When you combine a unique approach with superb organization and outstanding readability, you clearly have the foundation for an excellent book. These characteristics are in full display in James Ellman’s excellent book, Seeds of Victory: Defeat, Triumph, and the American Way of War. Readers will find Ellman’s book possesses a novel concept, is superbly organized and easy to navigate, and written in a highly conversant style.
Nearly every book has a driver or a premise which focuses the author and is the impetus for developing the book. Ellman addresses his in the volume’s opening paragraph. He states, “Both victory and defeat define the legacy of the U.S. Military in equal measure. This may seem paradoxical for a nation that has achieved such triumph on the battlefield. However, a rarely considered feature of the American military experience is the significant list of painful strategic defeats suffered over the last 250 years.”1 Within the pages of Seeds of Victory, Ellman selects times in US history where he believes the armed services “have been able to react rapidly, recover, and move on to achieve ultimate victory.”2 The periods he has selected as chapters are
- Chapter 1, “From the Battle of Long Island to the Counterattack at Trenton and Princeton”;
- Chapter 2, “The Fall of Savannah and Charles Town to the Battle of Guilford Courthouse”;
- Chapter 3, “From the Failed Invasion of Canada to the Battles of Lake Erie and the Thames”;
- Chapter 4, “The Rout at First Bull Run to the Critical Victory at Antietam”;
- Chapter 5, “Disaster at Pearl Harbor to Victory at Midway”;
- Chapter 6, “The Fall of Luzon to the Siege of Buna-Gona”;
- Chapter 7, “Black Thursday over Schweinfurt to Bombing the ‘Big B’”; and
- Chapter 8, “From the Double Defeat on the Chongchon to Recovery of Seoul.”
Additionally, he ends the book with a chapter titled “Losing the War but Perhaps Winning the Fight: Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq.”
Within each chapter, Ellman offers a concise (a common theme within the book) discussion. The key to making this valuable for readers is the author’s organization that he adheres to in each chapter and his ability to articulate his thoughts to readers. He begins by providing context for the reader in a section he titles “Background of Defeat.” In this discussion, he provides just enough detail so readers understand the events that occurred leading up to the extreme challenges the United States would soon face. This initial discussion clearly sets the conditions for Ellman’s further analysis.
With this accomplished, Ellman organizes each chapter into seven distinct, yet overlapping sections: “The Defeat,” “Recovery,” “Victory,” “Causes of Defeat,” “Causes of Victory,” “Impact of Defeat,” and “Impact of Victory.” Certainly, each period that Ellman has selected has had numerous books in themselves written, but he again has had to be concise in his treatment in each section. I believe the author has, in the vast majority of instances, combined conciseness with offering the reader viable discussion and analysis.
Within the above sections, I found the most beneficial to be his discussion of recovery and the impacts of defeat and victory. In reference to recovery, Ellman highlights the significant factors that he believes were instrumental in reversing US fortunes. These include changes in US senior leadership, changes in strategy, adaptions or development of tactics, techniques and procedures, and areas in which the enemy may have changed, which the United States took advantage of. Readers will find that some of the above resonate in each of the periods, while there are some that are unique to a particular period.
A prime example is the element of tactics. Ellman highlights this in his conclusion. He states,
Each of the first eight chapters of this book focused on one strategic defeat by this nation followed by a major triumph. The most common shared attribute in the reaction and recovery has been a change in tactics employed against America’s enemies. These ranged markedly from conflict to conflict. General Washington realized that his rebel force needed to stop not defending coastal positions and instead retreat until smaller British detachments could be defeated in detail. Lincoln learned that he needed to press his generals to fight and wear down the Confederacy through attrition. Spaatz and Doolittle sent their bombers out as bait on area bombing missions while fighters ranged ahead hunting the Luftwaffe. Ridgway ordered his men to entrench and hold at night, advance during the day, and when the Chinese were found, call in devasting artillery bombardments and airstrikes.3
The sections pertaining to the impact of defeat and victory within the book are also extremely valuable. I found these to be essentially areas where the author addressed lessons learned, which the United States gleaned. Many of these had impacts in the short term, while some select few had serious long-term ramifications. As with the rest of the book, the author’s treatment in these portions is succinct; however, one of his key strengths is his ability to make the most of the words he does utilize.
As mentioned earlier, Ellman concludes the main body a chapter on Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Within his discussion, he deviates somewhat from the previous chapters’ organization. Readers will once again find sections on the background of defeat, the defeats in each of the wars, and recovery actions, but what is different is that he does not designate victory or defeat in Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq. He believes that defining each in these categories is not as obvious as some envision. He highlights this at the beginning of the chapter when he states, “In the decades that followed the great victory of World War II, the verdict on the success or failure of U.S. arms has become less clear.”4 Within the chapter, he keys in on this and provides examples of success and failure and areas where he feels it is too early to make a conclusion.
In conclusion, Ellman has packed a great deal for readers to digest in Seeds of Victory. His ability to take a novel approach and then craft a superbly organized and highly readable book has enabled him to craft an outstanding book. It is a book that informs and makes you think—and at times, where you might not totally agree with the author’s assessment or analysis. Seeds of Victory is a book which should be on your reading list.