“The Oxford Companion to American Military History”, edited by John Whiteclay Chambers II, Joseph T. Glatthaar, Fred Anderson, Ronald H. Spector and Lynn Eden

960 pages, Oxford University Press, ISBN-13: 978-0195071986

The Oxford Companion to American Military History is a gold mine of information on American military history, exploring battles and soldiers, ships and weapons, services and doctrines, and even the social and cultural impact of the U.S. military at home and around the world. This work, edited by John Whiteclay, the Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History at Rutgers University, boasts over 1100 entries written by some 500 distinguished contributors covering a gambit of topics. Thus, readers will find a description of the D-Day landings by Stephen E. Ambrose, a brief biography of Jane Addams by Jean Bethke Elshtain, a discussion of the changing experience of combat by John Keegan, a blow-by-blow dissection of the Battle of Antietam by James M. McPherson, an entry on religion and war by Mark A. Noll, and a chat about Sitting Bull by Robert M. Utley, to name an extreme few.

Ranging from brief factual pieces to extensive essays, the entries examine every major war from the Revolution to the Persian Gulf; important battles from Bunker Hill, the Alamo, Gettysburg, Little Bighorn, Normandy, Khe Sanh and more; and military leaders like Washington, Grant, Lee, Eisenhower, MacArthur, Westmoreland and Schwarzkopf. Moreover, the Companion goes well beyond the usual “drum and trumpet” coverage of battles and wars to examine a wide range of subjects you might not expect to find, with entries on relevant acts of Congress and on diplomatic policies (such as the Monroe Doctrine and the Marshall Plan); on peace and antiwar movements; on war in film, literature, music and photography; and on war viewed through the disciplinary lenses of anthropology, economics, gender studies and psychology. The result is the widest ranging account compiled in one volume of war, peace, and the U.S. military. With its authoritative and vividly written entries, maps of several major wars, extensive cross-referencing, lists of further readings, and an exhaustive index, this volume is the first place to turn for information on our nation’s military history.