just finished reading Thomas E. Ricks’ latest: The Generals: American Military Command from World War II to Today, a comprehensive history of the evolution and adaptation of our Armed Forces over the last 70 years. i’d been astonished by Ricks’ chronicle of the latest Iraq War, Fiasco, and this one is as authoritative as his last. i was also prompted to pick up this volume after Ricks’ wonderful on-air skewering of Fox News’ hysterics regarding the Bengazi incident: http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2012/11/26/thomas_ricks_fox_news_anchor_jon_scott_ends_benghazi_interview_early_after.html
Ricks’ is an impeccable war correspondent. for impassioned narrative, you have to wait for the rich metaphoric writing of Colin Powell, while quotes from Chairman Cheney elicited streams of epithets (not a good book to read in a public place, like an airplane).
from the sense of it, it’s quite amazing we’ve survived as well as we have.
not a lot of big brains in the U.S. military, now or seemingly ever.
highly recommended.
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