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Title: Men at War: True Stories of Heroism and Honor by Robert Barr Smith ISBN: 0-380-78544-7 Publisher: Avon Pub. Date: July, 1997 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00

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Average Customer Rating: 4.33 (3 reviews)

Rating: 5
Summary: A True Page Turner
Comment: I am no student of war, but I could not put this book down. One cannot read this book without pausing to reflect on all those who have sacrificed themselves for us.

Rating: 4
Summary: GREAT BOOK
Comment: Wide variety of encounters - good storytelling. I wish that the author had provided some simple maps so that battle movements could have been more easily visualized.

Rating: 4
Summary: An interesting read, but...
Comment: This book is excellent in presenting selected episodes in the field of war. The stories are generally accessible to anyone who has an interest in the subject. I found the episodes on 20th Century battles especially engaging. Also useful were the little anecdotes like Leading etc.

However, there are some areas in which the book could have been improved. Firstly, I felt that the contents have been too Euro/American-centred, to the point of leaving out a great portion of humanity's experience.

Research into Asia would have revealed the courage and dedication of frontier generals and their families in their task of defending China against nomadic hordes,especially during the Song dynasty. Inter-clan warfare in Japan during the Shogunate periods would also reveal this aspect.

Secondly, I felt that some of the narratives seemed too implausible for Smith to truly empathise with eg. the first and third stories; for the reason that historical records were not exactly kept with the same objective view we experience today. It was not uncommon for exaggerations to take place in the retelling of a war account.

Thirdly, war is not only about combatants' courage, but also about the heroism displayed by the civilian population in civil disobedience, WWII Resistance, guerilla bands etc, in the face of domination. Stories from such experiences would also have been worth including in this collection.

All said, this book is still worth a good read.