SOCIAL SCIENCES

On War: The Best Military Histories

by Rick Atkinson
& others. Pritzker Military Museum & Lib. 2013. 253p. illus. maps. notes. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780989792813. $27. HIST
COPY ISBN
This is a collection of chapters from previously published works written by subsequent recipients of the Pritzker Military Museum and Library Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing. The self-contained chapters provide an excellent overview of quality writing from renowned authors James M. McPherson (Battle Cry of Freedom), Allan R. Millett (Military Innovation in the Interwar Period), Gerhard Weinberg (Vision of Victory), Atkinson (An Army at Dawn), Carlo D'Este (Patton: A Genius for War), Max Hastings (Catastrophe 1914: Europe Goes to War), and Tim O'Brien (The Things They Carried) and cover the Civil War to Vietnam. Weinberg's entry offers deeper insight into the thought processes of both Hitler and Roosevelt while O'Brien's is a gritty viewpoint from the common soldier in Vietnam.
VERDICT Longtime readers of these authors will not find anything new here, but lay readers will find that this collection provides a solid introduction to well-respected writers, an apt survey of U.S. military history, and a complete listing of their works for further reading. This title is recommended for such newcomers.
Reviewed by Patti McCall, Univ. of Central Florida Lib., Orlando , Mar 15, 2014
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