Dr. Sarotte has done something with this book that I did not think was possible. She has made the Cold War fresh. By looking at the Cold War from the perspective of Germany, rather than from the perspective of the superpowers, Dr. Sarotte has given us an inciteful window on the realities of Cold War international relations. She reminds us that it was not always the superpowers who were driving the course of the Cold War--an extremely important point to remember. Furthermore, she does it in a style that is both engaging and informative. I could not put the book down. I can't remember the last time I felt this way about a Cold War book!

This is an excellent and well-researched survey of US-Israeli relations between 1953 and 1962. Ben-Zvi recounts how at first the US Government sought to contain the supposed Soviet threat to the Middle East by uniting the nations of the region, and saw Israel as a hindrance to this.

But the anti-colonial revolutions of 1957-58 destroyed this policy. The US Government moved to support 'moderate' Arab regimes against Arab nationalism. In April 1957, President Eisenhower sent the US 6th Fleet to help King Hussein of Jordan, and $30 million aid, after Hussein had dismissed the elected Government and declared martial law. Eisenhower then got Turkey, Iraq and Jordan to mobilise their armed forces against Syria, after nationalist forces gained power there.

In July 1958, the Iraqi people overthrew their pro-British Government. The US Government sent 14,000 troops to Lebanon to threaten Iraq, also to prevent revolution in Lebanon. The British Government sent 2,200 paratroops to Jordan to help Hussein: Israel allowed them to fly their troops in through Israeli airspace. This convinced the US Government that it should support Israel.

In August 1962, President Kennedy decided to sell Hawk anti-aircraft missiles to Israel, hoping it would then let the US inspect Israel's nuclear weapons facilities at Dimona and would allow 100,000-150,000 Palestinians to return home. Israel rejected both proposals, yet still got the Hawks.

This set a pattern for the next 35 years: Israel received huge military and economic support, but made no policy concessions. The US Government developed Israel as its military proxy in the Middle East, however unpopular this made Israel, and the USA. The costs to the region have been enormous: regular wars, the continual repression of the Palestinians, lack of political and economic progress. But this policy finally failed in the Gulf War, when the USA had to keep Israel out of the coalition against Iraq, for fear of wrecking it.

This is history they didn't teach us in school! Jan Krancher has compiled 24 personal accounts from survivors of a brutal -and nearly forgotten- episode of World War II: the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies and imprisonment of thousands of its people. This 3 1/2 year occupation was immediately followed by a bloody revolution and the creation of modern Indonesia.

These deeply moving stories, from civilian internees (including children) and military POW's, give the English-speaking reader a glimpse of what has been called the "other Holocaust", the brutalities of the Pacific War. You won't forget them.

If you liked the film "Paradise Road", you won't want to miss this book.

*Democracy on the Air* is the single most helpful public policy guidebook available on the role of the electronic media in democratic countries. The guidebook explores "how autonomous and responsible media systems function in democracies"; "the ways in which television can be used in the coverage of democratic elections"; and "how journalists cover the lives of ethnic minorities and ethnic conflict, if and when it arises, as well as integrate minorities into the journalistic profession." This is what the guidebook promises, and indeed does, deliver, with an added overview and analysis of policy alternatives. For those interested in learning about public policy, democracy, and the media, this book is clearly written, globally informed and informative, and covers topics such as political freedom for broadcasting, news coverage of elections, paid political advertising, and coverage of conflict and ethnic minorities. Jimmy Carter's foreword is of particular interest.

Mr. Vogt is a wonderful source of knowledge when it comes to World War II history, especially when dealing with the Nazis. He taught a class at my university last year on the Holocaust and showed us all so many different facets of this terrible event than could ever be unearthed without serious research.

This work is useful in understanding how the eastern areas dealt with their territories at the conclusion of the war. Again what is made most abundantly clear is Mr. Vogt's lengthy academic research into this area. This work makes it easier for all of us to understand a specialized area of history that has been so far unjustly ignored.

This book is great, it shows just what really goes on with government cover-ups. In addition to Mr. Dicksons reader friendly writing style he also includes actual scanned correspondance with various polical figures which really helps convey his frustration with how "helpful" our government is to the average citizen. It's certainly an interesting book to read, especially with all that's been going on with terrorism and the war in Iraq. It's a good read even for those of us that can bore quite easily by current government events. With recent developments in the news and now Dickson's account of an international trade deal gone wrong it shows the Saudi's can't be trusted. This book is going to have a very negative affect on how American's look at Saudi Arabia, kind of ironic since Dickson was originally hired by them to set up a public relations campaign to help how we (as American's) view their society. With a little spicing up in the action department I beleive this nonfiction account could be turned into an awesome fictional "based-on fact" movie!

Having read a current bio about Gertrude Bell (Desert Queen), which I found a bear to get through due to the less than amazing quality of writing, I was curious about Bell's own writings and thrilled to find some still in print. Gertrude Bell could write!! What a wonderful book. Having an interest in archaeology and the history of ancient civilizations, I enjoyed the material she offered. But even if those aren't areas of interest to you, the people she met and talked to give one a better understanding of the midEast and of people in general. This was a hard book to put down. My only desires were that a map had been provided and that all of her wonderful pictures would have been printed on glossy paper so they could have been better appreciated. (I would have paid the extra!)

Leo Nomis was one of the many non-Jewish volunteer pilots that flocked to Israel to fight off the combined might of five Arab nations in the air during the 1948 War for Israeli Independence. Many of those pilots were W.W.II aces and came from many different countries and parts of the world. These pilots and other non-Israeli volunteers are now known as Mahalniks and are highly honored in Israel. This is the courageous story of one such Mahalnik.

Brian Cull, a well-known military aviation author, coauthored "The Desert Hawks" using Leo Nomis' journal as well as many oral interviews and consultation with Mr. Nomis.

With most of the material being from Mr. Nomis' journal, the book reads like a diary from the times, a sort of snapshot in time of the craziness and desperation that went on in 1948 Israel. The majority of the text flows very well, but for the less patient, some of the details may be a bit much. I enjoyed the details and, even more so, because this book is a primary research source. Many of the other histories of the 1948 Israeli Air Force have many less details (and in some cases much less accuracy) than "The Desert Hawks." In particular this book highly benefits from Brian Cull's editing who has filled in many of the blanks that were unknown at the time Mr. Nomis wrote his journal (such as the identity of the Italian-built fighter planes that Egypt used in the war's later stages). Perhaps, one of my greatest delights came from the photo insert, which has all of the photos fully labeled (many of which have appeared in other histories of the Israel Air Force). I have seen some of the photos in many other books about the Israel Air Force, but never with the men named in the photos. The book is also adorned with several useful maps, quite a few charts researching the early IDF/AF aircraft, and some other interesting appendices.

The book's full title is: "The Desert Hawks - An American Volunteer Fighter Pilot's Story of Israel's War of Independence, 1948." The title of the book comes from the name that Arab ground forces had for the early Messerschmitt 109G (called the Avia S199 by the Czechs) fighters that Israel first operated. Out of fear and awe, they called these early fighters "The Desert Hawks."

I highly recommend this wonderful primary resource about the history of the 1948 Israel Air Force.

I also recommend several of Brian Cull's other titles including "Spitfires Over Israel" and "Wings Over Suez."

Review by: Maximillian Ben Hanan

"Desert Slaughter" exposes the prosecution of the war against Iraq by the US as a means of carrying out its own political aims in the Middle East. The demonization of former US ally Saddam Hussein by the media, with the assistance of the trade union bureaucracy was a vital component of this savage war against the Iraqi people.

The book provides a week-by-week record and analysis of the war and events leading to it, including the state department provocation, up to the cynical victory parades staged months after war. This book is crucial to an understanding of the present political situation and threat of war in the Middle East.

If you're looking for a basic book about the Gulf War and its many aspects, you couldn't go wrong with this one. Just the sort of high quality and good writing you would expect from Military History Magazine!