
The First Infantry Division and the U.S. Army Transformed
Road to Victory in Desert Storm, 1970-1991 (American Military Experience)
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Narrated by:
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William L. Hensel
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By:
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Gregory Fontenot
About this listen
This fast-paced and compelling listen closes a significant gap in the historiography of the late Cold War US Army and is crucial for understanding the current situation in the Middle East.
From the author's introduction: “My purpose is a narrative history of the 1st Infantry Division from 1970 through the Operation Desert Storm celebration held 4th of July 1991. This story is an account of the revolutionary changes in the late Cold War. The Army that overran Saddam Hussein’s Legions in four days was the product of important changes stimulated both by social changes and institutional reform. The 1st Infantry Division reflected benefits of those changes, despite its low priority for troops and material. The Division was not an elite formation, but rather excelled in the context of the Army as an institution.”
This book begins with a preface by Gordon R. Sullivan, General, USA, retired. In 12 chapters, author Gregory Fontenot explains the history of the 1st infantry Division from 1970 to 1991. In doing so, his fast-paced narrative includes elements to expand the knowledge of non-military listeners. These elements include a glossary, a key to abbreviations, and thorough bibliography.
This audiobook is published with support from the First Division Museum at Cantigny.
The book is published by University of Missouri Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.
Winner of the Army Historical Foundation's 2018 Excellence in US Army History in the category of Unit History.
“A substantial work that incorporates an impressive depth and breadth of research." (On Point: The Journal of Army History)
“This book should be in any library dedicated to modern warfare.” (The Journal of America’s Military Past)
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What listeners say about The First Infantry Division and the U.S. Army Transformed
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
- Stephen Ford
- 07-14-21
Lots of Quotes
The content of the book is great, however, the audio version narration has some issues. Besides the typical issue with military abbreviations (pronouncing or over-pronouncing each letter of the abbreviation rather than the common usage term, or pronouncing roman numerals as letters rather than numbers), the most annoying issue is pronouncing each quote in the book, e.g. "then 1st Lt. Jones said, quote you aren't going to pronounce the quotation marks are you? end quote" Considering how many quotations this book contains it gets a little grating after a while. I almost feel like the run time of the book could have been cut down 10% if the narrator didn't pronounce each quotation mark. The narration was great, but the constant quote, end quote did get old pretty quick.
Overall I found the book to be a great history of the division and really enjoyed it.
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