From Publishers Weekly
In late January 1991, during the Gulf War, the Saudi Arabian coastal city of Khafji and several U.S. Marine outposts stretching inland were overrun by a three-division Iraqi ground attack. Confusion about the strength of the enemy attack led to Marines being trapped in the city itself; confusion in communications and about location led to several "friendly fire" fratricides. The U.S.-led coalition positions and Khafji itself were eventually retaken by U.S.-supported Saudi National Guard counterattacks that proved the Saudis had a good deal to learn. So did the Marines, Morris shows, particularly about air-ground cooperation, but they also learned the serious weaknesses of the vaunted Iraqi forces (which may have influenced coalition strategy later). The real strength of the book, however, is not in its strategic analyses but in the portraits of the men on the ground, few of them above the rank of captain, derived from exhaustive interviewing by the author, a former Marine officer. Morris conveys how the fog (and smoke, dust and sand) of war looks to the people in it, while clarifying the situations for the reader, not something that most military histories manage. Many of the men were almost as isolated as in pre-radio days, but Morris shows their training to have kicked in purposefully. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


From Booklist
Former marine officer Morris offers a detailed account of a crucial but little-known battle of the first Gulf War. Amid the general uncertainty of Desert Storm, Saddam Hussein made an attempt to capture the city of Khafji, and thereby undercut American resolve. Morris covers every aspect, from the initial deaths by friendly fire to the recapture of the town by Arab forces and their marine advisors. His narrative style is excellent, making one feel as if one were there. He also covers the inter- and intra-unit squabbles among the fighters and shows the effects they had on the battle's outcome. Finally, he emphasizes that the latest generation of American weapons did, in fact, work extremely well but did not eliminate the need for good training of personnel or the problems of target identification. Consider this one of the better books on small-unit action in the first Gulf War. Frieda Murray
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Kirkus Reviews
"A memorable study of a transformative battle...Lucid and well-written; a worthy companion to Anthony Swofford's Jarhead."


Doug Stanton, bestselling author of In Harm's Way
"This is the story no one thought could be told about the Gulf War, but Morris has done so magnificently."


H.W. Brands, Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of The First American and Lone Star Nation
"Brilliantly recaptures a forgotten moment in American military history. One of the best books yet on the first Gulf War."


Lt. Gen. Bernard Trainor, co-author of The Generals' War
"An intriguing account of confusion and valor in the first battle of the Gulf War."


Publisher's Weekly
Morris conveys how the fog (and smoke, dust and sand) of war looks to the people in it.


Review
Bernard E. Trainor Lt. Gen. USMC (Ret.), co-author of The Generals' War: the Inside Story of the Conflict in the Gulf An intriguing account of confusion and valor in the first battle of the Gulf War.


Book Description
Storm on the Horizon is the little-known story of the key land battle of Desert Storm: the Battle for Khafji -- and how that engagement has become part of military history. Combining some of the most powerful writing on war ever with a Marine's eyeview of combat, former Marine officer David J. Morris has brilliantly recreated this crucial battle that nearly changed the outcome of the Persian Gulf War. Storm on the Horizon is war writing at its finest. On January 29, 1991, Saddam Hussein launched his three best armored divisions across the Kuwaiti border and into the Islamic Holy Land of Saudi Arabia. Their mission: to disrupt the massive U.S.-led Coalition preparing to evict them from Kuwait, and to bloody the Americans on CNN. Caught without warning in the path of this juggernaut were scattered groups of lightly armed U.S. Marines and Special Forces soldiers. Storm on the Horizon is the gripping and compelling story of how these elite fighting men escaped the Iraqi onslaught and reversed the assault with an unprecedented combination of high-tech weaponry and American know-how. This is the story of the first battle of the smart-bomb age. Storm on the Horizon drops you in the middle of the most intense battle of the Persian Gulf War. The Marines are trapped and outnumbered, their weapons no match against the Iraqi tanks bearing down on them. Their only lifeline to the rear is a barely functioning radio. Drawing upon extensive veteran interviews and previously classified reports, David J. Morris's vivid minute-by-minute narrative takes you through the battle from its beginning as a scattered collection of skirmishes to its fiery final act in the streets of the abandoned Saudi Arabian town of Khafji. Morris captures this ordeal through the eyes of the men who were there, giving readers a rare front-row seat to an incredible sequence of events. Max Morton, the pilot of a Cobra attack helicopter is forced to make an emergency landing in the heart of Khafji as the Iraqis are attacking. He and his crew narrowly escape after locating a tank of mystery fuel at a local oil refinery. Medic Kevin Callahan, member of a team of Marines caught behind enemy lines, watches helplessly as a female U.S. Army soldier and her male comrade are captured by Iraqi soldiers and spirited to Baghdad. Ronald Tull, suffering untold wounds, wakes up next to his burning light-armored vehicle thinking that it has been struck by an enemy tank round. Only later does he learn the full horror of the events that led up to the death of his seven buddies who were on board. But Storm on the Horizon is far more than a battle saga. It is a thoughtful examination of a new generation of fighting men coming to terms with its own war, a journey into the minds of men under supreme stress, and a heartfelt account of the innocence lost in a heartbeat and mourned for a lifetime. At once an unflinching chronicle of men at war and an appalling tableau, Storm on the Horizon looks into the savage heart of modern combat and raises troubling questions about the era of conflict that lies ahead.


Download Description
"Storm on the Horizon is the little-known story of the key land battle of Desert Storm: the Battle for Khafji -- and how that engagement has become part of military history. Combining some of the most powerful writing on war ever with a Marine's eyeview of combat, former Marine officer David J. Morris has brilliantly recreated this crucial battle that nearly changed the outcome of the Persian Gulf War. Storm on the Horizon is war writing at its finest. On January 29, 1991, Saddam Hussein launched his three best armored divisions across the Kuwaiti border and into the Islamic Holy Land of Saudi Arabia. Their mission: to disrupt the massive U.S.-led Coalition preparing to evict them from Kuwait, and to bloody the Americans on CNN. Caught without warning in the path of this juggernaut were scattered groups of lightly armed U.S. Marines and Special Forces soldiers. Storm on the Horizon is the gripping and compelling story of how these elite fighting men escaped the Iraqi onslaught and reversed the assault with an unprecedented combination of high-tech weaponry and American know-how. This is the story of the first battle of the smart-bomb age. Storm on the Horizon drops you in the middle of the most intense battle of the Persian Gulf War.


About the Author
David J. Morris is a former Marine rifle platoon commander. He is a graduate of Texas A&M University and holds an M.A. in literature from San Diego State University. His work has appeared in Salon and Rock and Ice magazines. He lives in San Diego.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Storm on the Horizon is the little-known story of the key land battle of Desert Storm: the Battle for Khafji -- and how that engagement has become part of military history. Combining some of the most powerful writing on war ever with a Marine's eyeview of combat, former Marine officer David J. Morris has brilliantly recreated this crucial battle that nearly changed the outcome of the Persian Gulf War. Storm on the Horizon is war writing at its finest. On January 29, 1991, Saddam Hussein launched his three best armored divisions across the Kuwaiti border and into the Islamic Holy Land of Saudi Arabia. Their mission: to disrupt the massive U.S.-led Coalition preparing to evict them from Kuwait, and to bloody the Americans on CNN. Caught without warning in the path of this juggernaut were scattered groups of lightly armed U.S. Marines and Special Forces soldiers. Storm on the Horizon is the gripping and compelling story of how these elite fighting men escaped the Iraqi onslaught and reversed the assault with an unprecedented combination of high-tech weaponry and American know-how. This is the story of the first battle of the smart-bomb age.

Storm on the Horizon drops you in the middle of the most intense battle of the Persian Gulf War. The Marines are trapped and outnumbered, their weapons no match against the Iraqi tanks bearing down on them. Their only lifeline to the rear is a barely functioning radio. Drawing upon extensive veteran interviews and previously classified reports, David J. Morris's vivid minute-by-minute narrative takes you through the battle from its beginning as a scattered collection of skirmishes to its fiery final act in the streets of the abandoned Saudi Arabian town of Khafji. Morris captures this ordeal through the eyes of the men who were there, giving readers a rare front-row seat to an incredible sequence of events. Max Morton, the pilot of a Cobra attack helicopter is forced to make an emergency landing in the heart of Khafji as the Iraqis are attacking. He and his crew narrowly escape after locating a tank of mystery fuel at a local oil refinery. Medic Kevin Callahan, member of a team of Marines caught behind enemy lines, watches helplessly as a female U.S. Army soldier and her male comrade are captured by Iraqi soldiers and spirited to Baghdad. Ronald Tully, suffering untold wounds, wakes up next to his burning light-armored vehicle thinking that it has been struck by an enemy tank round. Only later does he learn the full horror of the events that led up to the death of his seven buddies who were on board.

But Storm on the Horizon is far more than a battle saga. It is a thoughtful examination of a new generation of fighting men coming to terms with its own war, a journey into the minds of men under supreme stress, and a heartfelt account of the innocence lost in a heartbeat and mourned for a lifetime. At once an unflinching chronicle of men at war and an appalling tableau, Storm on the Horizon looks into the savage heart of modern combat and raises troubling questions about the era of conflict that lies ahead.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

In late January 1991, during the Gulf War, the Saudi Arabian coastal city of Khafji and several U.S. Marine outposts stretching inland were overrun by a three-division Iraqi ground attack. Confusion about the strength of the enemy attack led to Marines being trapped in the city itself; confusion in communications and about location led to several "friendly fire" fratricides. The U.S.-led coalition positions and Khafji itself were eventually retaken by U.S.-supported Saudi National Guard counterattacks that proved the Saudis had a good deal to learn. So did the Marines, Morris shows, particularly about air-ground cooperation, but they also learned the serious weaknesses of the vaunted Iraqi forces (which may have influenced coalition strategy later). The real strength of the book, however, is not in its strategic analyses but in the portraits of the men on the ground, few of them above the rank of captain, derived from exhaustive interviewing by the author, a former Marine officer. Morris conveys how the fog (and smoke, dust and sand) of war looks to the people in it, while clarifying the situations for the reader, not something that most military histories manage. Many of the men were almost as isolated as in pre-radio days, but Morris shows their training to have kicked in purposefully. (Feb. 3) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

This ground-level view of the 1991 Gulf War's Battle of Khafji comes hard on the heels of Anthony Swofford's highly successful Jarhead. In a work that is often insightful but frequently lacking in objectivity, Morris, a former marine, focuses on the U.S. Marine Corps and the dominant role it played. The author shows the units involved from the time of deployment to the Gulf up to the battle's end. Morris highlights the confused and slapdash nature of the initial months of the Gulf deployment, excelling in depicting the confusing and intense nature of combat, even on the modern push-button battlefield. His portrayals of "friendly fire" mishaps and the paralyzing effect those incidents had on the battle's latter stages are masterly. In the initial portion, however, the clich s of hatred toward journalists, high-ranking officers, and our Arab allies and other branches of the armed forces appear too often without clear indication if they are the opinions of the author or his subjects. Morris shows a great deal of talent as a military historian but perhaps needs a subject from which he can distance himself. Recommended for large public libraries and those with active military collections.-Brian K. DeLuca, Avon Lake P.L., OH Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

A memorable study of a transformative battle, now largely "condemned to the dustbin of history." Former Marine officer and debut author Morris, who entered the service shortly after Gulf War I ended, offers a vivid account of the Battle of Khafji, when, in a scarcely imaginable act of hubris, Saddam Hussein sent three armored and mechanized army divisions into Saudi Arabia. The battle, which began nearly a month before Operation Desert Storm sent Americans into Iraq, lasted only three days. Yet it afforded plenty of opportunities for the fog of war to enshroud American forces; no contingency plan having been made for such an invasion, for instance, air traffic controllers did not immediately dispatch planes to relieve the coastal sector's American and Arab Coalition defenders, so that "the greatest air force in the history of warfare was sitting idle while Marines battled Iraqi main battle tanks with rifles." Once the communications snafus were cleared up, American planes did take to the skies-and quickly inflicted heavy losses on their own men. At the same time, American units that had been caught unaware had to avoid being cut to pieces in the crossfire between their comrades and allies and the oncoming Iraqi forces. All in a day's work, Morris remarks: "The gods of war roll the dice, and the dumb grunts in the middle of it get to sort it out." The battle soon turned, and, writes Morris, "American forces and their allies saw up close and for the first time the staggering psychological impact of modern precision-guided munitions upon an outmoded Third World army." Yet the American command failed to learn the obvious lessons from Khafji-namely, that the Iraqis were less tough and lessmotivated than had been assumed. Had the generals done so, Morris suggests, they might have been emboldened to crush the vaunted Republican Guards the first time around "and thus taken away Saddam's main instrument for survival," which presumably would have made Gulf War II unnecessary. Lucid and well-written; a worthy companion to Anthony Swofford's Jarhead (Mar. 2003). Agent: Agnes Birnbaum/Bleecker Street Associates

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

An intriguing account of confusion and valor in the first battle of the Gulf War. (Lt. Gen. USMC (Ret.) co-author of The Generals' War: The Inside Story of the Conflict in the Gulf) — Bernard E. Trainor

This is the story no one thought could be told about the Gulf War, but David Morris has done so magnificently-he is an engaging, dramatic storyteller. These Marines come alive as blood brothers, and their story becomes our story. Morris has breathed sharp life into an unknown part of recent global history. (author of the bestselling In Harm's Way) — Doug Stanton