U.S. Leadership in Wartime: Clashes, Controversy, and Compromise [2 volumes]

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A historical study of the relationship between civilian and military leaders in the United States during wartime, from the American Revolution to the Iraq War. Now from one of the world's leading publishers of military history comes a breakthrough reference on one of the most important and complex aspects of U.S. national defense. U.S. Leadership in Wartime: Clashes, Controversy, and Compromise offers a comprehensive analysis of the characteristics that constitute effective leadership in war and discusses the often contentious relationships between U.S. civilian and military leadership throughout American history. U.S. Leadership in Wartime focuses on ten conflicts, including the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World Wars I and II, the Vietnam War, the Iraq War, and the war in Afghanistan. Coverage for each conflict focuses on the dynamics of civilian-military relations and their impact on the course, outcome, and perception of each war under discussion. Coverage in each chapter includes an overview essay, sidebars, and detailed treatments of key engagements and battles, as well as detailed biographical essays of important figuresnot just politicians and generals, but also labor leaders, business leaders, journalists, and women.

Reviews

The scope of this topic is great, but especially vital and relevant today. . . .This work is highly recommended. * ARBAonline *
Each life story is followed by a short but pertinent bibliographya highlight of the setand each war section closes with further-reading suggestions. Maps are included. These are handy, useful volumes for both students and teachers. * School Library Journal *
This is a thoughtful, well-designed, and nicely crafted reference work. . . This is a fine example of a serious work of reference, one that adds considerable value to the material it presents. It is highly recommended for academic libraries and public libraries serving researchers. The scholarly material it offers will, without question, hold its value for a very long time. * Booklist *
This excellent two-volume set studies American leadership in war, evaluating both its effectiveness and how it shaped US history. . . . Overall, this work would be a readable, easy-to-use, and valuable addition to American military history collections. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates through graduate students; general readers. * Choice *
This two-volume work, edited by Tucker (retired, Virginia Military Institute), provides assessment of the effectiveness and ineffectiveness of American civilian and military leaders in ten wars through the presentation of case studies of key battles and biographies of significant figures making decisions at the strategic and operational levels of military conflicts. In chronological order, the wars under consideration are the American Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, the Civil War, the Spanish-American and Philippine-American Wars, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the US wars in the Middle East since 1991. For each, the volume includes an overarching introductory essay, four to eight case studies of battles, 25 to 40 biographies discussing individual leaders contributions to war, and a short list of further readings. Where particular individuals played important roles in more than one war, separate biographies have been included that highlight the particular contributions to the specific conflict being discussed. * Reference & Research Book News *
This biographical dictionary is suitable for high school, public and academic libraries. * Lawrence Looks at Books *
its biographies and its essays on leadership deserve a place in larger academic and public libraries and in collections that concentrate on military history. * Reference & User Services Quarterly *

Author Bio

Spencer C. Tucker, PhD, is senior fellow in military history for ABC-CLIO and the author or editor of more than 40 books and encyclopedias, many of which have been recognized by awards.