close and personal.

    When Gary Linderer reached Vietnam in 1968, he volunteered for training and duty with the F Company 58th In, the Long Range Patrol Company that was "the Eyes of the Eagle." F Company pulled reconnaisssance missions and ambushes, and Linderer recounts night insertions into enemy territory, patrols against NVA antiaircraft emplacements, and some of the bravest demonstrations of courage under fire that has ever been described....From the Paperback edition.

    His job was to find the enmy, observe him, or kill him--all the while behind enemy lines, where success could be as dangerous as discovery.

    In three tours of duty, he made combat jumps, spent months of fruitless effort looking for the enemy, watched as his budies died because of lousy leadership and lousy weapons. He saw the war as few others did, and lives to tell about the valor and sacrifice that outlived the dead.

    History Bk Club.

    Toland pored over military archives and was the first person to gain access to previously undisclosed Chinese records, which allowed him to investigate Chairman Mao’s direct involvement in the conflict. Toland supplements his captivating history with in-depth interviews with more than two hundred American soldiers, as well as North Korean, South Korean, and Chinese combatants, plus dozens of poignant photographs, bringing those who fought to vivid life and honoring the memory of those lost.  In Mortal Combat is comprehensive in it discussion of events deemed controversial, such as American brutality against Korean civilians and allegations of American use of biological warfare. Toland tells the dramatic account of the Korean War from start to finish, from the appalling experience of its POWs to Mao’s prediction of MacArthur’s Inchon invasion.   Toland’s account of the “forgotten war” is a must-read for any history aficionado.

    Guerrillas on skis, heroic single-handed attacks on tanks, unfathomable endurance, and the charismatic leadership of one of this century's true military geniuses - these are the elements of both the Finnish victory and a gripping tale of war.

    Doc Norton, leader of 3d Force Recon, recounts his team's experiences behind enemy lines during the tense patrols, sudden ambushes and acts of supreme sacrifice that occurred as they gathered valuable information about NVA operations right from the source.

    Known as "the Gibraltar of the South," Fort Fisher was the largest, most formidable coastal fortification in the Confederacy, by late 1864 protecting its lone remaining seaport-Wilmington, North Carolina. Gragg's powerful, fast-paced narrative recounts the military actions, politicking, and personality clashes involved in this unprecedented land and sea battle. It vividly describes the greatest naval bombardment of the war and shows how the fort's capture in January 1865 hastened the South's surrender three months later. In his foreword, historian Edward G. Longacre surveys Gragg's work in the context of Civil War history and literature, citing Confederate Goliath as "the finest book-length account of a significant but largely forgotten episode in our nation's most critical conflict."

    Here -- for the first time in one volume -- is the chronicle of the United States Army's dramatic mobilization and stunning march to victory in World War II.In a lively and engrossing narrative that spans theaters of operations around the world, Geoffrey Perret tells how the Army was drafted, trained, organized, armed, and led at every stage of the war. Beginning with the prescient military planners of the 1930s, he offers vivid warts-and-all profiles of the farsighted commanders who would lead the way, men like Marshall, MacArthur, Eisenhower, Ridgway, Bradley, and Patton.Drawing heavily on important new source material in major archives throughout the United States, THERE'S A WAR TO BE WON offers new insights into the wartime Army, its commanders, and its battles. A major work of American military history."An immensely readable, well-researched history . . . Dramatic." -- Chicago TribuneFrom the Paperback edition.

    David Glantz examines the Soviet study of war, the re-emergence of the operation level and its connection with deep battle, the evolution of the Soviet theory of operations in depth before 1941, and its refinement and application in the European theatre and the Far East between 1941 and 1945.

    

    Here is the crash program - complete with crash landings - powered by the dedicated men and women of the home front who designed and built this revolutionary, tide-turning airplane. Boone T. Guyton, an experimental test pilot at Chance Vought during and after World War II, flew 105 types of aircraft in 45 years as a pilot.

    Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

    He explores the problems of command, control and intelligence.

    Reprint. PW.

    

    Singlaub recounts 40 years in the military.Mixing personal anecdotes with well-researched history and previously classified documents, John Singlaub's Hazardous Duty provides a unique look at the military, including the early days of the CIA.

    The lessons learned by the Soviet Army from these experiences helped design the military steamroller that decimated the German panzer divisions at Kursk in the Summer of 1943.

    For seven hot, bloody days in 1967, two Marine regiments furiously fought back a savage Vietcong ambush. This blow-by-blow account is a tale of extraordinary personalities, NVA deception, air-strikes, and the raw courage of these brave men.

    This stunning volume provides a focus rarely seen in Civil War documentation.

    But when the coded messages are in a language as complex as Japanese, decoding problems multiply dramatically.It took the U.S. Army a full two years after the attack on Pearl Harbor to break the codes of the Japanese Imperial Army. But by 1944 the U.S. was decoding more than 20,000 messages a month filled with information about enemy movements, strategy, fortifications, troop strengths, and supply convoys.In MacArthur's ULTRA, historian Edward Drea recounts the story behind the Army's painstaking decryption operation and its dramatic breakthrough. He demonstrates how ULTRA (intelligence from decrypted Japanese radio communications) shaped MacArthur's operations in New Guinea and the Philippines and its effect on the outcome of World War II.From sources on both sides of the Pacific and national security agency declassified records, Drea has compiled a detailed listing of the ULTRA intelligence available to MacArthur. By correlating the existing intelligence with MacArthur's operational decisions, Drea shows how MacArthur usedand misusedintelligence information. He tells for the first time the story behind MacArthur's bold leap to Hollandia in 1944 and shows how ULTRA revealed the massive Japanese mobilization for what might have been (had it occurred) the bloodiest and most protracted engagement of the entire war the Allied invasion of Japan. Drea also clarifies the role of ULTRA in Truman's decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan in 1945, and concludes that ULTRA shortened the war by six to ten months.

    This is the story of the JG 26 pilots, or "Abbeville Kids." A microcosm of World War II exists in the rise and fall of this famous fighter wing--whose slashing attacks always seemed to come from the best position--from its founding during Hitler's military buildup, through its glory days in the first years of the war--when its bases in northen France were to be avoided at all costs--right up to the grim, final hours of the Third Reich.

    A Prussian aristocrat and member of the General Staff in World War I, he helped to modernize the German armed forces before policy disagreements led to his premature retirement in 1938. Frequently sacked and reinstated, von Rundstedt was a controversial figure. He was recalled to take part in the Blitzkrieg campaigns of 1939-41 and was responsible for the land element of Sealion, the planned invasion of the British mainland. After service on the Eastern Front, he became Commander-in-Chief West until being sacked for the last time in March 1945. Only ill-health prevented him from being tried as a war criminal after arraignment by the British in 1948. In this book, the author examines this enigmatic officer - his attitude to Hitler as leader and tactician, his standing as a field commander, his possible war trial and his position as one of the last members of the Prussian military elite.

    submarines in the Pacific during World War II.

    Photos.

    However, despite the frightening strength of the panzer forces, about 75 percent of the German Army relied on horses for transport. Horses played a role in every German campaign, from the blitzkrieg in Poland in 1939 and the invasion of Russia to France in 1944. Even the epic tank battle at Kursk witnessed the use of these animals. DiNardo offers a compelling reconsideration of the German war machine.An unusual, myth-busting approach to the German Army in World War II Shows how horses were employed and how Germany acquired many of its horses from conquered countries

    One of the best-written WWII histories.

    Hedren, Western Historical Quarterly "[Gray] has applied rigorous analysis as no previous historian has done to these oft-analyzed events. His detailed time-motion study of the movements of the various participants frankly boggles the mind of this reviewer. No one will be able to write of this battle again without reckoning with Gray"-Thomas W. Dunlay, Journal of American History "Gray challenges many time honored beliefs about the battle. Perhaps most significantly, he brings in as much as possible the testimony of the Indian witnesses, especially that of the young scout Curley, which generations of historians have dismissed for contradictions that Gray convincingly demonstrates were caused not by Curley but by the assumptions made by his questioners . . . The contrasts in [this] book. . . restate the basic components of what still attracts the imagination to the Little Bighorn."-Los Angeles Times Book Review "Gray's analysis, by and large, is impressively drawn; it is an immensely logical reconstruction that should stand the test of time. As a contribution to Custer and Indian wars literature, it is indeed masterful."-Jerome A. Greene, New Mexico Historical Review John S. Gray was a distinguished historian whose books included the acclaimed Centennial Campaign: The Sioux War of 1876. Custer's Last Campaign is the winner of the Western Writers of American Spur award and the Little Bighorn Associates John M. Carroll Literary Award.

    Their readiness and prompt action at Harper's Ferry stopped John Brown's insurrection in its tracks. In 1917, as the "First to Fight" slogan demonstrated its electric effect, the 5th Marines sailed for France and joined up with the first convoy at sea, anxious to get on with the war. With courage, discipline, and typical small-unit initiative, the Marines triumphed at Belleau Wood, a victory that was to advantageously affect the quality and thinking of the Marine Corps ever after. Yet it is no accident that so much of the Marine Corps' fighting and expeditionary service has taken place between the major wars. Marines could be found detaining Abraham Lincoln's suspected assassins aboard the Montauk, conducting minor landings in Nicaragua or Korea in the late nineteenth century, or battling rebels in Haiti or Cuba in the twentieth century. Their flexibility and adaptability has earned them a solid reputation as a preeminent fighting force. Their contributions to America's military force have been many. Development of amphibious warfare during World War II was undoubtedly one of the most important tactical innovations in our history. As larger military services are reduced between wars, the Corps' traditional role as "a force in readiness" becomes more essential for peacetime strength. And when the Marines are called to action, their preparedness and effectiveness as a maritime fighting team is unequaled.

    The organization of armies of the ancient world, their performance, their military operations, and their ability to raise the art of warfare to towering heights are the focus of this carefully documented volume. An examination is made of all the major military establishments of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Pertinent evidence is gathered from a number of disciplines and integrated into a coherent whole. Corroborative evidence is drawn from modern analysis when accepting or rejecting the claims of ancient writers. Where that was lacking, the authors conducted empirical studies of ancient weapons, which led to a better understanding of how ancient battles were really fought. The book concludes with description and analysis of the armies of the ancient world placed in a modern perspective.From Sumer to Rome provides a detailed portrait of the world's earliest military establishments. A number of military innovations and developments that came to fruition in the Iron Age and that remained are traced. An empirical analysis of all the major weapons of the ancient armies is made. The factors that played dominant roles in outcomes are explored and thorough analysis of military medical care systems is provided. This book will be an excellent addition to the libraries of military historians, students of ancient warfare and weaponry, and the general reader.

    Follows Napoleon Bonaparte from his origins as a lowly soldier to his rise to military power and his conquest of Europe.

    One of America's most daring and accomplished test pilots, Johnston helped develop the jet age at Bell Aircraft and Boeing. At Bell, he tested the XS-1, and at Boeing the XB-47 (the first six-jet engine bomber), the XB-52 bomber, and the 707 series of jets -- including a famous barrel-roll above a crowd gathered for the Gold Cup Hydroplane Races in Seattle, Wash.

    Their reward was forced repatriation into Stalin's Gulag at the hands of Western powers in 1945.

    Hale deploys an unprecedentedly rich corpus of images, many of supreme quality, which reflect the ways in which artists, often independently of patrons, responded to the facts of war, to violence and death, to battles and sieges, to ideas about its nature and causes, and, above all, to the men who made war possible, the common infantry soldiers.

    An overview of how warfare has developed since the early 1900s, with coverageof the weapons and tactics used in renowned campaigns and battles world-wide.Over 200 color and black-and-white photographs.

    Powerful images and vivid narrative are combined in a unique catalog of Civil War artifacts, tactical maps and other battle accouterments.

    The story in this book of premier ace Hub Zemke's experi-ences on the ground as a prisoner of war in charge of nearly 9,000 POWs is as extraordinary as his adven-tures in the sky, where he broke all records for German planes destroyed in the air.

    The evidence in this edition supports Haywood's earlier arguments, and advances the view that Viking ships and sea borne activities were not as revolutionary as is commonly believed.

    The book is not confined to the news as it was reported at the time, with the inevitable distortions caused by censorship and official secrecy: it draws upon all the information now available about the war - the code-breaking, espionage, commando raids, top-level military and political wrangling, developments in weaponry and the horrors of the Holocaust - which often remained classified as top secret for years after the war. All the great, world-shattering events are here: the Blitzkrieg through Poland and later into France, Churchill's "finest hour", the Battle of Britain, El Alamein, Pearl Harbor, Stalingrad, D-Day, the fall of Berlin and Hiroshima. But Chronicle of the Second World War never forgets what life was like for ordinary people, whether in the battle zones or on the home front. From the miseries of ration queues and austerity clothing to the delights of ITMA and Glenn Miller, Chronicle aims not just to report the events of the war but to enable readers to feel what it was like to live through those years. As with all Chronicle books, the events are reported as though they had just happened, recapturing all the drama and immediacy of the war. Lavishly illustrated with photographs throughout plus some 175 specially-commissioned maps and diagrams, Chronicle of the Second World War makes the headlines of the past as vivid as today's newspapers or the nightly television news. It includes material about the German home front previously published only in Germany, with contributions also from Chronicle writers in Australia, France and North America to provide truly global coverage. Special features of this book include personal memoirs of the war from personalities as diverse as Roald Dahl and Spike Milligan, Denis Healey and Vera Lynn, Ludovic Kennedy an

    This war brought about radical changes in the sizes and the associated costs of the armies of Britain, France, Austria and the United Provinces in a relatively short period. For example, the size of field armies grew from an average of about 25,000 men during the Thirty Years' War to an average of about 100,000 men in 1695 during the Nine Years War. The costs of sustaining such huge field forces in terms of food, equipment and pay brought Britain and France, in particular, fiscal crisis and a shattered economy respectively, after the peace.

    It shows the basis for their approach to war and how these techniques were successful by adapting to the circumstances of the situation. The Australian Light Horse demonstrated the traits of initiative and flexibility during the campaign in Egypt and Palestine by changing their modus operandi from mounted infantry to cavalry, a seemingly minor shift semantically, a major shift doctrinally.Their adaptability to the situations in the desert was largely responsible for their tactical successes and played a major part in the success of the operational maneuver of the mounted forces under General Allenby during the last year of the war. Most importantly, the lessons learned from their actions sustained the advocates of horse cavalry doctrine long after the apparent usefulness of the horse on the modern battlefield had diminished in importance.

    Chronicle of the oldest and most experienced Panzer division in the Wehrmacht, and its combat throughout WWII in over 500 photos.

    A superb collection of reprinted ads, posters, memorabilia, articles, and photos provide an intimate look at America's home front. Recycling, rationing, parades, assault on the Pacific coast, children at war, Civil Defense, historic moments, important people, everyday activities, and more.

    

    During those six weeks, six nations found themselves at war, fighting across four countries. From the polders of the Netherlands in the north to the mountains of the Alps in the south, and from the Rhine valley to the Atlantic coast, Jean Paul Pallud explores every corner of the battlefield, the camera recording the scenes today where 50 years ago Dutch, Belgian, German, French, British and Italian soldiers were locked in mortal combat.

    The authors, distinguished defense analysts, look closely at all aspects of war-making--from officer training and weapons procurement to intelligence gathering and the relationship between "bullets and ballots"--and deliver a startling, timely clarion call that concerned citizens can't afford to ignore.

    But here is a rare compilation of eyewitness accounts by those who actually survived the bombing on December 7, 1941.This book is their story. Not the official version from the top brass, but the riveting, clear-as-yesterday accounts of the ordinary soldiers, sailors, airmen, nurses, chaplains, and wives who were at Pearl Harbor, going about their normal lives that fateful Sunday morning. From the burning deck of the Tennessee in the inferno of Battleship Row, from the airfields, from the hospitals, and from the Navy Yard dry docks come the chilling and unforgettable stories of these brave men and women.

    Also examines the battlefield of Wavre, the French retreat, and rearguard fighting at Namur.

    Army's effort to clothe troops in differing climates worldwide.

    The First World War remains controversial in its conduct and its broader implications, and this volume explores many issues which continue to cause debate, such as Haig's generalship, the role of T.E. Lawrence in the Arab Revolt, and the failure of the Dardanelles campaign. It also examines the new approaches to the war stimulated by the fiftieth anniversaries in the 1960s, and follows them through to contemporary concern with the experiences of ordinary soldiers and their chroniclers.

    

    There was a significant Irish presence in every major theatre of war. The Irish were mobilised in three divisions - the 10th, the 16th and the 36th - as well as in the traditional Irish regiments. In all, 72 battalions were raised and saw active service. While the achievements of the 36th - especially on the Somme - are well known, the stories of the 10th and 16th have remained largely untold until now. Tom Johnstone's book is the first comprehensive overview of Irish participation in the war. as such, it is a major addition not just to Irish history but to the history of war in general.

    

    Army was, by all accounts, ill prepared to meet the challenge. Peace had taken its toll. Black or white, the first American soldiers sent to Korea from their comfortable bases in Japan were generally out of shape, poorly trained, and lacking the armor and other heavy weapons they needed to repel the invaders. Black or white, many performed badly. But it was the black units that received much of the blame for the early rout. Among the first American combatants in the Korean War was the 77th Engineer Combat Company led by Capt. Charles M. Bussey, a former Tuskegee Airman, World War II combat fighter pilot, and Los Angeles policeman. Today a retired lieutenant colonel, Bussey readily admits the faults of some black units and many of his own troops. But he also strongly contends that on the whole, black units performed no worse than the white units and in many cases much better. He lays the blame for the popular misperception of African American failure in the Korean War on institutional racism within the US; Army and a prejudiced wartime media. The story of the 77th, which fought well considering some very difficult circumstances, is his case in point. And according to his commanding officer, Bussey himself would have received the Medal of Honor, instead of the Silver Star, for his actions at Yechon but for the color of his skin. Firefight at Yechon is a professional soldier’s heartfelt story-raw, bloody, terrifying, and morally ambiguous-much like combat itself. It’s also one man’s attempt to redress history, to set the record straight about the contribution of African Americans in the Korean War. Charles Bussey honors his brave comrades-Carlisle, Lenon, Benetield, Wilson, and the others. After Firefight at Yechon, the reader will long remember them, too. This alone would be a great step toward Bussey’s goal, that never again will the question be asked, “What is the color of courage?”

    

    It was a time that saw the crossing of the frozen Rhine by various German tribes; the sack of Rome by the Goths and Vandals; the great invasion of the Huns; the emergence of powerful feuding landlords and endemic peasant revolts; and the grasping of power by the German warrior aristocrats. This book fully describes the historical background and gives detailed instructions on war-games armies, paper and pencil games and rules for miniature games. The numerous maps and drawings perfectly complement the text. Relive the epic battles and turmoil of the Barbarian Invasions and recreate on your war-games table the struggles which led to the end of the Classical World.

    Also includes battle maps, black and white photographs, an order of battle, biographical sketches of the principal officers, a bibliography, an index, and a glossary. On cover: World War II 50th Anniversary Commemorative Edition. L.C. card 91-17502.

    But by 1940, British women were out "doing their bit" for the war effort, and Canadians battled for that same right. Young Canadian women wanted to serve their country, "to free a man to fight," as the recruiting posters urged. By the war’s end almost 50,000 of them were in the forces.Carolyn Gossage has compiled a fascinating collage of anecdotal and documentary material. The colourful story of Canada’s "forgotten women" - those who volunteered for service during World War II in the RCAF Women’s division, the Canadian Women’s Army Corps (CWAC) and the Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service (Wrens) - entertains and enlightens.

    Roosevelt met in secret aboard a ship in a secluded Newfoundland harbor. This was the first summit conference of World War II. Although it would soon be overshadowed by the events to come, the 1941 summit at Placentia Bay produced dramatic results. It confirmed the policy of material aid for Britain and sanctioned the "Atlantic Charter." It also laid the groundwork for the three-way alliance that would bring about the destruction of the Axis powers. "I am sure that I have established warm and deep personal relations with our great friend," Churchill cabled his cabinet from Argentia Harbor. In this revised edition of his classic study, which won the Society of American Historians Parkman Prize, historian Theodore Wilson has expanded and updated the narrative. Drawing upon a wealth of primary sources made available since the first edition (British official records, declassified material in the Roosevelt Library and National Archives, along with the papers of such British and American officials as George C. Marshall, Adolf Berle, Orlando Ward, Sir Alexander Cadogan, and Lord Halifax), he has added nearly 40% new material. The First Summit is now totally grounded in archival research and authoritative in a way that the original version could not be. Wilson carefully analyzes the events of August 1941 and concludes that President Roosevelt was not totally in control. As the country lurched from crisis to crisis, bureaucratic politics and organizational dynamics were far more influential than FDR in determining the evolution of U.S. strategy, U. S. policy toward Japan, Anglo-American economic relations, and the efforts to mobilize for war. Wilson also recaptures the drama and color of the shipboard discussionsfrom Roosevelt's bizarre working methods to Churchill's choice of entertainment in the evenings. The resulting narrative bristles with detail and puts forth a rounded, confident argument establishing the meeting at Argentia as a landmark in the history of war diplomacy. "The new material puts The First Summit once again on the cutting edge of the historical debate. Even bureaucratic politics comes alive. . . . This is a most important book."J. Garry Clifford, author of The First Peacetime Draft.