No Substitute for Victory

An important look at how America has won its wars in the past and how it can continue winning in the future.

Is there a recipe for military success? In No Substitute for Victory, author David Rigby grapples with this issue and determines that, in the case of the United States, there are a number of different strategies that have brought victory in battle to American forces over the years.

In a clear, energetic prose, Rigby explains how the dropping of chocolate bars from airplanes over Berlin turned out to be one of the most successful applications of the Cold War strategy of containment. He argues, too, that far from being a radical change in policy by a desperate President Lincoln, the Emancipation Proclamation was in fact an essential part of Lincoln’s plan to reunite the nation. While the focus in No Substitute for Victory is on military maneuvers that have been successful, Rigby brilliantly uses the Vietnam War as a touchstone for comparison purposes on how not to fight a war.

While the writing of military strategy is a crowded field, Rigby’s approach is unique in that he draws examples from conflicts throughout American history, from the Revolution up through the modern day. Rigby’s ability to find similarities in—and to draw conclusions from—the successes attained by American forces in battles as seemingly dissimilar as Gettysburg and Midway makes No Substitute for Victory essential reading for anyone interested in the riveting history of our nation’s military.

Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

David Rigby is the author of Allied Master Strategists, which won the 2012 John Lyman Book Award for best US naval history. He holds a PhD in comparative history and works as an adjunct instructor at Boston-area colleges and universities.

“David Rigby’s pithily written, hard-hitting book neatly encapsulates why the United States has been so successful at warfare over the past two hundred fifty years, and sets down lessons that should be required reading in the military academies and the White House. The product of a lifetime’s research and much profound thought on the subject, No Substitute for Victory also explains how America lost its way in Vietnam. It sets out the five key lessons that need to be learned to reestablish the phenomenon that the world needs more than anything else right now: American greatness.” —Andrew Roberts, author of the New York Times bestselling The Storm of War

"In No Substitute for Victory Rigby has given us a manual for victory in war based upon an insightful examination of past American successes and strategies. These include (1) Concentrate strength at the decisive point; (2) There is more to strategic success than military power; (3) Strive for clear and consistent war aims; (4) Take advantage of enemy mistakes; and (5) Unity of command. Sun Tzu would not be surprised at these, but so much of our adventures in Afghanistan and Iraq disregarded these requirements. The success of the 2007 surge validated them. Civilian policy makers desperately need this astute analysis—that they never came across in their Ivy League educations—and the military senior ranks always seem to need a refresher course. I cannot recommend this highly enough.” —Peter G. Tsouras, military historian, former senior intelligence officer with the Defense Intelligence Agency, former US Army officer, and author of over twenty books