A lot of information is packed into this volume. The authors begin with the American Revolution and end with the Gulf War. Coverage is fairly extensive, with the chapters on World War II and the Civil War being the longest, and the one on the Spanish-American War the shortest. Each chapter opens with a helpful time line, a map, and an overview; discusses causes, individual battles, new technologies, and the aftermath; and includes maps of battle sites, mostly black-and-white photographs and reproductions, and sidebars that include interesting tidbits and primary accounts. Unfortunately, some of this information is not indexed (e.g., helicopters, airplanes, reporting the war). Documentation or sources are given only for previously published writings. Pages are well laid out, but the colors used for maps, time lines, and headings are generally pale, causing the whole page to blend together. Occasionally, the typeface is very light and some of the subheadings are blurred. Still, this will be helpful to students seeking information and insights on war in a single source.
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