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THE OXFORD COMPANION TO AMERICAN MILITARY HISTORY by II Chambers

THE OXFORD COMPANION TO AMERICAN MILITARY HISTORY

edited by II Chambers

Pub Date: March 1st, 2000
ISBN: 0-19-507198-0
Publisher: Oxford Univ.

Chambers (History/Rutgers Univ.) presents a thoroughly detailed look at the sweep of American military history from the ABM Ttreaty of 1972 to Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, with an all-star cast of thousands, including contributors Stephen Ambrose, John Keegan, Volker Berghan, James McPherson, and many others. Each concise, dictionary-style entry offers a brief overview of its topic for the experienced historian or the general reader. McPherson’s essay on the battle of Antietam is a masterpiece of economy, addressing the causes of the battle, its personalities, its highlights, and its importance in the course of the war—in a little more than a column of text. Ambrose’s essay on the D-Day landings manages to convey the enormous scope and import of the operation in just a few paragraphs. Although the volume seems to cover every major (and minor) military action in US history, it is in the policies, bills, and personages that it is most valuable. Robert Gordon Kaufman’s entry on the Washington Naval Arms Limitation Treaty of 1922 succinctly evaluates world naval growth in the years between the wars and its effect on US naval policy then and in the opening months of WWII. Charles Chatfield’s brilliant summary of peace and antiwar movements serves as a drastically compressed history of the subject from New England Federalists opposing the War of 1812 to the grassroots coalitions protesting US involvement in Central America. With extensive cross-references, suggestions for further reading, and well-drawn maps of the major wars with the greatest US involvement, a must-have for any military historian or history buff. (16 pages halftones, 35 maps)