Americans at War Author:Stephen Ambrose Although World War II has been the backdrop for most of this acclaimed historian's work, Stephen E. Ambrose writes here of America's other wars too -- the Civil War, Korea, Vietnam, and the Cold War. From Vicksburg to My Lai Ambrose coversz the fields of battle so authoritatively, portrays the figures and the personalities so convincingly, and ... more »recounts the history so compellingly that his reader feels present as momentous issues are considered and as decisions are made. Ranging over the many wars that have enveloped Americans and their leaders (Custer, Eisenhower, Patton, MacArthur, FDR, and Nixon), these examplary commentaries show leadership as it is tested, confirmed, or refuted in the theater of war.
Ambrose writes of how the siege of Vicksburg proved to be the turning point in the Civil War. He assesses the heroism and controversy that beset General Custer. he appraises America's "dumb luck" entry into World War II and evaluates the dropping of the atomic bomb and its consequences. Einsenhower, on whom Ambrose has published a definitive biography, is seen here in his key role in the NATO pact and through his war-stressed friendship with General Patton. Ambrose assays the enormous power and leverage of General MacArthur, reports the effects of war on the home front, givers as personal, step-by-step analysis of D-Day logistics, and closely studies the role of military intelligence in the winning of the European war. Ambrose brings understanding to the Vietnam conflict through a close look at the atrocity at My Lai and at the contentious Christmas Bombing of Hanoi. He concludes his conronicle of America at war by focusing on the realities of the Cold War and on a chilling, well-reasoned hypothesis of what war, devoid of ideology, may be like in the twenty-first century.« less