"A brilliantly conceived and executed collection of essays written
by some of the country's foremost military historians. America's
First Battles achieves that rare feat of combining genuine reading
enjoyment with superb scholarship. While portraying the human drama
inherent on the battlefield with the flair of novelists, the
authors also masterfully integrate the sustained exploration of the
effects that command and control procedures, prewar doctrine, Army
readiness, and the war's political context can have on first
battles (which in turn can have such a profound impact that they
often shape a war's entire course). Nothing quite like this book
exists in the literature. It automatically goes to the top of the
'must read' list for anyone interested in America's military
past--and, perhaps, its future."--Peter Maslowski, coauthor of For
the Common Defense"I can rave about this book. In contrast to the
typical narrative focused on the leaders, these accounts go into
depth on each battle. The authors not only tell the stories fully
but also make excellent analyses. I became engrossed as I
read."--Edward M. Coffman, author of The War to End All Wars: The
American Military Experience in World War I
"An important contribution both to the literature of war and to the
analysis and making of defense policy."--Washington Post Book
World"Fine military history, good reading and challenging
intellectual stimulation."--Army"Presented here is a discussion of
ten military battles, each representing one of the first battles or
campaigns in the nine wars in which the U.S. Army has fought from
1776 through Vietnam. Each chapter treats a single battle and is
written by a historian with acknowledged specialization in that
period of military history. These evaluations are stimulating,
comparable pictures for students of general history, military
history, and political-military relationships."--Choice"Must
reading for the serious student of history, whether military or
civilian."--Military Review"Not just soldiers and historians should
read it, but all thoughtful Americans, even those with a visceral
dislike for anything military."--The Historian
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