Shield and Sword: The United States Navy and the Persian Gulf War

This solid, professionally executed piece of official history offers an excellent account of the U.S. Navy's role in the 1991 war with Iraq. Like some, though not all, other official versions, it is remarkably candid in describing the service's failures as well as its successes; the Navy's deficiencies in precision-guided weapons and mine-clearing capabilities receive forthright treatment. Although the book shows a natural bias in favor of the institution, some of its conclusions will ruÛe the feathers of more than one admiral. An important contribution to the history of the Gulf War.