Review by Booklist Review
An oft-overlooked truth about war is that armies are sometimes defeated not just by human enemies but by the ravages of mother nature. This book recounts instances of men doing battle with volcanoes, extreme temperatures, typhoons, and avalanches. Like any book about military encounters, stories of heroism abound: soldiers ride through desert sandstorms or scale mountains just to ensure the safety of their comrades. Photos and maps provide plenty of context for conflicts from all corners of the globe, from the Canadian tundra to the jungles of Vietnam. This is chronologically comprehensive as well, mentioning war from the ancient world through the modern era. Notorious stories, such as Napoléon's downfall by the Russian winter, are included, along with more obscure tales, such as an 1822 battle in Quito, Ecuador, on the face of a volcano. By examining instances of defeat by natural forces, the book speaks to the larger idea of military strategy and to the need for foresight in leadership. High interest and thorough, it will delight military-history buffs.--Anderson, Erin Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-While books on military battles are common, Kyi offers a fresh approach as she details various engagements wherein nature was as great an enemy as the opposing humans. Soldiers and sailors must overcome volcanoes, blizzards, typhoons, deserts, mud, and the like in their efforts to vanquish their foes. Readers learn of Hannibal's difficulties in crossing the Alps, the U.S. Navy's encounter with a typhoon in World War II, Gen. Antonio José de Sucre's troops climbing a volcano to defeat the Spanish, British troops fighting rebel slaves in Jamaica's Blue Mountains, and a variety of other instances, with dates ranging from China in 119 BCE to Afghanistan in 2011. Throughout, the theme remains the same: nature has had a powerful effect on warfare. Kyi's narrative is engaging and reads almost like fiction. Some pages end with ominous last sentences; for example, in relating Napoleon's Russian campaign, she writes, "But by this time the air had already turned crisp," thus enticing readers to continue. Included are helpful inserts about various aspects of particular campaigns. Photographs and colorful line drawings complement the text. There is an excellent bibliography, but there is neither a glossary nor a pronunciation guide, which would have been extremely useful. VERDICT Minor flaws aside, this book is an excellent complement to titles such as Chris Oxlade's The Top Ten Battles That Changed the World and Richard Holmes's Battle and should be of great interest to those interested in war history.-Margaret Nunes, Gwinnett County Public Library, GA © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Ten tales of wartime peril and heroism during huge storms, amid trackless mountains, and in the face of other natural barriers and disasters. Kyi leads off with "Hannibal vs. the Alps" and closes with "Allied Forces vs. the Tora Bora Caves" in Afghanistan in 2001. In between, she chronicles ordeals including Napoleon's bitter retreat through the Russian winter, a World War II task force's encounter with Typhoon Cobra, the 1822 battle on the slopes of a volcano that freed Quito from Spanish rule, and a still-ongoing standoff between India and Pakistan for control of the wildly inhospitable Siachen Glacier. Though the author arranges her chapters in no particular order and drifts from her premise in one that pits the U.S. Army's "tunnel rats" against Viet Cong in the man-made C Chi tunnels, she tells a tale that is both coherent and laced with vivid observations and details. Also, an overdesigned layout that features abrupt changes of background color, wedged-in sidebars, smudgy decorative elements, and an uneasy mix of period images with modern photos and melodramatic new illustrations in diverse styles is more distraction than enhancement. Still, the basic material is solid enough to keep readers absorbed. A bit unfocused but unusual of theme and gratifyingly broad of both historical and geographical scope. (bibliography, source notes, index) (Nonfiction. 11-14) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
