SOCIAL SCIENCES

Knife Fights: A Memoir of Modern War

by John A. Nagl
Penguin Pr. Oct. 2014. 288p. illus. index. ISBN 9781594204982. $27.95; ebk. ISBN 9780698176355. HIST
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In this memoir, retired lieutenant colonel Nagl (headmaster, Haverford Sch.; Learning To Eat Soup with a Knife) recounts his experiences serving in the military at a time when threats facing the United States were rapidly changing. After graduating from West Point and Oxford, Nagl led a tank company in Iraq during Operation Desert Shield. Upon returning home, he became convinced that, unlike more traditional battles encountered in the Gulf War, future combat would be unpredictable and unconventional. With this in mind, Nagl went on to study counterinsurgency, a move that eventually brought him to the Pentagon where he coauthored a revolutionary counterinsurgency military field manual that would have a profound impact on our approach to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
VERDICT While not as broadly appealing as Robert Gates's Duty, nor as gritty as its title seems to suggest (much of the book is more analysis than narrative), this account is nonetheless an honest and informative glimpse into both the past and the future of the ongoing war on terror. Military buffs, policy wonks, and anyone wishing to learn more about America's role in the world should find Nagl's work an alluring and important read.
Reviewed by Laura Marcus, Odenton, MD , Oct 01, 2014
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