Never Quit the Fight – Book Review

By Jerry D. Morelock

With impeccable, nearly uncanny, timing, Ralph Peters’ newest book, Never Quit the Fight, hits bookstores on July 10, just in time – among other things — to inform the on-going debate that’s swirling around Capitol Hill over the question of what to do about the U.S. military presence in Iraq and other key issues surrounding foreign policy and the global War on Terrorism. This outstanding new book by America’s most original strategic thinker ought to be required reading for the proponents on both sides of the troop withdrawal argument – the “cut and run” crowd and the “stay the course” supporters. For the rest of us, those whose only “vote” on such issues comes every few years at the ballot box, Never Quit the Fight is a clearly-written, cogently-argued, must-read – it’s a “short course” on the otherwise often-confusing myriad of foreign policy issues growing out of the War on Terrorism that face America today.

As comprehensive as any single volume you could read on the unbelievably broad range of foreign policy problems we face now as well as those looming in our future, Never Quit the Fight presents, in a single volume, Peters’ insightful, on-target essays, written for the most part over the last three years. Taken individually, each of Peters’ “no holds barred” articles — from such publications as The New York Post, USA Today, The Weekly Standard, Armed Forces Journal, Parameters, and Army magazine — hits readers like a glass of “Hey! Wake Up!” cold water splashed in their faces. Never Quit the Fight ‘s superb collection – it contains 82 brilliant, hard-hitting articles — is like getting the entire bucket all at once. Most readers will not have had the opportunity to read all of these articles when each was originally published in one of the several different periodicals. Therefore, Never Quit the Fight is their chance to read them all in a well-organized single volume, the articles placed in context by Peters’ perceptive introduction. Publisher Stackpole Books (stackpolebooks.com) has, in effect, provided a real public service by producing this insightful, informative and very useful book. Given the shoddy, sensationalist reporting of the War on Terrorism by the media and the politically-driven rhetoric spewing forth from Capitol Hill, the essays in Never Quit the Fight are now made available just when we need them the most. You must read this book!

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As an essayist, Peters pulls no punches with his “tell it like it is” writing style. Absolutely clear in his cogent, highly-readable narrative, Peters’ prose cuts right to the heart of each subject, giving readers what is usually so sorely lacking in reports from the mainstream media and in editorials written by “ivory tower” college professor “experts” — a healthy dose of common sense seasoned with Peters’ rare (in fact, it’s nearly unique today) strategic insight. No one who reads Never Quit the Fight will end up scratching his head, wondering “What is this guy getting at?” Peters examines today’s most pressing issues, explains them in a refreshingly frank and lucid manner, and then tells readers what the impact of those issues is on them in honest and direct terms. His phrases and sentences are all carefully constructed to convey exactly what he means; frequently, Peters’ writing is reminiscent of Hemingway at the height of his craft. When Peters writes, for example, “When fighting monsters who decapitate living prisoners in front of video cameras, you are, literally, in a knife fight to the bone. If we aren’t willing to fight such enemies to the death, we might as well stay home and hide in the corner, waiting for them to come after us, which they will,” readers have no doubt what he means to convey and why it matters to them.

A globe-trotter whose frequent travels include all of the world’s hot spots, particularly Iraq and Afghanistan, Peters’ spot-on observations of what’s really happening are informed by his many years of experience as an Army Intelligence officer, as well as by his prescient strategic insight. He brings that experience and insight to his writing, and one result – the articles collected in Never Quit the Fight – is simply the best commentary in print on the War on Terrorism and the foreign policy issues that emanate from it. Armchair General urges readers to buy Never Quit the Fight and read it from cover to cover. …Better yet, buy an extra copy and send it to your Congressman.

Colonel, ret. Jerry D. Morelock, Phd is Editor in Chief of Armchair General magazine. His Bookshelf review department is featured in each issue.

Vital Stats :

Never Quit the Fight by Ralph Peters
Stackpole Books
368 pages
$27.95
Release date: July 10, 2006
ISBN: 0811733289

Armchair General rates this book: FIVE STARS, our highest rating