Col. John Greenwood
Col. John Greenwood, USMC (Ret.), former editor of Marine Corps Gazette
"For nearly a quarter century, T.X. Hammes has been one of the Marine Corps' most thoughtful students on the evolution of warfare, the ever-changing threats that face us, and the adjustments needed at every level if the U.S. military is to meet the challenges that lie ahead. A blunt, straightforward author, his book reflects candor and insight. He explains the nature of the emerging style of warfare and explains why the current transformation planning is missing the mark."
General Anthony Zinni
General Anthony Zinni, USMC (Ret.), former CENTCOM commander
"Based in history and current events, Thomas Hammes explains the nasty, long-term, broad-spectrum wars we have fought and will continue to fight. It stands in sharp contrast to the short, high-tech, clean war the defense department is planning for. He focuses on how to win the war rather than just winning battles. Understanding the type of war you are fighting is the first step to winning. This book will help you understand."
Robert Oakley
Robert Oakley, former U.S. State Department Coordinator for Counterterrorism, and former U.S. ambassador to Somalia, Pakistan, and Zaire
"Colonel Hammes provides a great service by bringing war fighting back to reality. He strips away the misleading fog created by the latest iteration of the U.S. tendency to believe that technology and weaponry win wars, not people and ideas. By looking at the past unconventional wars he shows us what to expect in the future, where there will be conventional challenge to U.S. superiority but a return to the strategy and tactics used so successfully by opponents such as Ho Chi Minh against the French first, then the U.S."
Bernard Trainor
Bernard Trainor, Lieutenant General, USMC (Ret.), NBC News military analyst, co-author of The Generals
"Colonel Hammes cuts to the quick in defining the conundrum of dealing with 21st century warfare, the competing concepts of its nature, and its management. His is a controversial analysis which is bound to raise the hackles of today's techno warriors."
From the Publisher
Parameters: U.S. Army War College Quarterly, Autumn 2005 “This is a stimulating – nay, provocative – book that should cause military readers and all associated with the security of the United States to question their fundamental assumptions. It is also a gutsy book because the author, a serving officer, asserts in effect that the Secretary of Defense, his team in the Pentagon, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff are wrong in the way they are fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He further contends that the United States stands a good chance of losing its wars in the future unless the forces confront the realities of warfare in this century.”
Military Review, March/April 2007
“Can a two-and-one-half-year-old book be reviewed as a classic? It can, and should, if it says the kinds of smart, prescient things that Hammes had to say in 2004.
“The Sling and the Stone was written to appeal to a vast and diverse audience. It provides numerous jewels of information for the general reader as well as senior military leaders, military operational planners and supporters, interagency personnel, and U.S. political leaders who are looking for a provocative read to aid them in making informed decisions in support of U.S. national security. Since its first publication, this visionary book has ignited others in public and private life to read, research, write, and advocate for the United States to change its defense posture in order to meet the challenge posed by the advent of 4GW. Many of Hammes’ ideas have now been adopted by the military and are currently in practice in Iraq and Afghanistan. Other ideas are being studied extensively within the Washington Beltway. U.S. homeland security and counterinsurgency doctrines have also been strongly influenced and shaped by this book. Hammes has truly been a catalyst for change … Hammes’s book is truly an enlightening must-read for Military Review’s readers, particularly those attending career military schools. It should remain so for many years to come.”