Into the Storm: A Study in Command

First of all, you should know that the parts of this book written by Gen. Franks are not literary masterpieces. But then again Franks is not an author, he's a soldier. However, if you want to learn about the no BS day by day actions of VII Corps during the 4 day ground war... this is the book for you. I was a young Sergeant in 3rd Armored Division during Desert Storm and this book really brings back the images of the war better than any other book on the subject I've read (including "Crusade" and "It doesn't take a hero"). The General has painstakingly written most of the essential information that one must read in order to know what happened during the infamous "Hail Mary" (as Schwarzkopf likes to refer to it) from the point of view of the soldiers of VII corps. Gen. Franks is a gentleman soldier who, above all else, is a consummate professional. You won't get the theatrics that were included in Schwarzkopf's book... all you get is the down and dirty facts of what VII Corps went through. Apart from the info regarding Desert Storm, I also enjoyed the background information on Gen. Franks, his service in Vietnam and how he overcame a potential career killer (losing half of his leg to a grenade) and became a Lieutenant General in the U.S. Army (and a 4-Star before he retired). However, memoirs like this aren't really written for the public. Rather, their written for students of the event so they can learn from the past. And, for that, this book deserves a spot on any military enthusiasts book shelf. Oh, and Tom Clancy did a good job too!

I have researched the Gulf War for several years and found this book to be one of the best to give an inside look into the corps command level. Clancy and Frank's book shows the campaign through the eyes of the VII Corps commander, which was in charge of the main effort during the Iraqi campaign. It contains facts and details that are unavailable elsewhere (at least not in non military sources). This book, together with Schwartzkopf's "It Doesn't Take a Hero", Atkinson's "Crusade" and Gordon's "The Generals'War", is a must for every Gulf War researcher.

INTO THE STORM is a fascinating account of modern strategy and tactics under the ultimate test of combat. I found it particularly interesting because I'd just read the new WWII novel, THE TRIUMPH AND THE GLORY, and it was enlightening to compare the tactics and weaponry of the old days with the high-tech battlefield of today.

If you think this book is a compreshensive analysis of Operation Desert Storm, think again. If you think this book is an exciting, riveting Clancy story, think again. If you think this book will be an easy read, think again. It is none of the above, but, as the subtitle implies, this book is a study in command with the life of General Fred Franks and his combat experiences as the lens. With that purpose in mind, it is a great effort. General Franks' insights into the complexities of command at all levels are worthwhile reading for any student of the military arts. The autobiographical elements of the book serve to add color to Franks' evolution as a commander and give a fresh perspective on how he executed the war against Iraq's elite Republican Guard.But this book is not an easy read. The military lingo and technical terminology force the reader to go slow. And, by Franks' own admission, this book is not a comprehensive analysis of the war.It is, however, a great "study in command" and is a commendable book for anyone who enjoys reading about great military leaders and their exploits.

This was NOT an overview of the weaponry, strategy, and tactics of Desert Storm, but one man's autobiography over 20 years. There is almost no coverage of anything that happened in that war save one general's point of view. He spends more time talking about his wife and family than he does giving a detailed comparison of the relative technical strengths of the tactics and weaponry of the two sides. This is partly because he prefers to chalk up the victory in a vague way to the virtue of the American fighting man and the American military establishment, rather than getting bogged down with little details like our tanks could shoot further than their tanks, our troops could see them when they couldn't see us. He talks lots and lots in high level terms about strategic manuever, which makes sense because that is the level that a Corps commander like himself operates at, but this in fact is very hard to follow because there are not adequate maps in the paperback to make sense of all this abstract hand-waving. There are no maps at all with the audio, which I read, and few with the paperback, I don't know about the hardcover. Since the book revolves around him personally and little else, we get precious little view of life at the bottom, of those actually doing the fighting. Indeed, the number one thing I was hoping to learn from the book, how on earth you cross a minefield under enemy fire, defeat that enemy, and blaze paths through it so you can move whole divisions through with SO FEW CASUALTIES went completely unanswered. No description of a battle is complete without a comprehensive rundown on the relative capabilities of the hardware involved, along with discussion of the tactics and intentions of both sides. Such discussion is woefully absent from this very long book. One point that General Franks did make (he wrote the book, Tom Clancy at most edited it) was that many pitched tank battles did occur, but since the military at the time was minimizing coverage of any form of death, real, imagined, or potential, all the public got to see was coverage of Iraqis surrendering in droves, so the public does not appreciate the determined resistance that was met in places, and the excellent fighting the military did. Well, my heart bleeds -- the military dug their own grave on that one, and it's up to them to climb out of it.