This book grew out of a manuscript left by Andrew Garcia. Bennett Stein edited the manuscript to tell Garcia s story of the 1877 Nez Perce War; the end of the buffalo herds; and other historic events in western life.
#731840 in Books Presidio Pr 1989-11Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 1.60 #File Name: 0891412581372 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Excellent Work of Military HistoryBy Patrick D. MahaneyVery well-written and full of details; yet offers a very lucid and thoughtful analysis of military operations by combined Army-Marine elements assigned to the Tenth Corps in Korea during 1950. The writer's narrative style makes the book a pager-turner and keeps the readers attention. Having read retired Lt. Col. Appleman's four volumes on the Korean conflict; the material of which was taken in many instances from the UN Command daily SITREP or a particular unit's FRAGO or commo logs; Shelby Stanton's America's Tenth Legion is more fluid and as a result; more readable. Whereas the late Lt. Col. Appleman gets "down in the weeds" with exacting details; Stanton gives enough detail without sacrificing the overall narrative. America's Tenth Legion is really a well-written military history book; and should have received more attention from serious students of the war.Any real student of the Korean War must read the classic work "This Kind of War" by T.R. Fehrenbach; now in the 50th Anniversary edition. Fehrenbach; himself a veteran of the Korean War; wrote the book in 1963 as a sort of "wake-up call" to the nation and the Army that military unpreparedness has dire; severe; and deadly consequences. Some years later in 2007; David Halberstam's classic work on the Korean War was published - "The Coldest Winter" - which is probably the best starting point for understanding the Korean War; now some 65+ yearspast; from an overall political-social-world view of the events and persons leading up to the war and the conflict itself. Halberstam was abrilliant writer with an incredible range of interests. He was not a "military historian" in the usual sense; but more of a generalist. In "The Coldest Winter"; Halberstam makes MG Ned Almond; the Tenth Corps commander; into an almost villainous character; the personification ofmalicious evil; unrestrained ego; and fool-hardy wooden headed stupidity. By contrast; Appleman never castigates MG Almond; at the most;Appleman offers tepid questioning of Almond's disastrous decision to push north to the Yalu River which set in place the heroic; yet very costly and certainly unneeded battle at the Chosin Reservoir. (Possibly; this was the case because for a period of nearly twenty years; General Almond was a principle source of information for Appleman's many published works on the Korean War.) Shelby Stanton takes a more "middle of the road" view of Almond who; by all accounts; was a sycophant and toady for Gen. MacArthur; yet Almond did possess a deep sense of personal honor and overwhelming desire to achieve success; no matter the costs. The Tenth Corps was MacArthur's brain-child and Almond its only commander. For better or worse (and in most cases; it was decidedly for the worst); Almond's command of Tenth Corps was marked by chaotic and often corrosive leadership from MG Almond (berating subordinates for supposed lack of aggressiveness was a hallmark of Almond). Overall; this is an excellent work of military history and well-worth the purchase.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Great Perspective on X CorpsBy John NilesVery informative. The book provided significant background on the creation of X Corps to its near destruction in North Korea during November-December 1950. Easy reading; but contains much detail. I highly recommend it.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Great information behind a tragic American GeneralBy Joseph Duggan; Jr.Great read! Gives the larger understanding of this commander who was not ready to lead an integrated force. Well worth the time; very entertaining!!
