"From the wooden horse of Troy to the Gulf War, military history has been as much marked by chance and error as by gallantry and heroism. Erik Durschmied's entertaining view shows how many conflicts have been decided by the caprice of weather, bad intelligence or individual incompetence. In military terms, the incident that swings a battle from victory to defeat in a moment is known as the Hinge Factor"

This is one of my husband's books (don't worry, he does know I'm registering it ;) ), and I haven't read it myself, but he liked it. It's just gathering dust on our shelf here, and I'm hoping some more history buffs out there might enjoy it, so I thought I'd send it out on a bookring.

Bookring List (so far)

Elizardbreath (USA)

MaryZee (USA) (Intl)

Booklady331 (USA) (Intl)

MyaStone (USA)(USA preferred))
Nicolesinger (USA) (USA preferred)
RstySpn (USA) (Intl)
debnance(USA) (Intl)

Brookler (Canada) (Intl)
Ftarazu (Europe preferred)
veleta(USA)(Spain) (Europe preferred)
ZAS (UK) (Intl)
JamsODonnellToo(Germany) (Intl)
Bellamack (Australia)(Aust. only)

And back to me.


Bookring Guidelines

1. Please make a journal entry when you receive the book, so that everybody knows it has arrived safe and sound.

2. If possible, try to finish the book within 4 weeks. If you're delayed for some reason, please let me know via PM or a journal entry.

3. PM the next person on the ring for their address when you are nearly finished.

4. Make another journal entry to let us know what you thought of the book.

5. Send the book on its way.

Happy reading!

I am so sorry it has taken me this long to journal!!! I received this book about 5 days ago. I have already read the first chapter...I think I will like this one!

I want to read this one so bad...I just can't get into it!! I will put it on my wish list and send it off...I don't want to hold the line up. Maybe I could go to the end of the list and try it again later?? PMing MaryZee right now.

Received today. I'll start this one in a couple of days, as soon as I finish my current read.

This wasn't quite what I expected. I think I was expecting a book with more history (which I love), and less about specific battles (which I always have trouble keeping track of who's on which side :)

That said, this book was nicely organized chapter-by-chapter into individual battles, and also chronologically. Some of the early battles include the Trojan War (of Greek mythology) and the Crusades, and the later battles include several during WW II, Vietnam, and the Gulf War. This book was published in 1999, when Saddam Hussein was still in power. I wonder what Durschmeid would have to say about the current middle east conflict?

This book was easy to read in chunks, because of the way the chapters were set up - each being an individual battle. My only criticism of the book is that it needed better editing. There were a number of examples where you could tell that English is not Durschmeid's native language (he is Austrian/French), due to his usage. This could have easily been corrected through better editing.

This was sent out to Booklady331 on 2/1/07. This is my 4th book for the 2007 Keep Them Moving Challenge.

This was in my mailbox when I arrived at home today. I am excited to read this. I have 2 bookrings ahead, but I should get to it soon.

I couldn't get into this book, so I am sending it off to myastone.

received in the mail today. v excited to read (but who isnt excited to read a bookring book?). thanks for sharing!

I'm afraid I will not have time to finish this one completely. I did enjoy the battle history, thought the 'what if' sections at the end of each chapter were a bit unnecessary. I would have a preferred a work that was a bit more scholarly, and my husband agreed that there was something wrong with the editing, and it didnt read as well as it should have.

ETA: Mailed to nicolesinger 14 March
DC# 03063030000094611727

Hooray! It's here. The post office had managed to shred the wrapping a bit (looks as though it got caught in a machine), but the book itself is in fine shape.

I'm looking forward to reading this. Thanks, MyaStone and Sugaryfun!

Add me to the list of those who wanted to like the book, but just couldn't get into it at the moment. However, my husband needed something to read while he was getting the car worked on, and he enjoyed it a lot. I can't give an exact quote, but it was something on the order of "as military history texts go, it's quite entertainingly written." (Perhaps the problem is that I have not read enough military history texts?)

He did not make it all the way through, but he is adding it to his wishlist.

I have PMed RstySpn for an address to pass this book along. Thanks for including me (us) in the fun!

Received the book a couple of days ago and have started reading. Enjoying it quite a bit already. Hoping that won't change as it seems to be a really interesting read.

Sorry, finished this awhile ago, but found myself traveling more than expected and haven't had time to write this. The book turned out to be quite enjoyable. I was able to finish and it kept me wanting to read it, which is always a good thing to me. I wish there had been more background for some of the battles, as I found myself not knowing quite enough context for it all to make sense. The chapter written from Durschmied's own experiences was very interesting and should be read even if the book as a whole doesn't capture your fancy.

I'm trying to track this one down. Debnance never received it. I hope this isn't another one lost in the post. :(