Post by PMP Webmaster on Feb 16, 2005 10:54:44 GMT -5
I finished this book last week. A pretty good overview of elite soldiers and their role throughout history, from the Greeks and Romans right up into the ongoing war in Iraq.
While the title might seem a little arrogant, Dunnigan makes a good point that while elite soldiers are not necessarily "perfect" in the sense that they never lose or never make mistakes, they are "perfect" in the sense that they are the best of the best - the best trained, the most motivated, the smartest and the most adaptable soldiers on the field of battle. They are, in essense, as as good a body of warriors as mankind can produce.
Dunnigan looks at the elite warriors such as the Spartans, the Cataphracts, the medieval heavy cavalry of the French, the longbowmen of the English, the highly disciplined Swiss pikemen, the Napoleonic-era grenadiers, right on up through the Boer guerilla fighters, on to WW 1 and the German "storm troopers" trained to raid trenches. From there we go to the US Marines and their "wars of diplomacy", into WW 2 and all the commando units that conflict produced. Vietnam and the post-WW2 era covers about a hundred pages, and the Afghanistan war (which was just winding down as the first edition of the book was published) has about a hundred or so pages at the end of the book. The author also provides a global overview of major special forces units from many other countries.
I've read a number of books on commandos and special forces (Such as Tom Clancy's "Shadow Warriors", also a good read), but "The Perfect Soldier" is a really good general overview of the role of "elite" or "unconventional" soldiers in warfare throughout history.
While the title might seem a little arrogant, Dunnigan makes a good point that while elite soldiers are not necessarily "perfect" in the sense that they never lose or never make mistakes, they are "perfect" in the sense that they are the best of the best - the best trained, the most motivated, the smartest and the most adaptable soldiers on the field of battle. They are, in essense, as as good a body of warriors as mankind can produce.
Dunnigan looks at the elite warriors such as the Spartans, the Cataphracts, the medieval heavy cavalry of the French, the longbowmen of the English, the highly disciplined Swiss pikemen, the Napoleonic-era grenadiers, right on up through the Boer guerilla fighters, on to WW 1 and the German "storm troopers" trained to raid trenches. From there we go to the US Marines and their "wars of diplomacy", into WW 2 and all the commando units that conflict produced. Vietnam and the post-WW2 era covers about a hundred pages, and the Afghanistan war (which was just winding down as the first edition of the book was published) has about a hundred or so pages at the end of the book. The author also provides a global overview of major special forces units from many other countries.
I've read a number of books on commandos and special forces (Such as Tom Clancy's "Shadow Warriors", also a good read), but "The Perfect Soldier" is a really good general overview of the role of "elite" or "unconventional" soldiers in warfare throughout history.