Greg Jaffe

A biography of four men, all of whom were generals in the United States Army has it's strengths and weaknesses based on this approach. It is good to see four careers looked at at the same time, it provides a good look into the US Army as an institution. But the book is also restrained by that, the book has some great insights into the Iraq war but it gets pulled back because of it's biographical nature. It reinforces what I had already learnt about the war in Iraq, that the reason things spiraled out of control was the lack of direction from the top. I still find it amazing that so little thought was given over to what happened after the Iraqi Army was defeated in 2003 and to how long US troops would be required. This book also confirms that troop levels were not high enough and both allowed the insurgency to grow and allowed it to continue. While the Vietnam War was an inspiration to the US officer corp, it was a shock to see how little the lessons had really been taken on board.… (altro)

General Petraeus signed my copy of the book as a favor to one of the finest veterans I have ever taught. Once confessing my predilection towards the general, the US military, and American ideals I can review the book.

Nonetheless, there are four exceptional generals who were tasked to save an army questioned vociferously after the Vietnam debacle. Towards this goal they became the Army's most influential generals during the controversial liberation of Iraq. Collectively, their story tells how the army over the last four decades can illuminate the path to travel in order to protect the nation in the future.

The well-known events of the Iraq he liberation and the surge are retelling Lee told here except more from the biographies of the four principal generals. We understand to a greater extent how their lives intermingled, opposed, or harmonized between their respective careers.… (altro)