A Guide To Readings In American Military History

Table of Contents

• Foreword
• General: Background and Context
• General: American Military Experience
• The Age of Battles: Background and Context
• Colonial Wars and the American Revolution
• Early America: 1783-1861
• Civil War
• Indian Wars
• America Becomes a Power (1865-1917)
• World War I: Background and Context
• World War I
• Inter-War
• World War II: Background and Context
• World War II: Battles and Campaigns
• World War II: Biographies
• The Korean War
• The Vietnam War
• Modern Era: Context
• Modern Era

Foreword

Napoleon once noted that the trouble with books is that one must read so many bad ones to find something really good. To a degree, he is right--the body of historical literature contains a lot of "junk." My intent with this guide is to give my fellow Army officers a point of departure for the "good stuff." In particular, this guide focuses on the good stuff covering the American Military Experience.

I've divided this guide into twenty chronological sections. Most sections have between five and seven titles, thus providing a digestible introduction to readings on those periods.

American Military Experience: Not surprisingly, over two-thirds of the sections cover American military history. Collectively, they try to evenly portray a complete picture of the American army in peace and war. As with the historiography, however, I've heavily emphasized the Civil War and World War II.

For each major war, I've included an easy-to-read, relatively short general introduction, and then one or two of the standard, more scholarly, studies of the war. To these, I added a mix of biographical and operational studies. For the 20th century wars, the list has at least one book that concentrates on small unit actions. Whenever possible, I've also included an encyclopedic-type, reference work on the war.

Since much of the American military experience has involved operations other than war, I've included works on the Indian Wars, Philippine War, and other OOTWs. I've also put institutional histories that detail organization, training, and the Army's place in society on the list.

European Background: To fully understand the American military experience, one must understand the context in which it evolved and developed. Consequently, I've included books that cover European military history (these are included in the sections sub-titled: Background and Context). Moreover, turning to European military history allows us to learn from the non-American masters of warfare like Napoleon, Frederick the Great, the German General Staff, and the Israeli Defense Force. Also, it provides a chance to read and learn from some of the master of military history, like Howard, Chandler, and Horne.

Selecting the Books: As I selected books, I tried to keep my audience in mind--Army officers who don't have an infinite amount of time to read. As a result, I've chosen books for their readability and length as well as their historical worth. I couldn't, however, totally shed my mantle as a military history instructor, so I've included some books for where they can lead the reader. I've also given a sampling of the good historians.

This guide is not meant to be a reading list; there is no compelling reason to read all its books. Instead, I hope officers can use it as a starting point for their own research, as a foundation for their own professional reading program, or as a pilot through the stacks of military histories.

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