Book Review: 'Desert Victory: The War for Kuwait'

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Military history comes in various flavors, just like ice cream. On one side of the spectrum, you can find books that analyze the wider strategic and tactical aspects of a conflict, with emphasis on politics and the commanders on both sides. On the other, you find books that not only deal with the "big picture" but also strive to show the conflict from the combatants' vantage point.

Desert Victory: The War for Kuwait is one of those "big picture" books that focuses more on the strategies and tactics used by both Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and President George H.W. Bush and their respective military commanders. Written shortly after the war (it was published in the fall of 1991) by noted historian and military analyst Norman Friedman,

 Desert Victory traces the roots of the first Persian Gulf War to Saddam's rise to power in the late 1970s, his disastrous foray into Iran in 1980, the misguided policies of moderate Arab countries and two U.S. administrations to support Iraq (a mostly Shi'a Muslim country ruled by a Sunni Arab minority) against the perceived threat from Shiite Iran and the genesis of Saddam's invasion of the tiny but oil-rich emirate on his southern border.


Friedman explains the events of the Persian Gulf War ably and intelligently, analyzing the tactics, strategies and forces employed by both sides. It is a well-researched account of both Operations Desert Shield (the buildup) and Desert Storm, with particular attention being paid to the diplomatic and military forging of the coalition that would liberate Kuwait in February of 1991.


However, readers who prefer the "Cornelius Ryan/Stephen Ambrose" approach to military history are going to be disappointed. There are few eyewitness anecdotes in the text, and the prose does tend to be rather dry.

Book Details

  • Hardcover: 435 pages
  • Publisher: US Naval Institute Press; 1st edition (September 1991)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1557502544
  • ISBN-13: 978-1557502544

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