How We Fight: Crusades, Quagmires, and the American Way of War

(Hardback)

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Description

In HOW WE FIGHT, author and scholar Dominic Tierney investigates the way in which American society views war, identifying specific traditions that take hold of the nation at different moments in conflicts. By looking closely at American warfare from the founding to the present, Tierney shows how consensus ways of thinking about armed struggle emerged over two centuries to become accepted wisdoms. He reveals how the crusader and quagmire traditions have shaped American foreign policy time and again, encouraging military campaigns for far-reaching goals, and cultivating a national allergy toward nation-building. As we fight two wars right now and possibly prepare for a third, Americans are trying to understand this new era of terrorism and counter-insurgency. HOW WE FIGHT then, is a remarkable, necessary book that reveals how American culture and power steer popular attitudes toward conflict. And it tells us how, when that next fight comes, Americans will respond, what they will demand from their commander-in-chief--and whether they'll rally behind the cause--or ultimately come to view the war as a disastrous mistake.

Reviews

How We Fight is an important contribution in itself and for the thinking it prompts in others.--Bruce W. Jentleson, Duke University
[Tierney's] work here will be a useful addition to the literature of culture and war...--Library Journal
A great theme, beautifully written and compellingly organized, it's a fitting update to Russell Weigley's classic [The American Way of War] and an important contribution to a national debate over the war in Afghanistan which is only gathering steam.--Ambassador James Dobbins, former Assistant Secretary of State for Europe, and currently Director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center at RAND
Dominic Tierney's How We Fight: Crusades, Quagmires, and the American Way of War is an unusual achievement. It is a provocative scholarly book about the U.S. approach to war that was written for a broad non-academic audience...no one can dispute that his ambitious undertaking generates much-needed debate on a timely topic. That his writing is fluid and accessible makes it more likely that he will reach both scholarly and policy audiences.--James H. Lebovic, George Washington University
Praise for HOW WE FIGHT:

Lucid and entertaining...A provocative analysis of why Americans love some wars and hate others.--Kirkus Reviews

Tierney's is a welcome voice in the trade press literature on American wars. He captures the essence of America's history of warfare and presents it in a digestible, yet sophisticated and historically rich way...interesting, engaging, compelling, and even entertaining to a broader audience.--Jon Western, Mt. Holyoke College
Writing in colloquial style, this college professor accessibly frames questions arising from Iraq and Afghanistan about why victories have often been followed by occupations.--Gilbert Taylor , Booklist

Author Bio

Dominic Tierney is a professor of Political Science at Swarthmore College. He is also a fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.