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Title: Great author, poorly formed topic
Review: John Keegan's mastery of the material is obvious. However, he picked an amorphous topic: whether Military Intelligence "helps". Keegan uses historical vignettes through the ages to prove his point, that Military Intelligence is usually not decisive.However, the question seems poorly formed. Military Intelligence means different things in different epochs, and in different situations in the same timeframe. Also, the manner in which it may or may not be decisive is also situation specific. Worse, not all of Keegan's historical vignettes prove his point.The result is a book full of interesting tales, but lacking clear synthesis. This great historian's talent and our time are wasted on a poorly formed topic.
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