Into the Storm: A Study in Command (Commander Series) - Softcover

Clancy, Tom; Franks, Frederick M.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 042521656X ISBN 13: 9780425216569

Publisher: Berkley, 2007

Synopsis

In his brilliant, bestselling novels, Tom Clancy has explored the most dramatic military and security issues of our time. Now he takes readers deep into the operational art of war with this insightful look at one of America's most important military engagements in recent years: the Gulf War.

Never before has the art of maneuver warfare been explored so incisively and in such rich, provocative detail. Clancy and General Frederick M. Franks, Jr.-commander of the main force that broke the back of the Republican Guard-take us deep inside the war councils and command posts and up to the front lines. They give us a war that few people really knew-and that television never showed.

About this title

Review

Tom Clancy's latest love-letter to the military-industrial complex focuses on the Army--and Fred Franks, a general who helped smash Iraq in the Gulf War. In this first volume of a series on the intricacies of military command, Clancy traces the organizational success story of the U.S. Army's rise from the slough of Vietnam to the heights of victory in the Persian Gulf. In 1972, the Army lacked proper discipline, training, weapons, and doctrine; all these would be overhauled in the next 15 years. For those readers keen on such nuts and bolts, the book will be fascinating. But the book truly sparkles when Franks tells his story. A "tanker" who lost a foot in the invasion of Cambodia, he is a man of great courage, thoughtfulness, and integrity. One cannot help but wince when a civilian tells him, "You and those boys did that for nothing." And for all the acronyms and military history, that is what this book is about: healing the wounds Vietnam inflicted. "But this time [the Gulf War], it was going to end differently. They all would see to that."

From the Publisher

Tom Clancy has explored the military and security issues of our time in a brilliant series of novels. Now he takes us into the heart and mind of a remarkable military leader to show us the nature of war and command from the inside.

Based on the story of America's greatest military triumph since World War II -- the victory over Iraq in the Gulf War -- Into the Storm tells us how leaders learn and grow, and how they forge people, elements and forces together into a campaign of power and precision. We hear how General Frederick M. Franks, Jr. commanded the armor and infantry of VII Corps, the main coalition force that broke the back of Iraq's Republican Guard. Beyond that, Into the Storm describes the transformation of an army traumatized by the Vietnam War and the metamorphosis of a man devastated by the loss of a leg in that war. The former once again became the world's most powerful force; the latter, the first amputee active-duty general since the Civil War.

Together the story of that army, that man, and the war they fought make Into the Storm an instant classic of military history.

About this edition

• Publisher: Berkley
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 042521656X
• ISBN 13: 9780425216569
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 672