I jumped around a bit in the book as there were certain situations that were more interesting or better known to me. As I had just finished The Rose of Sebastopol, it seemed best to start with The Fourth Order (Balaklava) and as the fall of the Berlin Wall was one of THE most important events of my childhood, the second last section was next. The stupidity of generals, unsuitable men or men blind to the reality around them, if they were even anywhere near the battle. Another aspect that Durschmied shows us is the development of warfare.

Not always fantastically written, but good as a way to get into the subject. ( )

I really got sucked in by the intro. The author explains The Hinge Factor by telling the story of how Hiroshima became the first sight for the dropping of the Atomic bomb. It was number three on the list. The first two cities were obscured by clouds. The fate of a city was decided by the vagaries of weather.

What a great way to describe what the Hinge Factor is. What a let down to read the rest of the book. What follows is a list of battles (from Troy to Iraq) which does not feel in-depth enough to be of any use to the historian, but too detailed for others. In general, the hinge effect that is described feels forced, as if they were found to make an excuse for including each battle. And, after a while, all the battles blur into one. The book is at its best during WWII. But it starts poorly with myth as history (the fall of Troy) and falls apart again with more recent history. In particular, it feels like a hinge factor was made up for the Tet offensive, just so the author could tell his personal story as a reporter in Vietnam. (Quick aside – his story is very compelling. He tells it well and his journalistic skills are put on best display. I do not blame him for wanting to share the story. I just don’t think this is the way to do it.) The book gets way to preachy in the Epilogue where we get to visit Hiroshima again and he warns us of the perils of nuclear war.

There is a good subject in here somewhere – maybe better if written by a true historian rather than a correspondent. But the numbing rehashing of facts, the redundantly parallel construction of each chapter (tell a vivid detailed story about the conflict, then describe the entire conflict, then try to show a hinge factor, then try to talk about how the world would have been different), and the final preachiness just take too much away from the subject. ( )

Exactly what it says, a non-fiction book about how sometimes luck has played a part in major battles and events. It's interesting to see how sometimes it is one person who can change fate and history. ( )