Description
Book SynopsisScales on War is a collection of ideas, concepts, and observations aboutcontemporary war taken from over thirty years of research, writing, andpersonal experience by retired Major General Bob Scales. Scales’ unique styleof writing utilizes contemporary military history, current events, and hisphilosophy of ground warfare to create a very personal and expansive view ofthe future direction of American defense policies.
Each chapter in the book addresses a distinct topic facing the upcomingprospects of America’s military, including tactical ground warfare, future gazing,the draft, and the role of women in the infantry. Fusing all of these topicstogether is Scales’ belief that, throughout its history, the United States hasfavored a technological approach to fighting its wars and has neglected itsground forces.
Scales on War shows that, as a result of America’s focus on winning wars withtechnology rather than people, America’s enemies have learned how to winbattles by defeating such technology. As a well-known warfare expert, Scalesdemonstrates how only a resurgent land force of Army and Marine small unitswill restore America’s fighting competence.
Trade Review“Combining his combat experience with a life-long study of men in direct combat, Bob Scales has written a classic. In this eye-opening and authentic work, he articulates a provocative yet sensible way for our nation to overcome its institutional neglect of the infantry. Let’s apply now the wisdom of our top warrior-scholar who has demonstrated again his penetrating understanding of combat at the point of maximum danger."-Gen. James N. Mattis, USMC (Ret.)“General Bob Scales book sizzles with insights on how to improve America's warfighting effectiveness. He sees it from the ground, through soldiers' eyes, gained through 50 years of direct experience, close study and thoughtful analysis. This is a book for both today's warriors and the policymakers and planners who back them up.”-Gen. Wesley K. Clark, USA (Ret.), NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe (1997-2000), and author of Waging Modern War: Bosnia, Kosovo and the Future of Combat'In this short, eminently readable, and deeply affecting blend of military analysis and memoir, Robert Scales, retired US Army general, artillery commander in Vietnam, and distinguished military historian, identifies the major trends shaping modern American warfare, the dynamics in American politics that are constraining our nation’s influence abroad, and the practical solutions that can turn things around.'-The Boston Globe
'Ideally, thousands of Marines very closely reading, thinking about, and discussing Scales On War will finally provide the long overdue catalyst required to get our Corps’ priorities back in order.'
Marine Corps Gazette
“Scales is most convincing when he presents detailed arguments, such as specific equipment that would help the infantry and be cost-effective. The descriptions of the changing nature of war requiring boots on the ground among the population and sensitivity to public opinion are insightful. He also effectively criticizes the over-mechanization of war, charging that Washington forgets that it is the sweat and blood of soldiers that wins wars. Overall, Scales makes some strong points, particularly his advocacy for the infantry.”
—The Huffington Post
“Readers will appreciate Robert Scales’ candid conversational style, mercifully free of military jargon or the usual defense policy platitudes. Gen. Scales may even surprise some readers as he casually debunks forecasts of imminent combat with the usual cast of suspects: Russia, China, North Korea or even Iran. But it is always the wars no one predicted that suddenly appear. They represent the greatest threats to American interests—and thus to the ‘poor, bloody infantry’ we typically dispatch to set things right. While his book is well-researched, Gen. Scales is his own best source. He presents American readers with a compendium of expert advice, the peerless result of a lifetime spent studying war and its demands on a free society.”
—The Washington Times
