Frank Leith Jones is professor of security studies at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he holds the General Dwight D. Eisenhower Chair of National Security. A retired member of the Senior Executive Service, he served in several high-level policy and strategy positions in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and is the recipient of several civilian awards.
Blowtorch is a fine addition to the historiography of U.S. grand
strategy during the Cold War and a model for scholars seeking to
tease out the larger significance of individual lives in the
biographical format."--Army History "Blowtorch is valuable for
those interested in counterinsurgency, aspiring strategists, and
Cold War historians. Jones' book also provides an insider's view
into Komer's efforts to make and implement strategy throughout the
Cold War. Finally, Blowtorch contributes to the historical record
of the Cold War by discussing Komer's formative years, and more
importantly, his efforts after Vietnam."--Military Review "Jones
has succeeded in the task he set himself. We now know that Komer,
not just during the Vietnam War but later in Carter's Department of
Defense, acted as very few had--as a master strategist who
understood the national interest and how to develop means to
achieve it within the limits of resources and reality. To convey
this sophisticated, complex story to readers is no mean feat and
Jones has done it admirably."-- Journal of Military History "Komer
has found a worthy biographer in Frank Leith Jones. Jones provides
a highly readable and balanced account of his subject's years in
government. He also does a credible job at the more difficult task
of demonstrating Komer's intellectual influence as a critic while
out of office. The resulting biography offers the reader a broad
overview of the many problems of the Cold War, reminding us of the
interlocking complexity of issues that today are often viewed in
sterile isolation. Blowtorch also provides numerous insights into
the difficulties of implementing policy in large organizations."--
Proceedings "Blowtorch is a valuable addition to the history of the
Cold War. The book covers his three decades of public service -- as
a National Security Council staffer and Carter administration
policy adviser, among much else -- but his few years of involvement
with Vietnam serve as the centerpiece. As Mr. Jones explains, no
other period of Komer's career compares in importance."-- The Wall
Street Journal "At last, in Jones' Blowtorch, we have a full-dress
study of Komer, a remarkably influential yet unaccountably
neglected figure in America's Vietnam ordeal. This carefully
researched and clearly written study deserves an appreciative
audience among policymakers, military officers, academics and
graduate students." -- Anthony James Joes, author of Victorious
Insurgencies: Four Rebellions that Shaped Our World "Blowtorch
provides a revealing look into the hitherto unexamined role played
for three decades by cold war strategist Komer. Those looking to
understand counterinsurgency theory will be especially drawn to
Jones' illuminating discussion in Komer's leadership of CORDS."
--LARRY BERMAN, author of Zumwalt: The Life and Times of Admiral
Elmo Russell "Bud" Zumwalt, Jr.
"In this splendid biography, Jones provides a comprehensive, deft,
and nuanced portrait of an often complicated and misunderstood
figure. Wonderfully written and impressively researched, Blowtorch
not only sheds new light on Komer and Vietnam, it is an incisive
and original history of America's grand strategy in the Cold War."
-- ANDREW PRESTON, author of The War Council: McGeorge Bundy, the
NSC, and Vietnam
"The product of impressive research and insight into top-level
policymaking, Blowtorch analyzes the crusade of a senior government
professional to cause our leaders to think and act strategically.
It is compelling reading for those who want to move beyond problem
solving and crisis management to designing purposeful change." --
HAROLD H. SAUNDERS, president of the International Institute for
Sustained Dialogue
"Jones' superb study of Komer performs an invaluable service,
assessing the career of an influential Cold War strategist who was
more than an innovative thinker. Komer had the rare ability to
transform ideas into viable policies, helping to reorient U.S.
Vietnam War strategy during Johnson's administration and to
reinvigorate NATO during Carter's. Highly recommended." -- RICHARD
A. HUNT, author of Pacification: The American Struggle for
Vietnam's Hearts and Minds
"Jones delivers more than an excellent biography of an exceptional
civil servant, strategist, and statesman. Blowtorch is a
particularly important book because, read critically, it sheds
light on how to develop and implement strategies to ensure national
security and protect vital interests. Geopolitical dynamics of the
period appear comparable to today's; the problems of national
security seem analogous; and Komer's manner of thinking about those
problems is relevant and instructive." -- H. R. MCMASTER, author of
Dereliction of Duty: Robert McNamara, Lyndon Johnson, the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies that Led to Vietnam
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