With the reelection of George Bush, the world has been put on notice that his doctrine of preemption will stay in place and that the U.S., in waging war on terror, will stay on offense. If new theaters are opened and the conflict widens or worsens, it’s apparent the country’s mettle and resolve will be tested. And that is where books like Oliver North’s War Stories from the Pacific Theater of World War Two are important. They are important because in times of terrible sacrifice, we need to be reminded of the immutable laws that have governed humanity and war since ancient times; those principles still extent in the Second World War when our recent forbears paid such an enormous price to preserve our freedom.

In his War Stories, North proves a worthy heir to the long line of military historians that begins in the West with Herodotus, the man who chronicled the Persian invasions of Greece in the 5th century B.C. More »