David W. Cloud

First, know what this book is. It is a reference book, and is not intended (at least I hope it is not) for casual reading. It serves best as a commentary of sorts. That being said it can be read straight through, as I have done.

Much of this book reveals what Dr Cloud does best, and that is explaining the Bible. I have read a substantial amount of Dr Cloud's work and would say unapologetically his exegetical work is his best. This book (mostly) does this work of reconciling challenging show more Scriptures, and to that end, works well.

When Dr Cloud steers into the practical...well that is a different matter altogether. Some of those things are why I would only rate it four stars. Many times I find myself frustrated with Dr Cloud's applications and use of some Scriptures. He also repeats himself quite a bit.

Overall, I would recommend to Bible students as a good research tool, though a bit overstated in places. I read it in E-Pub format and will be looking for it in hard copy going forward. show less

A biography of four men, all of whom were generals in the United States Army has it's strengths and weaknesses based on this approach. It is good to see four careers looked at at the same time, it provides a good look into the US Army as an institution. But the book is also restrained by that, the book has some great insights into the Iraq war but it gets pulled back because of it's biographical nature. It reinforces what I had already learnt about the war in Iraq, that the reason things show more spiraled out of control was the lack of direction from the top. I still find it amazing that so little thought was given over to what happened after the Iraqi Army was defeated in 2003 and to how long US troops would be required. This book also confirms that troop levels were not high enough and both allowed the insurgency to grow and allowed it to continue. While the Vietnam War was an inspiration to the US officer corp, it was a shock to see how little the lessons had really been taken on board. show less

Acceptable look at the personalities and backgrounds of four senior US commanders. It is an interesting fact that the names of the four - for sure that of General George Petraeus - is as well known to Canadians who follow any news as the name of any senior Canadian politician other than the PM. This gives a sense of the clout these guys have, commanding Central Command or commanding missions overseas, or indeed running and developing the US Army at home. In a decade or two, no doubt one will show more hope to see comparable books about Chinese four stars.
The book itself is workable. A couple journalists with some but not extensive understanding of the US Army have spent some time getting "under the skin" of these generals. It is well written but left me a bit underwhelmed, like something was missing and not all the dots were connected.
A number of commonalities struck me from this comparison of four senior American generals. First, they are the product of the melting pot. Not many of the families were tenth generation American families. Second, while obviously ambitious and thrusting - for how else could they reach the top of their profession - all four retained or thought they retained which is the same thing, strong ties to the young soldiers they started their careers with. Finally, most of them did a pretty fair job of intellectually challenging their profession from the inside. They weren't really, except maybe Casey, architypicipal organization men.
A book worth reading for its topicality, but I so wish it were longer and deeper. show less

General Petraeus signed my copy of the book as a favor to one of the finest veterans I have ever taught. Once confessing my predilection towards the general, the US military, and American ideals I can review the book.

Nonetheless, there are four exceptional generals who were tasked to save an army questioned vociferously after the Vietnam debacle. Towards this goal they became the Army's most influential generals during the controversial liberation of Iraq. Collectively, their story tells show more how the army over the last four decades can illuminate the path to travel in order to protect the nation in the future.

The well-known events of the Iraq he liberation and the surge are retelling Lee told here except more from the biographies of the four principal generals. We understand to a greater extent how their lives intermingled, opposed, or harmonized between their respective careers. show less