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Rating: 
Summary: Nice Tidy Survey
Review: * Peter Hutchthausen's AMERICA'S SPLENDID LITTLE WARS is a short survey of
major US military involvements from 1975 (the rescue of the freighter
MAYAGUEZ from Khmer Rouge pirates) to 1999 (the air campaign against Kosovo).
The book mostly focuses on the details of military actions, citing dates and
commitments of specific forces and the specific operations taken.It is interesting to observe the evolution of US military operations over
the period the book covers, with the military going through a series of
fumbles from the Mayaguez rescue operation (in which the number of US
casualties was greater than the number of crewmen rescued), through the
disastrous attempt to rescue the Iran hostages, the confused and bungled
intervention in Lebandon, and the clumsy (though successful) invasion of
Grenada. The 1986 bombings of Libya, OPERATION EL DORADO CANYON, were something of a
turning point, in which a well-coordinated USAF / US Navy air strike
definitely intimidated Colonel Qaddafi, and then the 1989 invasion of Panama,
OPERATION JUST CAUSE, demonstrated a new military in which interservice
cooperation was the rule and things went like clockwork. This led to the
resounding triumph of the Gulf War and the follow-up operation to protect the
Kurds in Northern Iraq. However, it was also followed by the bungled
intervention in Somalia, which was almost a replay of the Lebanon fiasco
played on a different stage with different characters, and then the almost
inevitably confused interventions in the Balkan Wars. This is a concise and tidy book, but given its length its focus is
necessarily narrow, with the political context of the actions discussed in a
minimal fashion. It it comes across as something like a military war college
thesis. It's not quite that dry, but it certainly makes few attempts to
introduce any color to the narrative, such as how US troops played tunes like
"I Fought The Law & The Law Won" over loudspeakers into the Vatican Embassy
in Panama to harass Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. To be sure, there's not much space in a short work like this for such
fripperies, and there's also a certain failure, possibly for the same reason,
to weigh pros and cons, though that may also be because Hutchthausen is a
retired Navy captain -- military officers are trained for good reasons to
make unambiguous decisions; equivocating to a superior officer is *not* a
good career move. The downside is that realities are not always so
unambiguous. The author makes a case that the invasion of Grenada was a highly positive
accomplishment, though the necessity of the operation was arguable, -- and at
the same time ignores how big a political win the operation was for the
Reagan Administration. Similarly, he judges the withdrawal of the Americans
from Somalia as a defeat, which it was, but somehow both acknowledges and
muddies the fact that the defeat was in not doing it sooner -- if you end up
playing a game where you can't figure out in definite terms what it means to
win, the likely result is that you lose. These are minor things. Overall, this is a sound if unspectacular work,
worthwhile in itself if by no means close to the definitive word on its
subject matter.
Rating: 
Summary: Lacks accuracy and holistic vision
Review: As a veteran and educator I find it, at best, disconcerting, and at worst, insulting, that there was little-to-no PRIMARY research conducted by Huchthausen on this topic.
Example? Here's one: Had the author actually spoken with the soldiers involved in the Somalia and Mogadishu operation(s) he would not be so far off-base at assessing the situation on the ground as he was. Also, he incorrectly labels the MH-6 the "Little Guy" throughout the chapter. It's actual name is the "Little Bird". While it may seem like an insignificant detail, consider the larger implications (e.g. he did not conduct primary research b/c no soldier would've called the MH-6 by the wrong name, which means he did not speak to actual soldiers, he simply slapped together information from various sources, i.e. textbooks, newspaper accounts, historical record, etc.). As a result of this, and numerous other examples, the author's credibility is destroyed with anyone knowledgable of the events. What is most tragic is, being a military veteran himself, he should have known better.
Furthermore, the socio-political, as well as military lessons and implications of these incidents are never fully explored from a holistic, or more global, level. In other words, Huchthausen's view is over simplistic and too ethnocentric. For dealing with complex issues, this author would be well-served to read Gen. W. Clark's: Waging Modern War.
If, as some of the others reviewers have stated, you want a simple, straightforward, and concise historical reader, buy this book. However, if you're interested in learning what truly occurred , written by someone who conducts his own research and delivers facts accurately -especially something as simple and readily accessible as the name of a helicopter- then skip this book.
Rating:
Summary: A good premise, but a disappointing book
Review: It was a good idea to review these episodes in American history, but the events are presented in a shallow, jingoist manner, and were not informative or insightful.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Overview of Modern "Small" Wars
Review: The major U.S. wars -- especially the Civil War and the highly romanticized WW II -- loom large in the American consciousness. But as Max Boot demonstrated in his "The Savage Wars of Peace" (2002), scores of military engagements, interventions, peacekeeping operations and so-called "small" wars have had consequential impact. Boot discusses many such pre-Vietnam operations, including the efforts to end Barbary Coast piracy, the Spanish-American war, the Pancho Villa expedition, and various South America and the Caribbean interventions, among others. Now Peter Huchthausen picks up where Boot left off, with a concise examination of more than a dozen military operations that occurred between 1975 and 2000. Huchthausen, best known as the author of "K-19: The Widowmaker," presents the ignominious (Iranian Hostage Rescue, Lebanon, Somalia) alongside the unqualified successes (Panama, Desert Shield/Storm, Libya retaliation) and engagements in which success came at a price (Grenada, Kosovo). Throughout the narrative, it is interesting to observe the U.S. military progressively restoring its efficacy following its "hollow" period in the immediate aftermath of Vietnan. And we see the positive effects of the Goldwater-Nichols reforms (1986) in fostering increased inter-service cooperation and improved operational performance. Inter-service coordination, for example, was much better in Panama (late 1989) than in Grenada (1983). Huchthausen's book is a highly readable, compact overview, easily digestible in one session or two. Well worth the time for anyone interested in the creation of the modern U.S. military, whose recent successes in Afghanistan and Iraq we've all marveled at.
Rating:
Summary: Good Overview of Modern "Small" Wars
Review: The major U.S. wars -- especially the Civil War and the highly romanticized WW II -- loom large in the American consciousness. But as Max Boot demonstrated in his "The Savage Wars of Peace" (2002), scores of military engagements, interventions, peacekeeping operations and so-called "small" wars have had consequential impact. Boot discusses many such pre-Vietnam operations, including the efforts to end Barbary Coast piracy, the Spanish-American war, the Pancho Villa expedition, and various South America and the Caribbean interventions, among others. Now Peter Huchthausen picks up where Boot left off, with a concise examination of more than a dozen military operations that occurred between 1975 and 2000. Huchthausen, best known as the author of "K-19: The Widowmaker," presents the ignominious (Iranian Hostage Rescue, Lebanon, Somalia) alongside the unqualified successes (Panama, Desert Shield/Storm, Libya retaliation) and engagements in which success came at a price (Grenada, Kosovo). Throughout the narrative, it is interesting to observe the U.S. military progressively restoring its efficacy following its "hollow" period in the immediate aftermath of Vietnan. And we see the positive effects of the Goldwater-Nichols reforms (1986) in fostering increased inter-service cooperation and improved operational performance. Inter-service coordination, for example, was much better in Panama (late 1989) than in Grenada (1983). Huchthausen's book is a highly readable, compact overview, easily digestible in one session or two. Well worth the time for anyone interested in the creation of the modern U.S. military, whose recent successes in Afghanistan and Iraq we've all marveled at.
Rating:
Summary: an important book to read... "splendid"
Review: The title of this book is taken from a quote by Secretary of State John Hay, who in 1898 called the quick war against Spain a "splendid little war." The U.S. gained parts of Cuba and the Philippines in addition to other territories. But Secretary Hay was being ironic. The splendid little war actually mired the U.S. in long term, drawn out conflicts with insurgents, guerillas and others. (Just like the current quagmire in Iraq) The book opens with the Mayaguez incident in May 1975 which was more about President Ford telling the world that America was not crippled than about rescuing a ship and crew from pirates. It gives eleven more examples, including battles in Somalia, Iran, Lebanon, Libya, and the Gulf. The book provides excellent brief analyses of the battles, failures, and victories. Once your curiosity grows however, you should seek out more complex focused deeper analyses to get more of the political flavors of why the U.S. got involved.
Rating:
Summary: Some succes, some failure
Review: This book is a survey of 14 American (some with allies) military actions from 1975 till 2000. For those interested in the military side it is interesting. He also writes a little about the politics behind it, though never really critizing it vehemently. It's a good reference book and I think well researched.
Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant
Review: This incisive and unbiased historical analysis of modern military engagements is invaluable as a basis for understanding the motivations,complexities, and details of armed conflicts that have involved America's fighting forces during the critical times covered in this book. Anyone wishing to broaden their comprehension of the policies, politics, and compulsions underlying decisions to engage in battle will find America's Splendid Little Wars a very satisfying read.>
Rating:
Summary: Terrific Effort At Contemporary Military History!
Review: This is a splendid little exploration of the flurry of American military engagements in the thirty years since the end of the Vietnam imbroglio, and illustrates both the awesome power and inherent limitations of attempting to accomplish political goals through force of military arms. And somewhat of a decidedly mixed bag is what we have to show for the more than a dozen such operations detailed and analyzed herein. And herein Peter A. Huchthausen, best selling author of the absorbing "K-19", takes the reader on a fascinating and thought-provoking journey into each of these adventures. Many of the operations have been successful indeed, including the Mayaguez incident in the mid 1970s, Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm all being impressive displays of our incredible ability to project power into any little corner of the world. On the other hand, sordid failures abound as well, such as the botched Iranian hostage situation in the desert, the disastrous peacekeeping operation in Lebanon, and the exercise in `nation-building' amid the squalor of Somalia. The author pulls few punches in relating how such elements as arrogance, ignorance, and inter-service rivalries often hamper and limit our military exercises, such that having not properly done the necessary homework can sometimes result in massive casualties or miscalculation when we do not appreciate the threat of the opposing forces or underestimate their resolve. Finally, he discusses successful but somewhat conflicted efforts such as both the intervention in Bosnia and later Kosovo, where we limited ourselves to air campaigns which translated into much higher levels of unintended civilian collateral casualties then would otherwise have been the case, and where the enemy defended themselves by using innocent civilians as `human shields', and Grenada, where our own casualties were higher than necessary due to lack of inter-service cooperation. The author, a retired navy officer, displays a magnificent respect for the men and women in arms, especially the enlisted troops, while being less kind and deferential to the officers and higher echelons of the power elite, who often send the fighting force off on what are destined to become fools' errands for their own somewhat limited and sometimes selfish political reasons. This is an interesting book and provides a wonderful summary of American miltary actions over the last quarter century. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: A great concise read!!!!
Review: This wonderful book walks the reader through all the 'little' wars that america fought after Vietnam. It takes you through 'Desert One' the disaster of the Carter administration. it looks at the Magasuay indcident in Cambodia, the invasion of Grenda, the duel with Quadafy, the Beirut peacekeeping, the invasion of panama and the missions in Haiti and Somalia. This is a wonderful book. Well written, packed with information and gives good overviews of the countries and participants involved. A great way to understand americas role in the late 20th century.
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