U.S. Military History for Dummies

Want to know more about American military history? U.S. Military History For Dummies presents concise and revealing accounts of all of the nation's armed conflicts from the French and Indian War to Iraq. It explains how the U.S. military is organized and how its branches operate, both independently and together.

This straightforward guide examines the causes for each of America's wars and reveals how these conflicts have shaped the nation's borders, society, politics, culture, and future. You'll meet heroes, cowards, patriots, and traitors; relive great battles; and get a taste of what combat is really like, as you discover:

• How the French/Indian war sowed the seeds of the Revolutionary War
• Why America's battle for independence didn't end at Yorktown
• Early U.S. wars against Indians, tax cheats, and pirates
• The War of 1812: guaranteeing U.S. sovereignty
• "Manifest Destiny" wars that stretched America from sea to shining sea
• Why the American Civil War could not be avoided
• The Spanish American War and the U.S. as an emerging global power
• Why World War I failed to "make the world safe for democracy"
• How World War II changed America's role in the world
• Korea and Vietnam: hot wars during the Cold War

Featuring important insights on technological, political, and social changes that transformed the way America fights its wars U.S. Military History For Dummies is your key to understanding the evolution of the most powerful military force in history.

John C. McManus, PhD, is an associate professor of U.S. military history at Missouri University of Science and Technology. He teaches courses on the Civil War, World War II, Vietnam, Americans in combat, and the broad sweep of American military history. A prolific lecturer on military history, he has received numerous awards for outstanding teaching.
He has written several books on the American military experience, including The Deadly Brotherhood: The American Combat Soldier in World War II; The Americans at D-Day; and, most recently, Alamo in the Ardennes: The Untold Story of the American Soldiers Who Made the Defense of Bastogne Possible. He is a member of the editorial advisory board at World War II magazine and has served as an historical expert for numerous battlefield tours.