Atlas of American Military History

Book Overview

From the Battle of Bunker Hill to the Battle of Midway, from Vietnam to the Persian Gulf, from George Washington to Douglas MacArthur, The Atlas of American Military History covers the full span of America at war, exploring the personalities, methods, strategies and historical contexts of each conflict.
Following a loose chronological framework, this book examines every significant military campaign and war in which the United States has been engaged, both domestically and internationally, from the Revolutionary War to the present. Written by trusted military historians, each section combines analysis with a strong narrative account and an assessment of major campaigns and battlestaking up the American viewpoint as well as those of its allies and opponents. Military method, weaponry, and communication technology receive detailed treatment, in the text and in the maps.
The center point of the book is its stunning color maps, including historical military cartography, specially commissioned maps, and graphic reconstructions. These maps show troop, ship, and aircraft movements of major campaigns and battles, the theaters of fighting, the balance of forces, and the wider strategic picture. It also features hundreds of illustrations, appendixes, and a glossary and information on military commanders, events, treaties, code names, and civilian personalities.
Edited by noted historian James Bradford, The Atlas of American Military History is a beautiful and informative volume for history buff and general reader alike.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 019521661X
• ISBN13: 9780195216615
• Release Date: May 2003
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 248 Pages
• Weight: 2.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 8.9" x 11.2"
• Age Range: 14 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 9 and higher

Customer Reviews

Great Reference for home or school

This atlas, which is nearly 12 in by 9 in and has 248 pages, is broken down into 19 phases of American History with a historian, a specialist writing about each phase making it a really interesting and informative tool. Coverage begins in the 16th century with colonialism and works its way from the French and Indian War, our Revolution, Civil War, WWI, WWII, and ends with the Afghan war in the early 2000s. This is just a sampling for it covers all of our disputes including, to my surprise, Cuba, Panama, and the rest of Central America of the early 20th century. The biggist section concerns WWII and is followed by the Civil War, Korean War, Viet Nam War and WWI. There are 198 color maps that are populated with key towns, rivers and other prominent terrain features as well as troop movements. The maps are good and have nice eye appeal and should satisfy most readers. There are also many photos, many are key personalities that are mentioned in the stories. There is also a bio page of the contributors, an extensive Bibliography and Index. The Bibliography has pages of eminent books providing further study if desired This is a quality volume and would be a great learning tool for child or adult. Its highly recommended.

Among the Best!

In the average book store, one finds literally dozens of historical atlases. Most atlases are arranged with a generally chronological focus, but some have a specialized focus on a particular historical theme. Military history tends to be the most common theme among those atlases with a historical theme. Military history is naturally suited for the purposes of an atlas, because military campaigns and battles simply can not be properly understood without the aid of maps. One of the best of these military history atlases, currently in print, is the Atlas of American Military History. James C. Bradford, the editor of the Atlas of American Military History, is an Associate Professor of History at Texas A & M University and the author or editor of a dozen books, including: Papers of John Paul Jones, 1747-1792 (1986); Command Under Sail: Makers of the American Naval Tradition 1775-1850 (1985); Captains of the Old Steam Navy: Makers of the American Tradition, 1840-1880 (1986); and Admirals of the New Steel Navy: Makers of the American Naval Tradition, 1880-1930 (1990). The nineteen chapters of this book are divided logically in a chronological fashion and contain almost 200 excellent color maps. In addition, each chapter contains a brief history of the conflict or period in question. Prominent historians, such as Carol Reardon, Graham Cosmas, Alan Wilt, and Spencer Tucker, contributed the historical text for each of the chapters. This book is quite current and even includes a brief discussion of the American campaign in Afghanistan in 2001. I have nothing but positive things to mention about this book and I wholeheartedly recommend it.