The Right Way to Lose a War, Dominic Tierney
The Right Way to Lose a War, Dominic Tierney
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The Right Way to Lose a War
America in an Age of Unwinnable Conflicts

Author: Dominic Tierney

Narrator: Brian Troxell

Unabridged: 9 hr 48 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/02/2015

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

Why has America stopped winning wars?

For nearly a century, up until the end of World War II in 1945, America enjoyed a Golden Age of decisive military triumphs. And then suddenly, we stopped winning wars. The decades since have been a Dark Age of failures and stalemates-in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan-exposing our inability to change course after battlefield setbacks.

In this provocative book, award-winning scholar Dominic Tierney reveals how the United States has struggled to adapt to the new era of intractable guerrilla conflicts. As a result, most major American wars have turned into military fiascos. And when battlefield disaster strikes, Washington is unable to disengage from the quagmire, with grave consequences for thousands of U.S. troops and our allies.

But there is a better way. Drawing on interviews with dozens of top generals and policymakers, Tierney shows how we can use three key steps-surge, talk, and leave-to stem the tide of losses and withdraw from unsuccessful campaigns without compromising our core values and interests.

Weaving together compelling stories of military catastrophe and heroism, this is an unprecedented, timely, and essential guidebook for our new era of unwinnable conflicts. The Right Way to Lose a War illuminates not only how Washington can handle the toughest crisis of all-battlefield failure-but also how America can once again return to the path of victory.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Gregory on May 19, 2015

So, this book had a number of strengths and weaknesses, but overall it was worth the read. Bad news first. “The Right Way to Lose a War” was a little bit repetitive. Presumably anyone reading this book is at least marginally familiar with the Korean and Vietnam wars. Explaining (multiple times) how......more

Goodreads review by David on August 18, 2015

This is almost a textbook analysis in how a country should extricate itself from a losing war. Case studies are primarily constructed around the Korean, Vietnamese, Afghani, and Iraqi conflicts. The emphasis is on how we Americans can and should withdraw from unwinnable situations, including wars we......more

Goodreads review by Maria on September 11, 2019

The United States of America hasn't won a war since World War II. Some will argue that the first Gulf War was a win... but the counterargument is that we didn't win because we had to go back. Tierney argues that we need to find ways to exit when our stated policy, battlefield success, and objectives......more

Goodreads review by Marco on July 03, 2017

Abseits des Kalten Krieges haben sich die USA seit 1945 sehr schwer getan, Konflikte, in die sie eintraten, zu ihren Gunsten zu entscheiden. Im Irak schaffte man es gar einen Krieg zu verlieren, den man eigentlich schon als gewonnen ausrief. Hinter all diesen verlorenen Konflikten und Kriegen steht e......more

Goodreads review by Chase on August 09, 2015

Respectable summary of challenges facing US in ending conflicts in the limited wars characterizing warfare since World War II. Relies on examples from Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan primarily to highlight US challenges and shortfalls related to successfully ending "unwinnable" conflicts. Not......more


Quotes

"Tierney proposes a strategy centered on the tactic of "surge, talk, and leave," which requires a seismic shift in understanding the metrics of waging war.... Tierney's sensible and clearsighted recommendations come from careful study."
Publishers Weekly

"Tierney doesn't just analyze, although there are plenty of examples drawn from ancient and modern history. Instead, he offers a cogent argument and concrete strategies for minimizing loss of life.... His useful book's coda offers some interesting long-term strategies to avoid endless war in the future." —Kirkus