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Now that the initial patriotic euphoria over the spectacular "Desert Storm" campaign has settled down, people are looking for more sophisticated accounts of the war and what it can teach us for the future. The editors of this volume have assembled the world's foremost military authorities to reexamine the nature of warfare in the wake of the Persian Gulf War.
Not just a book for military specialists, Turning Point offers a broad perspective on the nature of warfare and its role in international politics. The chapters are all written in an engaging, jargon-free style by authors whose individual works have found wide general appeal. Furthermore, the authors offer significant elaborations upon their previous writings. For example, noted strategist Edward Luttwak offers a piece on his argument for an era of "geoeconomics." Joseph Nye expands on his notion of "soft power," Martin van Creveld refines the argument of his recent book The Transformation of War, and Thomas Schelling develops his analysis of nuclear weapons' strategic impact.
The book features a gripping account of the ground war from John Keegan, the air war from Eliot Cohen, and the "endgame" from General John Cushman (including some criticism of Norman Schwarzkopf's planning). Covering a broad range of political-military subjects, from the development of U.S. military doctrine to the nature of combat in the Gulf and the future of security challenges in Europe and the Far East, these preeminent authors provide insightful analysis that makes Turning Point a superb source for everyone interested in U.S. foreign policy and strategy.
