About the Author

Max Boot is a senior fellow in National Security Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. His writing has appeared in many publications, and he has twice been a finalist for the Gerald Loeb Award. His previous book, Out of Order: Arrogance, Corruption, and Incompetence on the Bench, was published by Basic Books in 1998. He lives with his wife and three children in Westchester County, New York.

Reviews

"A great story and a compelling read. Boot combines a wide-angle perspective with an eye for detail."

"An entertaining jaunt through many of the expeditions, counterinsurgencies, and (insert your preferred term of art here), that the United States armed forces have undertaken since the beginning of the Republic. Along the way the author offers political analysis that hits its mark time and again."

"Boot combines meticulous scholarship with great storytelling and provocative opinions. He draws from his research direct lessons for a nation confronting the threat of global terrorism."

"Boot's well-written narrative is not only fascinating reading... The events of September 11 give The Savage Wars of Peace an uncanny timeliness and sadly confirm almost all of Boot's dispassionate warnings."

"Entertaining, provocative, and often insightful history...Boot has crafted a thumping good, rock'em-sock'em sort of narrative."

"It is a great read with some very solid conclusions... an outstanding addition to this body of literature."

Praise for The Savage Wars of Peace: "Readers who know him from...the Wall Street Journal will come to this book expecting an analytical treatment of low-intensity conflict; they get the analysis but also a fascinating set of case studies worth reading for the stories alone."

"A great story and a compelling read. Boot combines a wide-angle perspective with an eye for detail."
"An entertaining jaunt through many of the expeditions, counterinsurgencies, and (insert your preferred term of art here), that the United States armed forces have undertaken since the beginning of the Republic. Along the way the author offers political analysis that hits its mark time and again."
"Boot combines meticulous scholarship with great storytelling and provocative opinions. He draws from his research direct lessons for a nation confronting the threat of global terrorism."
"Boot's well-written narrative is not only fascinating reading... The events of September 11 give The Savage Wars of Peace an uncanny timeliness and sadly confirm almost all of Boot's dispassionate warnings."
"Entertaining, provocative, and often insightful history...Boot has crafted a thumping good, rock'em-sock'em sort of narrative."
"It is a great read with some very solid conclusions... an outstanding addition to this body of literature."
Praise for The Savage Wars of Peace: "Readers who know him from...the Wall Street Journal will come to this book expecting an analytical treatment of low-intensity conflict; they get the analysis but also a fascinating set of case studies worth reading for the stories alone."

The United States has the opportunity to establish a Pax Americana in today's world by jettisoning the Powell doctrine, named after Colin Powell when he was chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and emphasizing military deployment under limited conditions, and instead instituting an aggressive "small wars" strategy. So argues Boot, Wall Street Journal editorial features editor and author of Out of Order. Boot says that small wars, or "low-intensity conflicts," are about "the tactics employed, not the scale of combat" and that they have long been a part of the American story he in fact details several of the more than 100 small wars that America has waged since 1800. Boot claims the marines once had a small-wars manual and were such masters of small-wars tactics that, had such tactics been applied widely in Vietnam, America might have won that war. Although the political-moral ramifications of his argument as related to domestic affairs need more exploration, Boot has written a readable and thought-provoking book one that might well influence the behind-the-scenes debates over the future of military policy, as he hopes. Recommended for public and academic libraries. Charles L. Lumpkins, Pennsylvania State Univ., State College Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.