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Hal Moore: A Soldier Once … and Always

 by Mike Guardia (Casemate, 2013).

 This outstanding biography is an Armchair General “twofer”! Guardia is an ACG contributing author, and General Hal Moore, the subject of Guardia’s book, is a member of the ACG advisory board. Moore, one of America’s most distinguished Soldiers, granted Guardia numerous interviews and allowed the author unrestricted access to his collected letters, documents and never-before-published photographs to produce this first-ever fully illustrated biography on Moore.

Disaster at Stalingrad: An Alternate History

 by Peter Tsouras (Frontline Books, 2013).

By introducing a few realistic “tweaks” to  the historical events of the World War II Eastern Front turningpoint Battle of Stalingrad (August 1942-February 1943), Tsouras creates a fascinating “what-if” scenario. These highly plausible historical adjustments not only lead to the decisive battle turning out differently but also raise disturbing possibilities regarding the outcome of the entire war.

Barksdale’s Charge: The True High Water Mark of the Confederacy

by Phillip Tucker (Casemate, 2013).

 The author of the acclaimed Exodus From the Alamo: An Anatomy of the Last Stand Myth does more “myth-busting” in this superbly argued book. Tucker makes a persuasive case that the attack by William Barksdale’s Mississippi Brigade on the Union center at Gettysburg during the battle’s second day – not Pickett’s Charge a day later – was the Confederacy’s best chance for victory.

21st Century Mahan: Sound Military Conclusions for the Modern Era

by Benjamin F. Armstrong (Naval Institute Press, 2013).

 Armstrong, an contributing author  ACG, introduces and places in context five essays written by famed naval theorist and strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan (1840-1914), demonstrating that Mahan’s ideas about the importance of sea power continue to provide a solid foundation to address the military and political challenges of a rapidly globalizing world.

The Young Atatürk: From Ottoman Soldier to Statesman of Turkey

 by George W. Gawrych (I.B. Tauris, 2013).

 Gawrych, formerly a military history professor at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College for two decades and currently on the faculty at Baylor University, has mined the archives of the Ottoman Empire and the Turkish General Staff to produce the best book yet written on the rise of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, one of the pivotal figures of the 20th century.

 

Originally published in the November 2013 issue of Armchair General.