The Battle for History: Refighting World War II by John KeeganReview by: Eliot A. CohenForeign Affairs, Vol. 75, No. 2 (Mar. - Apr., 1996), p. 149Published by: Council on Foreign RelationsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20047517 .

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Recent Books

ies: The Military Balance, a compendium

of data on worldwide armaments, and the

Strategic Survey, a narrative account of the

security-related events of the year. One

can grow so used to this volume as to take

its strengths for granted?a combination

of functional and regional analysis, an ad

mirable chronology, and a premium Qn in

formation rather than opinion. The only serious weakness flows from the periodiza

tion; not all events oblige by occurring in 12-month episodes. Still, with a shelf of

Strategic Surveys one is well equipped to

begin making sense of contemporary na

tional security issues. Insofar as this work

is concerned, at any rate, one of the more

valuable institutions of the Cold War transatlantic security establishment seems

to have made a successful transition to a

new and perhaps more disorderly world.

The Battle for History: Refighting World WarII. by John KEEGAN. NewYork:

Vintage, 1996,128 pp. $10.00 (paper). This short, opinionated, and stimulating

monograph is in essence an extended book

review, divided into chapters on overall his

tories of the war, biographies, campaigns,

intelligence and logistics, and resistance, and introduced by a discussion of some of

the war's main controversies. In a work of

such brevity one cannot expect extensive

analysis, and the reader must take at face

value some occasionally jarring assertions?

for example that the strategic bombing

campaign against Germany did not work, even though it destroyed the Luftwaffe and diverted vast quantities of German war

production. Keegan discusses only English

language books, conceding that he has not

yet begun reading the official German his

tory of the war, now out in half a dozen

volumes. He also favors the European war

considerably over the Pacific, which re

ceives scant attention. Still, with admirable

concision he sums up key issues and de

scribes the merits of a wide range of stan

dard (and a few more obscure) works on

the war. Students of World War II will wish to mull over his opinions, even if

they disagree.

The Transformation of Security in the Asia

Pacific Region. EDITED BY DESMOND

ball. Portland: Frank Cass, 1995, 220

pp. $37-5o (paper, $19.50). One of the most prominent and prolific Australian students of strategic matters

has assembled a distinguished group of

authors, from several continents and

ranging widely in seniority, to discuss

contemporary Asian security issues. Some

of the essays (for example, David Arase's

argument that Japan will increasingly de

velop an independent defense policy and

military establishment) are provocative, others merely sound, but altogether one

of the most useful collections of essays on the subject.

The United States DAVID C. HENDRICKSON

The Politics of Diplomacy: Revolution, War

and Peace, 1989-1992. by james a.

baker, in. NewYork: G. P. Putnam's

Sons, 1995, 687 pp. $32.50. This memoir by President Bush's secre

tary of state presents a triumphant chronicle of his diplomatic activities

To order any book reviewed or advertised in Foreign Affairs, fax 203-966-4329.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS March/April i996 [l4?]

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