Stupid Wars: A Citizen's Guide to Botched Putsches, Failed Coups, Inane Invasions, and Ridiculous Revolutions – Military Blunders from Democracies, Dictatorships, and Monarchies

by Ed Strosser, Michael Prince

When winners write history, they sometimes "forget" to include their own embarrassing misjudgments. Fortunately, this take-no-prisoners edition of history isn't going to let the winners (or the losers) forget the mistakes of the past. Be prepared to laugh out loud—and gasp in horror—at the most painfully idiotic strategies, alliances, and decisions the world has ever known. These stupid wars have been launched by democracies as well as monarchies and dictatorships, in recent decades just as often as in less "enlightened" times. The ridiculous and reckless conflicts chronicled in Stupid Wars include the misdirected Fourth Crusade, the half-baked invasion of Russia by the U.S., the U.K.'s baffling Falklands War, Hitler's ill-fated Beer Hall Putsch, several incredibly foolish South American conflicts, the Bay of Pigs fiasco, and many more. Whether you're a future dictator, war-mongering politician, royal mistress, or history lover, these blow-by-stupid-blow accounts will teach you the valuable lessons you need to stay off the list, including:

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Humor, Military Fiction, War, Ebooks, Spanish Literature

320 pages, Paperback

First published April 22, 2008

Reviews

[Juan Hidalgo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Más que de la incompetencia militar en exclusiva, este libro también trata de la incompetencia política, económica, social e incluso histórica... que muchas veces han acabado con derramamientos de sangre más inútiles de lo habitual en los conflictos bélicos.
Quizá lo más interesante del libro es eso, que nos muestra irónica y sucintamente las causas de un puñado de guerras desastrosas, unas más lejanas y otras más recientes, lo que nos sirve para tener unas nociones de todas ellas y como punto de partida para quien quiera profundizar más a través de otras fuentes.

[Olethros · Rating 3 out of 5]

-Si uno se abstrae de las vidas que se perdieron como consecuencia de los hechos, mucho humor entre sus páginas.-

Género. Ensayo.

Lo que nos cuenta. Repaso, repleto de sarcasmo, de dieciséis situaciones de nuestra Historia en la que se hizo uso de las armas por razones sorprendentes, de forma extraña o con conclusiones inesperadas, que nos llevarán desde un decadente imperio romano hasta los últimos coletazos de la perestroika, pasando por la Segunda Guerra Mundial, la Cuarta Cruzada, tres guerras en América del Sur, Granada y Afganistán, entre otros lugares y tiempos. Título español lejano al original, “Guerras estúpidas”, pero ninguno de los dos es suficientemente explicativo respecto a los verdaderos contenidos del libro.

¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...

[Rosa Chacón García · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alguna vez estas no las conocía. La de gente que ha muerto por culpa de una panda de imbéciles Y lo más grande es que después hay otro imbécil mayor que los ensalte como héroes de la patria.
Si os gustan estas cosas recomiendo el podcast histocast que alguno ha dedicado a incompetencias de este tipo.

[Christian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting idea, but undermined by overuse of sarcasm and jokes (not sure who the target audience is ... armchair historians won't appreciate the attitude, while casual readers wouldn't bother reading it in the first place)

[Becca · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's nice to know that even people who rule countries are dumber than you.

[William Sariego · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very odd duck to evaluate. It features chapters dedicated to a military debacle or odd ball war, written in a a very cheeky manner. It is quite entertaining but I can see where the dark humor might be off putting to some. A potential reader should be aware, if from a country involved in one of the chapters, you will probably have a Sacred Cow stepped on, or perhaps slaughtered for beef!

[Vendedor de rápida · Rating 1 out of 5]

Muy pobre tratamiento de un tema muy interesante. La historia de la incompetencia militar seguramente es la historia militar al completo, pero los autores seleccionan algunos episodios para darles un tratamiento menos divulgativo que presuntamente irónico. El libro es muy superficial y más cercano al servicio de revista dominical que al de un estudio histórico en condiciones. La estupenda cubierta invita al despiste.

[Roy Murry · Rating 4 out of 5]

STUPID WARS:
A Citizen's Guide to Botched Putsches, Failed Coups, Inane
Invasions, and Ridiculous Revolutions

Ed Strosser and Michael Prince

Review by Roy Murry, Author

The title tells it all. I will add that humans do not understand history, or they would not continue to make the same mistake over and over again. However, some humans, no many humans, are just stupid and or vicious.

Mr. Strosser and Prince give a precise historical evaluation of wars that should not have happened, and others that leaders should have thought out before going ahead. Some conflicts are diabolically stupid.

I will not explain each nutty endeavor. I will say: I laughed and cried at the explanations the authors gave for humans murdered for ego, pride, and territory - confounding to an intelligent person.

The read is clear, to the point, and enjoyable. I will reread each chapter.

You should read it once to remind yourself that we are all human.

[Julius · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uno de los mejores libros que he leído. Trata sobre distintos conflictos bélicos y las decisiones y estrategias estúpidas que hubieron en la historia, tanto desde el punto de vista político como el militar. Me he reído mucho.

Como hay un montón de batallas, da igual por cuál se comience o por cuál se termine. En estos días de incertidumbre y violencia, viene bien un choque de humor.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stupid Wars was a real pleasure to read. Although subject was about war, fights and etc..it did make me laugh at times with the tongue-in-cheek method of presenting the facts.

I also learned a lot of history i thought I 'knew'.

The 4th Crusades and the Invasion of Granada were two chapters i especially liked and learned a lot on. I was in the service during Granada invasion and although o had no part in the invasion i thought i had a very good idea of what it was all about, i was wrong on many fronts (pun intended)

If you like reading about history and are not afraid of having your sensibilities or national ego damaged I highly recommend this book

[Lucas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lucas Pires Morais
Ms.White
Independent Reading
29th November, 12
Stupid Wars
By Michael Prince, Non-Fiction, 298 Pages

Stupid Wars is a very well written book about the wars that went on from the early times like right after Jesus’ death to the modern world of today that were complete and utter failures. I really enjoyed reading Stupid Wars, as it was very funny and entertaining. The author also gave background information on what happened before the wars, the reasons why these wars took place, and what went on after them. He described in details all the battles that went on and the one event that I enjoyed reading about the most was the Beer Hall Putsch, which was led by none other than Adolf Hitler. This event happened right after WW1, when Germany was in a very unstable and delicate situation. The country had become a democracy called the Weimar Republic and it was very weak. Hitler saw this and led his Nazi group along with unemployed soldiers in a coup against the government. The plan was to overthrow the government building in Munich, then march in the streets of Berlin and set up a new government, a dictatorship, which is surprisingly what people wanted back then. The Putsch was a complete failure though and in the end 9 of the leaders were captured and sent to jail, including Hitler. Other interesting events that I read about in this book were: Valens the end of the Roman Empire, The fourth Crusade, The war of the pacific, The US invasion of Russia, and The General’s coup against Hitler.

[Zachary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book contains multiple 10-20 page summaries of some little, not very famous, or in some cases not important at all, wars throughout history. It gives condensed explanations which are very funny and make you scratch your head. At many points during reading this book I found myself thinking, " Really? How in the world did they expect that to work." At other points I realized "Oh, thats how it started." Especially in the case of the explanation of the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan. This book is really a fantastic way to become a little more cynical towards humans and wonder if some of our World leaders stopped to think once in a while. I personally loved the book, it gives brief yet good summaries of giant operations and is not too simple for describing wars. At the beginning of the chapters I appreciated the "Big Players" section to inform me and make sure I had all the names straight. I would definitely recommend this book to any history geek who wants to have a laugh.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting concept (reviewing some of the many stupid, vs. just badly executed, military actions), but badly executed. Has a weirdly sarcastic/casual tone, probably in an attempt to be approachable or engaging, but doesn't seem appropriate for the material.

The Latin American parts (Triple Alliance vs. Paraguay, Chile vs. Peru+Bolivia, Bolivia vs. Paraguay over the Chaco) were great, and conflicts I didn't know much about before. US invasion of Eastern Russia in 1918 was interesting (I had no idea it had even happened) but needed more detail on the white/red conflict generally. The Finland vs USSR, Bay of Pigs, Beer Hall Putsch, etc. weren't done as well as other books on those topics., but were ok.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're looking for deep-dive reviews of the covered events, you can probably find better sources that cover specific wars, but if you're looking for a quick overview to give you a basic understanding, this is a good start. Some of the more recent wars in particular, like Grenada and the Falklands and going back to the Bay of Pigs, were particularly interesting to me because I just hadn't known much about them.

I also enjoyed that this book has a definite humor side, making fun out of just how stupid people can be.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bitterly hilarious, if that makes sense. Reading this book had me alternately laughing loudly enough for my wife to ask what was going on and shaking my head in horror at the toll taken by the stupidity of some people with a lot of power. Recommended for anyone interested in military or political history, or suffering from the delusion that people running countries or wearing stars on their lapels necessarily know what they're doing.

[Xan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Una serie de calamidades descritas con sarcasmo pero sin profundizar en los análisis de la situación. Para los que gustan de libros sobre curiosidades de la historia está bien, para los que quieren conocer mejor la historia militar es solo una guía para repasar algunos conflictos. Lo mejor de todo: la portada.

[Jason Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some interesting factoids. I appreciate the authors' attempt to deliver history in a casual humorous writing style. But there were some odd drawn out sentences that I still can't figure out. Somehow they got past the editor. Also some of the characterizations of South American cultures I find offensive even though I've never been to South America.

[Dea · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good entertaining read but definitely not a keeper. Borrow it read it once, don't get offended by certain things, and then move on.

[Ed Strosser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mike and I wrote this book, and we humbly call it the funniest history book ever written. It's enjoyable for everyone and you will learn a lot while laughing at the endless foibles of man.

[Christian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just loved this book. Loved it.

[Russianwitch · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the most impressive of books. While it gives interesting historical examples it isn't a captivating read.

[Nick Girvin · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the gate, I must admit that I have no issue with the sarcastic attitude that other readers seem to have with Stupid Wars. If the title and cover didn’t give away that this was supposed to have an edge of comedy to it, then you’re probably not exactly an expert at reading the room.

With that out of the way, a work like this is only gonna hold so much value, and basically all of said value comes in the form of interesting occurrences that I either knew nothing about, or knew little about. The long and short of it could be summarized as a chronological telling of horrid military failures on the part of those who waged the conflict. Some are more obvious, like the Bay of Pigs Invasion, or the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan. Others are far less talked about, like the Whiskey Rebellion in West Pennsylvania or the fact that Paraguay almost erased its own existence in the 19th century. That’s all well and good, and I appreciated the factual side of these conflicts with a hint of fun.

The reason I only grant it 3 stars is that for one, this tone is gonna lose a point regardless, even if it’s enjoyable. I’m sorry, but this angle of historical writing just can’t do anymore than be “pretty good.” On the other hand, while its overall points are valid and well researched, this does an awful lot of context skipping, or narrative assuming (and I looked at the sources in the back). It may not have been intentional, but misleading information, even if a joke, isn’t gonna sit well with me when the general populace is awful at critical thinking. Things eluding to the likes of Castro shooting baseball players that weren’t good enough? Give me a break. That’s a single example, but this book has way too much of that, to the point that an untrained eye may accidentally walk away with sour ideas on concepts clearly not understood by the authors. It can range from something around one man like that, or an entire movement. My biases aside this happens with basically all sides here at some point or another.

Regardless, if you can overlook that issue and read with a critical eye, this was all sorts of fun to read, and some of the new objective info was very interesting. Probably a better read for those who already have a good understanding of history and are looking for a deeper cut.

[Marcos Ortega · Rating 4 out of 5]

It deserves 5 stars, but alas....

This is a very entertaining and humorous book, describing with glee hubris, human incompetence and, dare we say it, stupidity. This book shows that the von Clausewitz maxim is true (“war plans do not survive the first fire exchange”). While the book contains many anecdotal episodes, it is still well documented and shows that the authors did their research properly. I took one star out, however, because of the “wokeness” of some parts, especially concerning Christianity and the History of the United States (I.e. “Washington was a slave owner” which had no bearing in the story they were relating). Good mention, however, for their equal opportunity blasting: the United States, the Soviet Union, the incompetent and corrupt dictatorships in Latin America and yes, the Serenissima republic of Venice, all get splattered by their hubris and bad decision-making.

[João Luis · Rating 2 out of 5]

True tales of idiotic ideas and planing (or lack of it) by leaders at all levels, leading to great moments of "what the hell were they thinking"?

Saddly the author clearly lets his own political views take over parts of the tale. He's also far too enamoured of jokes, puns and gags, spreading them all over the book, to the point where these take over. There are also considerable errors, like calling the british ships sunk in the Falklands "capital ships" (including a cargo ship...).

2 stars for the stories, and that's it.

[Juan Fernando · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lo compré hace más de 15 años por la carátula y el nombre, pero me lo debía.

Me gustó.

Un recorrido divertido (a pesar de trágico) por desaciertos caricaturescos de políticos y militares desde las cruzadas hasta el intento de golpe a Gorbachov.

Hay varias reseñas críticas de historiadores que reprochan el tono irónico y prosaico. Pueden tener razón, pero creo que es precisamente ese tono, y que no busca ser un libro riguroso de consulta, sino un compilado de la estupidez humana, lo hace un libro que vale la pena.

[Bob Cantrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

They were stupid

This book takes a look at several conflicts in History that were very stupid. The characters in these events are sometimes people, who just didn't understand the things they were doing. The way these wars are written about you really have to think what were these people doing. There is a certain degree of humor in the telling of events. This what I enjoyed in reading this accounts.

[Jessica Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading about the different battles. it was an interesting concept . I also liked that each chapter was a different battle. It can be hard to read nonfiction if there isnt a break in the stories. Some battles I never need to read about ever again but some stories I might look up for more information. Not my favorite history book but I enjoyed the humor while learning something new.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining enough, very informal and really more of a jumping off point if you want to learn more about some often un-remembered conflicts. Loses points for featuring some events that aren't wars at all and ignores three separate continents (africa, asia, and oceania) entirely.

[Kevin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Irreverent writing on warfare through history. I really enjoyed the authors sense of humor and how they portrayed events. Overall, it was a fun book and I would recommend it!

[S.G. Scales · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read with dry historical humor. Enjoyed contextual fact boxes embedded in chapters. However, nothing over the top to get five stars from this history teacher, which was unexpected.