{"schema_version":"bf_book_companion_v1","release_id":"20261010T034321Z-reviewed-full-unique-works","book":{"amazon_purchase_url":"https://www.amazon.com/dp/0061258474?tag=bookfrontie00-20","asin":"0061258474","authors":["Ed Strosser","Michael Prince"],"book_id":"9780061258473","canonical_url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/stupid-wars-9780061258473","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780061258473.jpg?v=97961b14eeb014d4","description":"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: - Don't declare war on all your neighbors at the same time. - Working radios, accurate maps, and weather-appropriate uniforms are big plusses. - Large amounts of bird poop and very small islands are probably not worth dying for. - Never invade Russia. - Seriously. It's a really bad idea.","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9780061258473","publication_date":"20080422","publisher":"HarperCollins","slug":"stupid-wars","subtitle":"A Citizen's Guide to Botched Putsches, Failed Coups, Inane Invasions, and Ridiculous Revolutions","title":"Stupid Wars"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"HIS027280","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Guerrilla Warfare","score":0.7686,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"HIS027130","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Other Military Conflicts","score":0.7621,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"HIS027370","confidence_band":"medium","label":"World War II: European Theater","score":0.7458,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"hint":[{"bisac_code":"HIS027280","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Guerrilla Warfare","score":0.7686,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"HIS027130","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Other Military Conflicts","score":0.7621,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"HIS027370","confidence_band":"medium","label":"World War II: European Theater","score":0.7458,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"HIS027000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Military History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HIS027030","confidence_band":"high","label":"Nuclear Warfare","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HIS027090","confidence_band":"high","label":"World War I History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HIS027100","confidence_band":"high","label":"World War II History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HIS027130","confidence_band":"high","label":"Other Military Conflicts","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HIS027150","confidence_band":"high","label":"Naval History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HIS027170","confidence_band":"high","label":"Iraq War (2003-2011)","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HIS027250","confidence_band":"high","label":"Civil Wars","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"Guerrilla Warfare","score":0.7686,"slug":"guerrilla-warfare"},{"label":"Other Military Conflicts","score":0.7621,"slug":"other-military-conflicts"},{"label":"World War II: European Theater","score":0.7458,"slug":"world-war-ii-european-theater"}],"reader_fit":["For history lovers interested in botched wars and political misjudgments","For readers who enjoy humorous accounts that can also provoke horror"],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["Thomas R. Flagel"],"book_id":"9781402271458","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781402271458.jpg?v=ba98429eadd4b5c4","score":0.7078,"title":"The History Buff's Guide to World War II","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781402271458"},{"authors":["DK","Smithsonian Institution","D.K. Publishing"],"book_id":"9781465473844","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781465473844.jpg?v=4f5e04ddd057e072","score":0.6881,"title":"Battles That Changed History","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781465473844"},{"authors":["Professor Dennis Showalter"],"book_id":"9781838863418","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781838863418.jpg?v=831591c6d68d3af4","score":0.6757,"title":"The Encyclopedia of Warfare","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781838863418"},{"authors":["Yossef Bodansky"],"book_id":"9780060736804","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780060736804.jpg?v=3c5d7158a004d89c","score":0.6746,"title":"Secret History of the Iraq War","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780060736804"},{"authors":["John Keegan"],"book_id":"9780140296556","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780140296556.jpg?v=f5a9ca5fee84140e","score":0.6659,"title":"The Book of War","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780140296556"},{"authors":["Thomas E. Ricks"],"book_id":"9780143038917","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780143038917.jpg?v=4c929a2624a974c3","score":0.6657,"title":"Fiasco","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780143038917"},{"authors":["Thomas E. Ricks"],"book_id":"9780143124092","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780143124092.jpg?v=daf119bf79602e1c","score":0.6645,"title":"The Generals","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780143124092"}],"topics":[{"evidence_refs":["keyword:history"],"label":"History","score":0.4536,"slug":"history"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:world history"],"label":"World","score":0.0848,"slug":"world"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:military history"],"label":"Military","score":0.035,"slug":"military"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:humor"],"label":"Humor","score":0.028,"slug":"humor"}],"what_you_get":["Themes: Military blunders, Political misjudgments, Consequences of war.","Themes: History, Military, Humor.","Reading lane: Guerrilla Warfare and Other Military Conflicts."]},"llm_signals":{"confidence":0.91,"pacing":"unknown","reader_fit":["For history lovers interested in botched wars and political misjudgments","For readers who enjoy humorous accounts that can also provoke horror"],"themes":["Military blunders","Political misjudgments","Consequences of war"],"tropes":[]},"source_presence":{"amazon":true,"book_detail":true,"goodreads":true,"llm_signals":true,"similarity_seed":true},"stats":{"amazon_ratings_count":109,"goodreads_ratings_count":343,"goodreads_reviews_count":61,"quality_score":0.9082}}