From what I've read of the book, it's writing is pretty disjointed. It was disappointing because his columns are far better....
I've seen that in a couple of his works, especially his first, The Soul of Battle. Good topic but poorly written and organized. I am reading Donal Kagan's one volume work on the Peloponnesian War and I think VDH should have found something else to write about. Kagan is masterful and doesn't need to draw analogies with every war in history. The analogies speak for themselves since he offers the war in vivid terms.