current conceptions on adult education are evident in Breckinridge ’ s efforts that aimed “ to prevent students from passively accepting information given to them .” Instead , “ students learned to analyze critically a broad spectrum of information in order to avert narrowness of thought and instill intellectual curiosity and initiative .” Most controversial was the creation , brief employment , and disbandment of marine special forces . Marine Raider and parachute battalions were configured for waging irregular and unconventional warfare in the enemy rear area . Their creators had extensive experience in counterinsurgency and wanted to create problems for the Japanese . The marine commandant made his wishes known that there would be no “ special ” or “ elite ” units in the corps , but such efforts persisted . Daugherty describes how these formations were never employed the way their advocates originally intended , and both types of battalions — Raider and paramarine — were eliminated by mid- 1943 . Despite this , a number of marine COIN advocates earned their spurs in such units ; some , like Victor “ Brute ” Krulak , would shepherd their COIN conceptions well into the second half of the twentieth century .
Recommended for professional and academic specialists in COIN operations , Counterinsurgency and the United States Marine Corps : Volume 1 brings together wide-ranging scholarship on a little-known segment of twentieth-century American military development . It also generates fodder for current debates on how to best educate leaders and organize forces for COIN within a conventional force . Col . Eric M . Walters , U . S . Marine Corps , Retired , Fort Lee , Virginia
AVENUE OF SPIES A True Story of Terror , Espionage , and One American Family ’ s Heroic Resistance in Nazi-Occupied Paris Alex Kershaw , Crown Publishers , New York , 2015 , 320 pages
Alex Kershaw ’ s biographical novel about an American physician in German-occupied Paris , with his masterful storytelling , captures the reader ’ s attention and poignantly encapsulates the situations of those involved . Kershaw is a well-known , bestselling history author . His previous works include The Bedford Boys , The Longest Winter , and The Liberator , all centered on various World War II events . He weaves the tale with first-person accounts , anecdotes from established historical tomes , and even legal transcripts from the aftermath of World War II . Kershaw ’ s thoroughly researched and unbiased writing allows the reader to experience all the emotions and complexity of the story . Avenue of Spies is the saga of Dr . Sumner Jackson , his wife , Toquette , and his son , Phillip , in Germanoccupied France during World War II . Jackson , a renowned American physician who served valorously in World War I and after the war , settles in Paris with Toquette and works at the American Hospital in Paris . After many happy and peaceful years , the terror of the Third Reich descends upon the city , and the Jacksons face an agonizing decision : to aid in the various resistance efforts or to stand by idly and protect themselves . This is the conundrum of a moral courage decision . If the Jacksons help the resistance and are caught , the punishment will be swift and ruthless . If they do nothing , then they violate their own internal values system . Then what lesson have they taught their son ?
Ultimately , the Jacksons choose to help the resistance in various ways , while living just houses away from the Gestapo and their horrific torture chambers . The tension and fear felt daily by the Jacksons leap off the pages , but hope and conviction are stronger than fear . The only question is , how long will the Jacksons ’ luck hold ?
This superbly written book should be on the reading list for every leader , uniformed or otherwise . Much in the same vein as Laura Hildebrandt ’ s Unbroken , the story forces the reader to assess his or her own moral and value systems . The brilliance of this book is the lack of a thesis or hypothesis ; rather , Kershaw focuses on highlighting the narrative of a single American family in an extraordinary situation . He allows the reader two opportunities : ( 1 ) to learn about the bravery of
130 July-August 2016
MILITARY REVIEW