(Barely) Remembering the First Gulf War

Today marks the twentieth anniversary of Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait, an event that eventually led to a 100-hour pummeling of Iraq by U. S. and coalition military forces in Operation Desert Storm. I was in seventh grade when this war happened, so my memory of the events is relegated to the rosier shades of kid-dom. Indeed, my strongest memories of the event are the endless talk of the cool-sounding Patriot and evil-sounding Scud missiles, and the Topps Desert Storm trading cards, of which I still own a few, including the Saddam Hussein and Norman Schwarzkopf cards, which are sadly worth virtually nothing.

Though the backs of the Topps cards offer some useful information, I could certainly stand to read some more rigorous analyses of this historic war. Thus, a few book recommendations for myself, and for anyone else interested in the topic:

Saddam’s War of Words: Politics, Religion, and the Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait by Jerry M. Long

The Gulf War 1991 by Alastair Finlan

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Gulf War by Charles Jaco

Persian Gulf War Almanac by Harry G. Summers, Jr. (Note that this is noncirculating.)

Hollow Victory: A Contrary View of the Gulf War by Jeffrey Record

The Gulf Conflict 1990-1991: Diplomacy and War in the New World Order by Lawrence Freedman and Efraim Karsh

These web resources are also interesting:

The Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm Timeline, presented by the U. S. Department of Defense

An overview and analysis of Operation Desert Storm by the U. S. Navy

A terrific compilation of additional information pulled together by bibliographer Terry Kiss at Air University Library

Let me know what you remember about the war.

–Wes