Once a Legend: 'Red Mike' Edson of the Marine Raiders, by Jon T. Hoffman. Recommended on 4/12/06.
The latest addition to my personal library is this book by Marine Corps author Jon T. Hoffman. I first heard of Brig General Merritt "Red Mike" Edson on a History Channel special. He is not well known and, as noted by the author, even left out of several military biography reference books. This is indeed unfortunate because his accomplishments both on and off the battlefield are, as the title suggests, a legend. "Red Mike" wrote the book on small unit combat while fighting in Nicaragua during the 1920s & 1930s. He is best known as a Medal of Honor recipient on Guadalcanal where "Red Mike" was commander of the First Marine Raider Battalion. Unknown to me were his actions after World War II as he led the movement to preserve the Corps from extinction during President Truman's efforts to consolidate the military. After military service "Red Mike" returned to his native Vermont, becoming the first commander of the new state police and later hired away to become the Executive Director of the National Rifle Association. The reasons for his suicide in 1955 remain a mystery and, as the author notes in the epilogue, "undoubtedly diminished the general's stature in the eyes of those who consider suicide a disreputable act".

Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History, by George Crile. Recommended on 3/24/06.
A tale of the CIA's biggest and most successful covert operation in U.S. history. Dan Rather's description that "Tom Clancy's fiction pales in comparison" is an accurate appraisal of this true life account of Congressman Charlie Wilson and his passionate one man campaign to provide US support to the Afghan jihad against the Russian invaders. The book will give you a good idea of how power really works in Washington as well as insight to the inner workings of the CIA. It also will give the reader a better understanding of Islamic fundamentalism and the rise of militant Islam.

The Eleven Days of Christmas: America's Last Vietnam Battle, by Marshall L. Michel III. Recommended on 2/10/2006.
This book analyses the December, 1972, bombings of North Vietnam by Strategic Air Command B52 bombers. The author traveled to North Vietnam and interviewed Vietnamese participants as well as U.S. sources so you get to see both sides to the battle. Unlike other books on the subject this is not a sugar coated account showing a SAC success story but rather an analysis of all the successes as well as the mistakes made by the SAC planners that almost lead to the failure of the campaign. Having spent eleven years in SAC I understand the mindset but I still found the book a shocking account..