Book Reviews Archives

#WavellReviews “How the Army made Britain a Global Power: 1688-1815” by Jeremy Black

Anthony KingSeptember 9, 2021August 30, 2021

by Anthony KingSeptember 9, 2021August 30, 202103238

'Military history should not be understood as a continuous logical development but rather, as unsatisfactory, temporary and incomplete attempts to address specific circumstances'...

#WavellReviews “Future War and the Defence of Europe” by J Allen, F Hodges, J Lindley-French

The Wavell Room TeamJuly 1, 2021June 20, 2021

by The Wavell Room TeamJuly 1, 2021June 20, 202104254

Can Europe defend itself? The answer presented in this book is a pretty firm ‘no’....

#WavellReviews “Dictatorship by Degrees: Xi Jinping in China” by Steven P. Feldman

Axel DesseinJune 10, 2021June 10, 2021

by Axel DesseinJune 10, 2021June 10, 202102994

The book focuses on how “signs of pre-totalitarianism” are increasingly visible in the contemporary Chinese leadership through the role of ideology, intolerance of dissent, extra-legal...

#WavellReviews “First In, Last Out: The Post-War Organisation, Employment and Training of Royal Marine Commandos” by Paul Winter (editor)

May 27, 2021May 10, 2021

by May 27, 2021May 10, 202104607

His fundamental argument - that the RM need to separate themselves from the pack by carving a distinct defence niche and identity with a bespoke...

Air Book Reviews Military History

#WavellReviews “Air Power’s Lost Cause – The American Air Wars of Vietnam” by Brian D. Laslie

Phil ClareMay 20, 2021May 10, 2021

by Phil ClareMay 20, 2021May 10, 202104706

Air forces have a relationship with technology that is on a par with that of moths and flames, and the Vietnam air war was no...

#WavellReviews: “Protecting China’s Interests Overseas: Securitization and Foreign Policy” by Andrea Ghiselli

Axel DesseinMay 6, 2021May 1, 2021

by Axel DesseinMay 6, 2021May 1, 202103198

The guiding principle to understand China’s international activities, Ghiselli contends, is that it puts its economic interests over military ones. As a result, even the...

#WavellReviews “Chef de Guerre” At the heart of special operations with a Navy Commando by Louis Saillans

Phil ClareApril 29, 2021May 1, 2021

by Phil ClareApril 29, 2021May 1, 202104713

The French language original edition of “Chef de Guerre” (Warlord) is available here from Louis de Mareuil Operation Barkhane began in August 2014 and followed...

Air Book Reviews Military History

#WavellReviews “Masters of the Air. How the Bomber Boys Broke Down the Nazi War Machine” by Ronald L. Miller

The Wavell Room TeamApril 22, 2021March 22, 2021

by The Wavell Room TeamApril 22, 2021March 22, 202104560

To conclude - this book is excellent. The forthcoming television series is likely to focus on a specific group of the 8th Air Force -...

#WavellReviews “The Changing of the Guard. The British Army since 9/11” by Simon Akam

The Wavell Room TeamApril 14, 2021April 14, 2021

by The Wavell Room TeamApril 14, 2021April 14, 202106536

"The cultural issues the British Army has at the moment are significant. No other organisation would have reacted to two decades of failure in its...

#WavellReviews “Vicarious Warfare: American Strategy and the Illusion of War on the Cheap” by Thomas Waldman

LouiseApril 8, 2021April 7, 2021

by LouiseApril 8, 2021April 7, 202103363

Available here from Bristol University Press Having recently read Simon Akam’s The Changing of the Guard, I rushed straight to The Wavell Room asking if...