Men of War

Praise

“Yet another set of old battle stories whipped together into a book by a writer-journalist, you say? Hardly. Men of War is a strikingly vivid, well-observed, and compulsively readable exploration of combat—of its sounds, smells, feel, of the explosive emotions it engenders, of its beauty and its terror—and a book that has a great deal of interesting things to say about the place of major battles, and the ordinary men (and, more lately, women) who fight them, in the collective American consciousness. . . . Men of War transports us to scores of frightful and desperate scenes of combat with shockingly evocative narrative reconstructions and penetrating, precise analysis. . . . Men of War is a tour de force.”—The Daily Beast
 
“A worthy successor to The Face of Battle, telling the stories of three famous American battles that were fought in three very different technological eras. . . . This is indeed war up-close, as those who fought it lived it—and survived it if they could. Men of War is deeply researched, beautifully written. It is military history at its best.”—The Wall Street Journal
 
“A brilliant, riveting, unique book, Men of War does for the American soldier what John Keegan’s The Face of Battle did for the British soldier. Using three epochal battles—Bunker Hill, Gettysburg, and Iwo Jima—Alexander Rose takes us into the ranks and helps us understand the experiences of those fighting on the ground. He captures vividly the emotions and conditions of combat—the terror and the boredom, the barbarity and the magnanimity—helping readers understand the realities known to those who have earned membership in that most treasured of fraternities, the brotherhood of the close fight. Men of War will be a classic.”—General David H. Petraeus, U.S. Army (Retired)
 
“The fact is that Men of War moves and educates, with the reader finding something interesting and intriguing on virtually every page.”—National Review
 
“This is a book that has broad value to a wide audience. Whether the reader aims to learn what actually happens in battle, draw on the military lessons within, or wrestle with what actually defines combat, Men of War is a valuable addition to our understanding of this all-too-human experience.”—The New Criterion

“A highly recommended addition to the literature of military history . . . Rose builds up a detailed picture of each of these battles, sparing few gritty details and romanticizing almost nothing. He writes vividly and memorably, with a good eye for the telling detail or anecdote as well as big-picture perspectives.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
 
“Using the firsthand accounts of brave soldiers who fought for freedom, [Alexander] Rose sheds new light on viewpoints we haven’t heard as widely before. It’s a welcome perspective in an era where most people have no military experience to speak of.”—The Washington Times
 
“Rose poignantly captures the terror and confusion of hand-to-hand combat during the battle, as well as the ghastly damage caused by large-caliber bullets and the primitive state of medical care.”—The Dallas Morning News
 
“History lovers and veterans of modern wars have here a book that does not glamorize conflict. Those new to military writing may be shocked. What separates Men Of War from other works on these three battles is Rose’s ability to mix extensive strategic and cultural knowledge of these wars with descriptive, often excruciating first-person accounts. Rose’s expertise as a researcher and historian serves him well on this topic. Rose’s most descriptive stories bring these distant conflicts into a vivid and painful reality on the page.”—The Washington Free Beacon

“Rose’s grim, unadorned, yet immensely readable look at battle is a dose of what real war is like, and a good balance to the more common sanitized military history fare.”—Publishers Weekly

“On the model of The Face of Battle, Alexander Rose has applied the same technique of description and analysis to three landmark battles in American history. The overwhelming experience of combat for front-line soldiers who lived to write about it, and through their eyes those who did not, comes through with stark realism. If you want to know the meaning of war at the sharp end, this is the book to read.”—James McPherson, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The War That Forged a Nation
 
“Alexander Rose tells us about war from the perspective of those who fought it, capturing myriad combat details to weave a gripping tapestry of three of the most iconic battles in U.S. history—Bunker Hill, Gettysburg, and Iwo Jima.”—Robert L. O’Connell, author of Fierce Patriot
 
“Honor, fear, cowardice, leadership, anxiety, compulsion, elation, doubt, misinformation, cruelty, violence, self-sacrifice, and compassion: This book covers everything in a brilliant analysis of the phenomenon of men in battle. Rose has written the best book on the subject since John Keegan’s The Face of Battle four decades ago.”—Andrew Roberts, author of The Storm of War
 
“Men of War is extraordinary for its research, vivid scenes, and penetrating insights. This is required reading for all who face battle or are interested in what actually occurs in face-to-face fighting.”—Bing West, author of One Million Steps