BOOK REVIEW By Okey Ikechukwu I first met Maj Gen Udounwa when he was head of the Army War College, Abuja. I had come to deliver a lecture and make a presentation on “War in complex Environments”. This gentleman who took over from the previous Commandant, was as simple, well turned out, urbane and professional as his very pleasant predecessor.
He came across as a self respecting professional in a very unforced sort of way. He had, and still has, his almost shy smile and polite manners. There were subsequent encounters and engagements at the College while he was still in charge.
These subsequent engagements only reinforced my initial impressions about him as an army officer who will not be easily distracted by anything that is not strictly related to the values he espouses, or his professional calling. After his relatively recent retirement, he wrote a book to capture his years of service and meritorious career in the Nigerian Army, titled “Big Boots: Lessons from My Military Experience”. The first four major attractions of the book are (1) The print quality and font type, which do not afront your sense of beauty; (2) The chronological layout of the chapters and the narratives; (3) The simple descriptive , storytelling, style and (4) The absence of any affections in the book’s overall effect.
This book of nine chapters, gives the reader a step-by-step account of the birth, development and career progression of its subject matter and author. Part of what the author su.