I really enjoyed reading this book.I enjoyed all the characters involved in the story. One in particular is Jerry Doraty, I like him, he reminds me of my father. The story held my attention the whole time, I couldn't put it down until I was done reading it. I also like when you are reading it and you all of a sudden burst out laughing. I recomend all to read this book.

The gulf war how it hit home is a grate book for mostly anyone. The book shows how one family is torn apart by a lot of this that have come up in thire lives. I realy enjoyed reading this one.

The Gulf War still draws our attention seven years after the American-led coalition achieved an apparently decisive victory over the Iraqi armed forces. This publicly announced triumph signified both a quick restabilization of Middle Eastern power politics as well as a revitalization of the United States' world mission after the end of the Cold War. Here was a victory that rapidly accomplished something. Today, this positive assessment demands reconsideration. We are presented almost on a daily basis with evidence of the continued solidity of Saddam Hussein's reign as Iraqi dictator, the renewed floundering of U.S. foreign policy in the Balkans and elsewhere, and the tragic implications of the so-called "mystery illnesses" experienced by Gulf War veterans. Perhaps the obvious question of what the Gulf War accomplished really leads to a deeper question: what was the conflict all about in the first place? A new coalition of scholarly essays edited by Paul Leslie probes the deeper meanings of the Gulf War in ways which neither the media nor our political leaders have apparently ever contemplated. The Gulf War as Popular Entertainment bursts forth in its very title as a book with a mission or as some might see it, a definite ax to grind. Leslie himself makes this clear in the book's preface, when he states that these writings "transcend sacred political lines of demarcation and offer unapologetic dessenting views"(vii). In short, not only do Leslie and his fellow authors offer scholarly interpretations of the Gulf War's societal dimensions, but they also court controversy in the name of public awareness. As one of the contributors, J. Timmons Roberts put it: "The exclusion of these issues from the realm of mainstream debate underlines the importance of sociology's role as society's watchdog"(53). One may not agree with the grandiose nature of this particular assertion, but it does indicate the boldness, indeed passion with which these scholars contend that the supposedly sacred cause of the Gulf War was actually a gigantic exercise in public manipulation. The first essay, written by Ali Kamali, looks at the truism that the Gulf War was not fought over hallowed principles, or even desert land, but instead the oil beneath the Kuwaiti sands. Kamali utilizes an impressive battery of statistics to demonstrate teh incredible stake the United States - and perhaps even more so its European allies - had in restoring not just the political but also the economic status quo in the Persian Gulf region. Kamali distills the essence of his argument into the culminating statement that the Allied coalition, carrying the banner of the New World Order "served as an instrument of the world's industrial powers"(11). Julia Burkart turns to the role of the media in mobilizing public support for the war as well as obscuring the real issues at work in the conflict, portraying military and political leaders as the real actors in this drama. She rather interestingly describes the press as essentially "a reactive institution, taking its cues from political authority"(20). Without questioning the recurrent chauvanistic impulses of the American people, Burkart continues her essentially "top-down" analysis by concluding that "the public was coached and misled by incomplete and slanted press coverage"(20). But if the American people receive partial victim status in this scenario, the real victims are, of course, the Iraqi people whom Allied weapons slaughtered, while American television audiences were lulled into a high-tech stupor. Burkart contends that in the representation of war as a video game "the serious business of war was trivialized into a game...carnage...had been deleted from this clean and righteous war"(28). Leslie's own article, co-written with Victor Archibong, deals with the oft-criticized military-industrial complex, and by going back to the Sixties has a deep historical resonance. Ex-president Dwight D. Eisenhower foretold in 1961 that "we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence...by the military-industrial complex" warning of a "disastrous rise of misplaced power"(33-34). "Ike's caveat," far from being the outburst of some anti-establishment leftist, was the sober reflection of a statesman and war hero, and a Republican to boot. Refuting the idea that defense industries foster economic presperity, Leslie and Archibong have determined that such a system of perpetual arms spending diverts public money and governmental energies away from problems of societal misery and hopelessness. And war itself appears as a useful siphoning off of social tensions, by giving jobs (as cannon fodder) to the under privileged. The authors are unsparing in their conclusion that "the conditions produced by the military-industrial complex foster a tacit conspiracy which leads us to armed conflict and maintains the system itself"(39). This idea of a "conspiracy" is more or less implicit in the other essays as well, but in most cases these social scientists tend to identify not active, conscious conspiracies of the Oliver Stone variety, but the more or less self-protective reflexes of entrenched systems and institutions. Finally, the earlier mentioned essay by Roberts more or less ties the first three essays together, offering a commentary mainly geared to those witin the sociological profession. Even the casual reader will find this last piece useful in that it tests and qualifies some of the assumptions raised by the earlier authors. And this critical stock taking also gives a sense of the animated discussion these papers no doubt generated when originally presented at a scholarly conference. Anyone who reads The Gulf War as Popular Entertainment will find it at turns engaging, enlightening, and perhaps infuriating. These pages contain no references to high-level Pentagon meetings, no dramatic images of F-16s taking off from carrier decks at dawn, and no glimpses at Scuds being intercepted just in the nick of time. We have already been treated to all that and more on CNN. What this book does offer is the controversial assertion that war itself is becoming part of a pseudo-participatory media spectacle substituting for the informed debate vital to any democracy's survival. Accordingly, this book merits attention.

The concept that the Gulf War never occured is preposterous. I was an Attlerry Scout with F/2/2 USMC and can personally vouch for the following facts: A) the conflict happened and was contested. B)There were instagators imported from less Arabic countries to punish the local citizens. My service in SouthWestAsia was one of the most fulfilling experiences in my life.

I am writing a term paper on the Gulf War and even though you can have up to 5 sources this is basically the only book I need! It has everything I need to know! If you are doing research like myself, I suggest you check it out!

One of the greatest revisionisms of the contemporary Middle Eastern history has been the readoption of the term "GULF WAR" for refering to the conflict to expel Saddam's forces from Kuwait. As noted by many experts, this conflict was neither a war nor was it fought in the Persian Gulf. It was mainly a one-sided air campaign fought over the skies of Iraq-- very much like the officially declared "non-war" against Serbia in Spring of 1999.

We read about the real gulf war (80-87 Iran-Irq war) in this classic by Bulloch & Morris. Written before August 1990, we read this book knowing the ending better than the authors. And this makes the fast-paced read gain an eery beat. What were the Americans thinking when they established friendly relations with Iraq as Saddam's troops lobbed mustard gas on Iranians-- or when US provided the satellite info which was used to launch the most horrific of the battles, the nerve gasing of the Iranians at Fao? The same goes with the rest of the "liberal" West who help strengthen the monsterous war machine which has been only contained at the price of the Iraqi people's suffering.

The Iran-Iraq war changed two nations-- and the strategic and historic center of the world-- forever. Iran is married to its religious rulers not because of any fanatic obsession, but because of the images of the young boys who sacrificed themselves in the marshes around Shatt-ol-Arab. It's like a mother wearing only black because of her dead children's memory. And Arab nationalism's death as a political movement happened in Iraq, not because of any courntry's peace deal with Israel.

I said we know the conclusion better than the authors-- but we really don't. All we know is that there have been a couple more chapters and that the real conclusion takes place sometime in post-Saddam Iraq and post-Fahd Saudi Arabia. And how it turns out, as in the Iran Iraq War, will depend a lot on where the US-Iranian relations will be then.

This is one of the two best books I have read on the Gulf War, the other being the excellent Crusade by Rick Atkinson.

This is a thorough history of the war, and much of it is oral history. The list of participants in the back of the volume is quite impressive and gives credence to the author's points of view. Well-documented and thorough, this book is highly recommended and is a definitive history of the war.

The author covers all aspects of the conflict: the invasion of Kuwait by the Iraqis, the American/allied response, the air war, the ground fighting prior to the invasion, and the invasion itself, covering the US Army, Marine Corps, and the allied forces (British and French) as well as the Arab participation.

This volume is detailed, the prose is crisp and straight-forward, and the author dispels some of the myths of the war. The Iraqi losses, especially in the Republican Guard units, were actually heavier than thought previously, and the Iraqi Army was mortally hurt in Kuwait and southern Iraq. Full credit is given the 24th Infantry Division and the elements of the American VII Corps (including the 2d Armored Cavalry Regiment, whose commander, Col L.D. Holder, was one of my instructors at West Point) in the decisive tank and armor battles with the Iraqi Republican Guard units, the Americans always winning, and the destruction and rout of the Iraqis the ultimate result.

The author has done a masterful job with this volume and has communicated to his readers the complexity of modern warfare as well as its human side. The title for this review was borrowed from one of the chapters in the book, and not only is this subject covered in the text, but also the problem of the Gulf War Syndrome and the possible causes for the illness.

This volume is a stellar example of oral history and analysis, and is one of the best books of its type in print. Not only is it enthusiastically recommended, but it belongs on the bookshelf next to Eric Hammel's Chosin, English's On Infantry (1st Edition), and Field Artillery and Firepower. I have been fortunate to have met Mr. Houlihan briefly, and he can be assured he has accomplished the intended mission with this outstanding history. Having gone through the breech into Kuwait with the 10th Marine Regiment of the 2d Marine Division, I can only add that Mr. Houlihan has captured in writing what was accomplished in the sand. The army the United States deployed to Saudi Arabia and which invaded Iraq and Kuwait in 1991, liberating the latter and fulfilling the UN mandate, may very well have been the best army the United States ever sent anywhere. That army, and what it accomplished, is portrayed with realism, heart, and accuracy in this book.

I liked HARPO, THE BABY HARP SEAL because I like seals and I like snow. I also like the water when it's warm. I learned that baby seals can't nurse off other mother seals.

HEART OF THE STORM, a historical novel of the Gulf War, is an action and romance packed, fast-paced tale of Espionage, Special Operations, Air Combat and Armored Warfare, sure to thrill not only Gulf War vets, but anyone who wants an entertaining read. With characters based on real people, and incidents based on real events, this high-quality trade paperback is the best book yet based on the Persian Gulf War.

As a diver and avid spearfisherman I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book from start to finish. Humberto expertly illustrates the essence of what it takes to dive on an oil platform. This aspect of scuba diving is definitely not for the faint at heart. His light humor throughout the book as he describes his dive buddies, friends, and adventures keeps your attention and adds to the story. I've never dived on an oil platform or "rig" as they are called, but after reading the book and hearing about all the big fish lurking below, I'm looking into making a trip to good ole Louisiana. Although he describes hunting 100 lbs plus fish, I'd settle for the 30 pounders. His stories of murky waters, sharks, eels, and angry trigger fish make you think twice about actually diving in, but hey, that is what makes for great diving stories. My hat off to Humberto. I only wish his book had more stories...at 203 pages, my appetite was just getting wet.