Beyond Shock and Awe: Warfare in the 21st Century
The articles in this reader on the immediate future of war are accessible to general readers and cover quite a variety of topics. SEALs chronicler Kevin Dockery provides an overview of weaponry, from the massive to the miniscule, while military historian and sf writer William Forstchen discusses the particular role of precision-guided missions in eliminating especially dangerous enemy individuals. Tom Clancy commentator William Terdoslavich offers valuable insight on the current war in Iraq, and historian Paul A. Thomsen discusses integrating military intelligence into strategic warfare, an area in which U.S. performance clearly needs substantial improvement. Military nonfiction and fiction scribe John Helfers points to another sadly neglected subject, the role of knowledge of the opponent's culture in effective war making (ignorance of enemies' cultures has hampered the West since well before 9/11). A valuable first book on its subject.Roland GreenCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved