The Military Shelf

Patton's War
Kevin M. Hymel
University of Missouri Press
113 Heinkel Bldg., 201 S. 7th Street, Columbia, MO 65211 https://upress.missouri.edu
9780826222787, $39.95, HC, 490pp

https://www.amazon.com/Pattons-War-Leadership-August-December-Experience/dp= /0826222781

Synopsis: "Patton's War: An American General's Combat Leadership August-Dec= ember 1944" is second of three volumes of Patton's War and picks up where t=
he first one (Patton's War: An American General's Combat Leadership, Volume=
I: November 1942-July 1944) left off, examining General George S. Patton's=
leadership of the U.S. Third Army.

This volume follows Patton's contributions to both the Normandy and Brittan=
y campaigns -- the closing of the Falaise Pocket in Normandy, and racing to=
the port cities in Brittany. It ends with Patton and his corps rescuing th=
e besieged town of Bastogne in the Battle of the Bulge.

As he did in the preceding volume, Hymel relies not only on Patton's diarie=
s and letters, but countless veteran interviews, surveys, and memoirs. He a= lso provides a unique insight missed by previous Patton scholars. Instead o=
f using Patton's transcribed diaries, which were heavily edited and embelli= shed, he consults Patton's original, hand-written diaries to uncover previo= usly unknown information about the general.

This second volume of military historian Kevin Hymel's groundbreaking work = shows Patton at the height of his generalship, successfully leading his arm=
y without the mistakes and caustic behavior that almost got him sent home e= arlier -- even if we also see a Patton still guided at times by racism and = antisemitism.

Critique: A massive and impressively informative military biography, "Patto= n's War: An American General's Combat Leadership August-December 1944" is i= nformatively enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of Illustrations, M= aps, a twelve page Bibliography, sixty-two pages of Notes, and a twenty-two=
page Index. This seminal volume is unreservedly recommended for personal, = professional, community, and academic library World War II Histories & Biog= raphies collections and supplemental WWII curriculum studies lists. It shou=
ld be noted for students, academia, historians, and military history buffs = that "Patton's War: An American General's Combat Leadership August-December=
1944" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $29.99).

Editorial Note: Kevin M. Hymel (https://www.usni.org/people/kevin-m-hymel) = has served as a historian and writer for the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force f=
or the last fifteen years and is a historian/tour guide for Stephen Ambrose=
Historical Tours, where he leads the "In Patton's Footsteps" tour. He is a= lso a regular contributor to WWII History and WWII Quarterly, and the autho=
r of three books, including Patton's Photographs: War as He Saw It.

No Sacrifice Too Great
Gregory Fontenot
University of Missouri Press
113 Heinkel Bldg., 201 S. 7th Street, Columbia, MO 65211 https://upress.missouri.edu
9780826222848, $39.95, HC, 616pp

https://www.amazon.com/No-Sacrifice-Too-Great-Experience/dp/0826222846

Synopsis: The U.S. 1st Infantry Division (1st ID), familiarly known as the = Big Red One, adapted to dynamic battlefield conditions throughout the cours=
e of its deployment during World War II by innovating and altering behavior=
, including tactics, techniques, and procedures. Both the Division's leader=
s and soldiers accomplished this by thinking critically about their experie= nces in combat and wasting little time in putting lessons learned to good u= se. Simply put, they learned on the job (in battle and after battle) and di=
d so quickly.

In telling the Division's WWII story, which includes an extensive photograp= hic essay featuring many previously unpublished images, this edition of "No=
Sacrifice Too Great: The 1st Infantry Division in World War II" by Gregory=
Fontenot includes the stories of individual members of the Big Red One, fr=
om high-ranking officers to enlisted men fresh off the streets of Brooklyn,=
both during and after the conflict. Colonel Fontenot's rare ability to com= bine expert analysis with compelling narrative history makes No Sacrifice T=
oo Great an absorbing read for anyone interested in the military history of=
the United States.

Critique: Enhanced with the inclusion of Maps, three Appendices (Tactical S= ymbols; 1st Infantry Division Organization Chart; Table of Ranks through Li= eutenant Colonel), a twelve page Selected Bibliography, and a twenty-eight = page Index, "No Sacrifice Too Great: The 1st Infantry Division in World War=
II" is a critically important and unreservedly recommended contribution to=
personal, professional, community, and academic library World War II milit= ary history collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It shoul=
d be noted for military history buffs that "No Sacrifice Too Great" is also=
available in a digital book format (Kindle, $37.95).

Editorial Note: Gregory Fontenot (https://www.fpri.org/contributor/gregory-= fontenot) is a retired Colonel of the U.S. Army. He is currently a consulta=
nt on threat emulation for Army experimentation and a working historian. He=
was lead author of On Point: The US Army in Operation Iraqi Freedom publis= hed by CGSC Press and is the author of The 1st Infantry Division and the US=
Army Transformed: Road to Victory in Desert Storm, 1970-1991, winner of th=
e 2017 Army Historical Foundation award for Unit History, as well as Loss a=
nd Redemption at St. Vith: The 7th Armored Division in the Battle of the Bu= lge.

The Philadelphia Campaign, 1777
Michael C. Harris
Casemate Publishers
1940 Lawrence Road, Havertown, PA 19083
www.casematepublishers.com
9781636242644, $24.95, PB, 128pp

https://www.amazon.com/Philadelphia-Campaign-1777-78-Casemate-Illustrated/d= p/1636242642

Synopsis: The British Army in North America conducted two campaigns in 1777=
.. John Burgoyne led one army south from Canada to seize control of the Lake=
Champlain-Hudson River corridor resulting in the battle of Saratoga. Burgo= yne's defeat led to that army's capture. Rather than assist Burgoyne's camp= aign, William Howe led his army from New York City on the Philadelphia camp= aign. Although Howe captured Philadelphia, the events of 1777 led to the Fr= ench Alliance and ultimately American victory in American Revolution.

Critique: With the publication of "The Philadelphia Campaign, 1777" by hist= orian Michael C. Harris, the reader is treated to a fully illustrated accou=
nt of the Philadelphia campaign that places this American Revelational War = campaign into its historical context and explains the importance of this pa= rticular military campaign to the eventual outcome of the war.

Critique: Profusely and informatively illustrated in full color throughout,=
"The Philadelphia Campaign, 1777" provides a succinct account of one of th=
e pivotal battle campaigns of the American Revolution that would insure the=
emancipation of the colonies and their subsequent transformation into the = United States of America. While a very highly recommended pick for personal=
reading lists and community library American History collections and suppl= emental American Revolution curriculum studies lists, it should be noted fo=
r students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest i=
n the subject that "The Philadelphia Campaign, 1777" is also available in a=
digital book format (Kindle, $11.49).

Editorial Note: Michael C. Harris (https://www.battlefields.org/contributor= s/michael-c-harris) has worked for the National Park Service in Fredericksb= urg, Virginia, Fort Mott State Park in New Jersey, and the Pennsylvania His= torical and Museum Commission at Brandywine Battlefield. He conducted tours=
and staff rides of many of the east coast battlefields. He has written two=
books on the Philadelphia Campaign: Brandywine: A Military History of the = Battle Lost Philadelphia but Saved America, September 11, 1777, and Germant= own: A Military History of the Battle for Philadelphia, October 4, 1777.

SOG Medic
Joe Parnar, author
Robert Dumont, author
Casemate Publishers
1940 Lawrence Road, Havertown, PA 19083
www.casematepublishers.com
Blackstone Audiobooks
https://www.blackstonelibrary.com
9781612006338, $32.95, HC, 288pp

https://www.amazon.com/SOG-Medic-Stories-Vietnam-Fence/dp/1612006337

Synopsis: Elite units carried out many dangerous operations during the Viet= nam War, the most secret and hazardous of which were conducted by the Studi=
es and Observations Group, formed in 1964.

In the years since the Vietnam War, the elite unit known as SOG has spawned=
many myths, legends and war stories. Special Forces medic Joe Parnar serve=
d with SOG during 1968 in FOB2/CCC near the tri-border area that gave them = access to the forbidden areas of Laos and Cambodia.

With the publication of "SOG Medic: Stories from Vietnam and Over the Fence=
", Parnar recounts his time with the recon men of this highly classified un= it, as his job involved a unique combination of soldiering and lifesaving. = His stories capture the extraordinary commitment made by all the men of SOG=
and reveal the special dedication of the medics, who put their own lives a=
t risk to save the lives of their teammates. Parnar also discusses his medi= cal training with the Special Forces.

During his tour with SOG, Parnar served as a dispensary medic, chase medic,=
Hatchet Force medic and as a recon team member. This variety of roles gave=
him experience not only in combat but in dealing with and treating the civ= ilians and indigenous peoples of that area. There is a graphic account of a=
Laotian operation involving America's most decorated soldier, Robert Howar=
d, during which Parnar had to treat a man with a blown-off foot alongside n= early fifty other casualties. It is a reminder of the enormous responsibili=
ty and burden that a medic carried.

Critique: An impressively informative and inherently interesting combinatio=
n of memoir and history, this new edition of "SOG Medic: Stories from Vietn=
am and Over the Fence" is further enhanced for the reader with the inclusio=
n of additional photos and maps. An important and highly recommended additi=
on to personal, professional, community, and academic library Viet Nam War = histories, biographies, and memoirs, "SOG Medic" is also available in a pap= erback edition (9781636243207, $24.95), in a digital book format (Kindle, $= 12.99), and as a complete and unabridged audio book (Blackstone Audio, 9798= 200307623, $34.99, CD).

Editorial Note #1: Joe Parnar (https://www.modernforces.com/veteran_joe_par= nar.htm) served in the U.S. Army Special Forces from August 1966 - April 19= 69. After military service he became involved in several veterans' organiza= tions. He is a lifelong member of the American Legion and served as Command=
er of Gardner Post 129 in 1989 and 1990. He is a life member of the Veteran=
s of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, Vietnam Veterans of America,=
and the Special Forces and Special Operations associations.

Editorial Note #2: Robert Dumont was born in Oklahoma in 1947 and graduated=
from Tusla University before moving to Brooklyn, NY. He worked in the Gene= ral Research Division of The New York Public Library before retiring in 201=
0. He co-authored Bac Si: A Green Beret Medic's War in Vietnam (Casemate 20= 14) with Jerry Krizan and has also written two fiction collections, "Boroug=
h of Churches" and "NYC Transit[s]."

Hard Aground
Andrew C. A. Jampoler
The University of Alabama Press
PO Box 870380, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0380
www.uapress.ua.edu
9780817321390, $115.00, HC, 320pp

https://www.amazon.com/Hard-Aground-Tennessee-Maritime-Archaeology/dp/08173= 2139X

Synopsis: With the publication of "Hard Aground: The Wreck of the USS Tenne= ssee and the Rise of the US Navy", Andrew C. A. Jampoler brings together th= ree intertwined stories documenting the US Navy's strategic and materiel ev= olution from the end of Civil War through the First World War. These incide= nts had lasting consequences for how the navy would modernize itself throug= hout the rest of the twentieth century.

The first story focuses on the reconstruction of the US Navy following the = swift and near-total dismantling of the Union Navy infrastructure after the=
Civil War. This reconstruction began with barely enough time for the navy'=
s campaigns in the Spanish-American War, and for its role in the First Worl=
d War. Jampoler argues that the federal government discovered that the flee=
t requested by the navy, and paid for by Congress, was the wrong fleet. Foc=
us was on battleships and cruisers rather than destroyers and other small c= ombat vessels needed to hunt submarines and serve as convoy escorts.

The second story relates the short, tragic life of the USS Tennessee (later=
renamed Memphis), one of the steel-hulled ships of the new Armored Cruiser=
Squadron that was a centerpiece of the navy's modernization effort. The US=
S Tennessee was ordered on two unusual missions in the early months of the = First World War, long before the United States formally entered the war. Th= ese little-known missions and the ship's shocking destruction in a storm su= rge in the Caribbean serve as the centerpiece of the story. Threaded throug=
h the narrative are biographical sketches of the principal players in the d= rama that unfolded following the ship's demise, including two of Tennessee'=
s commanding officers: Vice Admiral Sims, who commanded the US Navy squadro=
ns deployed to Europe in support of the Royal Navy; Rear Admiral William Ca= perton, who commanded the Caribbean squadron before the Memphis (formerly t=
he Tennessee) was lost; Charles Pond, squadron commander during the wreck; = and the American ambassador to the Ottoman court, President Wilson's enthus= iastic supporter, Henry Morgenthau.

Jampoler rounds out this fascinating account with the story of how the USS = Tennessee's destruction prompted fierce deliberations about the US Navy's o= perations and chains of command for the remainder of the First World War an=
d the high-level political wrangling inside the Department of the Navy imme= diately after the war, as civilian appointees and senior officers wrestled =
to reshape the department in their image.

Critique: Enhanced informatively for the reader with the inclusion of illus= trations, a ten page Epilogue, an eight page Bibliography, and a sixteen pa=
ge Index, "Hard Aground: The Wreck of the USS Tennessee and the Rise of the=
US Navy" is an exceptionally well researched, written, organized and prese= nted historical study of the American navy and key figures involved in shap= ing what it into the force it would become today. While also available for = personal reading lists in a paperback edition (9780817361082, $34.95) and i=
n a digital book format (Kindle, $33.20), "Hard Aground: The Wreck of the U=
SS Tennessee and the Rise of the US Navy" is a especially and unreservedly = recommended addition to personal, professional, community, college, and uni= versity library 20th Century U.S. Naval and Military History collections an=
d supplemental curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note: Andrew C. A. Jampoler (https://jampoler.com) retired from t=
he US Navy in 1986 after a twenty-four-year career, which included serving =
as an officer in the Strategic Plans and Policy Division of the US Navy sta=
ff and service on the personal staffs of the chief of naval operations, the=
secretary of defense, and the commander in chief of the US Pacific Fleet. =
He is author of nonfiction books about incidents in maritime history, inclu= ding Embassy to the Eastern Courts: America's Secret First Pivot Toward Asi=
a, 1832-37 and Congo, the Miserable Expeditions and Dreadful Death of Lt. E= mory Taunt, USN.

Kapaun's Battle
Jeff Gress
3rd Coast Books
https://www.3rdcoastbooks.com
9781946743480, $17.95, PB, 239pp

https://www.amazon.com/Kapauns-Battle-Jeff-Gress/dp/1946743488

Synopsis: "Kapaun's Battle" by Jeff Gress is a powerful testament to the he= roism of US Army Chaplain Emil Kapaun (Medal of Honor). The story follows h= im, from the start of the Korean War until his death as a Prisoner of War i=
n a Communist Chinese Prison Camp in 1951, following the destruction of the=
3rd Battalion, 8th Regiment of the US 1st Cavalry Division in November 195=
0.

"Kapaun's Battle" is the story of a true American hero. It's the biography =
of a young man, from a humble Kansas farming family, whose Catholic faith l=
ed him to the priesthood. Kapaun became an Army Chaplain in Southeast Asia = during World War II and then a parish priest. He volunteered to return to t=
he Army as tensions rose on the Korean Peninsula. It is the exceptional sto=
ry of Father Emil Kapaun's selfless bravery and of his dedication to the me=
n he ministered to during the Forgotten War.

In 1993, Pope John Paul II declared Father Kapaun a Servant of God, the fir=
st stage on the path to canonization. In 2013, Kapaun posthumously received=
the Medal of Honor from President Obama for his actions in Korea. He was t=
he ninth American military chaplain Medal of Honor recipient.

Although "Kapaun's Battle" is relevant to every freedom-loving American and=
indeed people worldwide, it is especially intended for the enlightenment o=
f students in schools and universities, along with members of religious con= gregations and military personnel, to the incredible impacts that one humbl=
e, pious American can have on the lives of so many by sacrificing his for t= hem.

Critique: One of those heartfelt, heart-breaking, and truly inspiring biogr= aphies that stirs the emotion and inspirationally impacts the reader, "Kapa= un's Battle" will linger in the mind and memory of the reader long after th=
is outstanding military biography has been finished and set back upon the s= helf. While especially and unreservedly recommended for personal reading li= sts and community/academic Korean War Military History and 20th Century Ame= rican Biography/Memoir collections, it should be noted that "Kapaun's Battl=
e" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $4.99).

Editorial Note: Jeff Gress (https://www.3rdcoastbooks.com/jeff-gress) is a = novelist, screenwriter, and movie producer who has been writing for over tw= enty years. He recently started his own production company, Landing Hill Pi= ctures, hoping to turn many of his stories and novels into movies or TV ser= ies.

Pirin Planina: Tragic and Comic Episodes from Captivity
George Topirceanu
Center for Romanian Studies
c/o Histria Books
www.histriabooks.com
9781592111497, $29.99, HC, 220pp

https://www.amazon.com/Pirin-Planina-Episodes-Captivity-Literature/dp/15921= 11491

Synopsis: With the posthumous publication of "Pirin Planina: Tragic and Com=
ic Episodes from Captivity", Romanian a Romanian poet, short story writer, = and humorist, who in 1926 was awarded the National Poetry Prize. The late G= eorge Topirceanu (1886-1937) provides a new generation of readers with an a= ccount of his experiences as a soldier during World War I.

Despite his bleak surroundings and vivid descriptions of death and tragedy = that he witnessed, Topirceanu managed to find humor in the most unusual cir= cumstances, making "Pirin Planina" a truly unique account of the War. His e= xperiences will leave the reader perplexed as Topirceanu's unique blend of = drama, tragedy, and humor immerses the reader into the world of a soldier d= uring World War I.

Critique: Illustrated with black/white drawings by Olga Bogozenco, ably tra= nslated into English by Diana Livesay, and featuring an informative introdu= ction by A. K. Brackob, the military memoir of the late George Topirceanu, = "Pirin Planina: Tragic and Comic Episodes from Captivity" is a valued and u= nreservedly recommended contribution to personal, professional, community, = college, and university library World War I military history/biography coll= ections. It should be noted for students, academia, military historians, an=
d non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Piri=
n Planina: Tragic and Comic Episodes from Captivity" is also readily availa= ble in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).

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Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575-1129

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James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review

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