J. C. (Pepe) Tejeda

BOOK REVIEW – DENG XIAOPING – A REVOLUTIONARY LIFE

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Deng Xiaoping: A Revolutionary Life.By Alexander Pantsov and Steven Levine.Oxford University Press; 610 pages. One of the hardest things about biographies of leaders like Deng Xiaoping is that it feels like nothing more than a collage of newspaper or magazine articles strung together by a touch commentary or a dash of boring analysis.  However, this biography, written by Alexander Pantsov and Steven Levine, has given this world leader a distinctive new look.  Based on newly available archives from the former Soviet Union, Pantsov and Levine has offered a clearer picture as to what motivated him, the most important, why Deng Xiaoping did what he did.  Before going into the main … More after the Jump…

BOOK REVIEW: INDIAN ARMY AFTER INDEPENDENCE

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INDIAN ARMY AFTER INDEPENDENCE BY MAJOR K.C. PRAVAL FRANKFORT, IL, LANCER PUBLISHERS LLC 2012 602 PAGES ISBN-10:1935501100 ISBN-13: 978-1935501107 There are very few books about the modern Indian Army. That is, the Indian Army that existed since independence. Anyone searching for books about the Indian military would find books about the British Raj or about the British Indian Army during World War II. Nevertheless, the book, Indian Army After Independence, is a good book that covers this often forgotten era of military history. Unlike other books on the subject, this was one of a few written by a former officer of the Indian Army. Major K.C. Parval wrote this book … More after the Jump…

BOOK REVIEW: KANGZHAN: GUIDE TO CHINESE GROUND FORCES 1937-1945

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KANGZHAN: GUIDE TO CHINESE GROUND FORCES 1937-1945 BY LELND NESS AND BIN SHIH SOLIHULL, UK: HELION & COMPANY, 2016 576 PAGES ISBN: 978-1-910294-42-0 Kangzhan: Guide to Chinese Ground Forces 1937-1945 is a rare but excellent book on the many Chinese “armies” that have fought from the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War to the end of World War II. It offers a rare but detailed glimpse into how China’s armed forces were organized at the ground level. For the reader new to this aspect of military history, Kangzhan is the Chinese word for “War of Resistance”, that the war of resistance against Japanese aggression. It is unique amongst military history … More after the Jump…

BOOK REVIEW – A HISTORY OF THE MODERN CHINESE ARMY BY XIAOBING LI

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Much has been written about China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Much of these works has focused on either uniforms, equipment, or a brief history of its involvement in the Korean War. However, anyone really interested in a first rate history of the PLA should seriously look at Xiaobing Li’s “A History of the Modern Chinese Army”. Xiaobing Li is currently a professor of history at the University of Central Oklahoma, and has once served in the ranks of the PLA. His work is wroth reading because it fill many of the “gaps” usually found in other works on the subject. These gaps are those aspects about the PLA that were … More after the Jump…

BOOK REVIEW: GUNSHIP ACE: THE WARS OF NEALL ELLIS, HELICOPTER PILOT AND MERCENARY

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BOOK REVIEW: GUNSHIP ACE: THE WARS OF NEALL ELLIS, HELICOPTER PILOT AND MERCENARY By A J. Venter Casemate Publishers, 324 Pages Review by J.C. Tejeda Jr. Usually the word “mercenary” will either conjure up images of disgust or starry-eyed fascination. The sullied reputation of “Les Affreux”, those mercenaries of the Congo era, was a case in point. However, that does not give the average reader an accurate, much less glamorous picture of what a real life mercenary is like. To his credit, Al J. Venter has made a career covering the various wars that plagued the African continent over the last thirty years. It was he, better than anyone else … More after the Jump…

BOOK REVIEW – THE FALL OF THE OTTOMANS: THE GREAT WAR IN THE MIDDLE EAST

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BOOK REVIEW: THE FALL OF THE OTTOMANS: THE GREAT WAR IN THE MIDDLE EAST By Eugene Rogan Basic Books, 485 pages   Review by J.C. Tejeda Jr.   Anyone desiring to understand the forces shaping the Middle East would find Eugene Rogan’s book, The Fall of the Ottomans, a good starting point. Although the book is about the final years of the Ottoman Empire, it does help the reader gain a special insight into the events that led to the current situation one see today. Rogan’s book is an easy to follow time line of events that reaches from the founding of the Young Turks Movement to the First World … More after the Jump…