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The Wars of America
"Leckie treats not the causes of our wars, nor the controversies that have always attended them, nor their results, so often equivocal, debatable, or flatly disappointing, but the manner in which they were fought, their leadership, their pages of glory and of shame."--Allan Nevins, Saturday Review.
Hardcover
First published July 1, 1981
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About the author
Robert Leckie
55 books218 followersLeckie was born on December 18, 1920, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He grew up in Rutherford, New Jersey. He began his career as a writer in high school, as a sports writer for ''The Bergen Evening Record'' in Hackensack, New Jersey.
On January 18, 1942, Leckie enlisted in the United States Marine Corps.He served in combat in the Pacific theater, as a scout and a machine gunner in H Company, 2nd Battalion 1st Marines Regiment 1st Marine Division (United States). Leckie saw combat in the Battle of Guadalcanal, the Battle of Cape Gloucester, and had been wounded by blast concussion in the Battle of Peleliu. He returned to the United States in March 1945 and was honorably discharged shortly thereafter.
Following World War II, Leckie worked as a reporter for the Associated Press, the ''Buffalo Courier-Express'', the ''New York Journal American'', the ''New York Daily News'' and ''The Star-Ledger''. He married Vera Keller, a childhood neighbor, and they had three children: David, Geoff and Joan According to Vera, in 1951 he was inspired to write a memoir after seeing ''South Pacific '' on Broadway and walking out halfway through. He said "I have to tell the story of how it really was. I have to let people know the war wasn't a musical His first and best-selling book, ''Helmet for My Pillow'', a war memoir, was published in 1957. Leckie subsequently wrote more than 40 books on American war history, spanning from the French and Indian War (1754–1763) to Operation Desert Storm (1991). Robert Leckie died on December 24, 2001, after fighting a long battle with Alzheimer's Disease.
On January 18, 1942, Leckie enlisted in the United States Marine Corps.He served in combat in the Pacific theater, as a scout and a machine gunner in H Company, 2nd Battalion 1st Marines Regiment 1st Marine Division (United States). Leckie saw combat in the Battle of Guadalcanal, the Battle of Cape Gloucester, and had been wounded by blast concussion in the Battle of Peleliu. He returned to the United States in March 1945 and was honorably discharged shortly thereafter.
Following World War II, Leckie worked as a reporter for the Associated Press, the ''Buffalo Courier-Express'', the ''New York Journal American'', the ''New York Daily News'' and ''The Star-Ledger''. He married Vera Keller, a childhood neighbor, and they had three children: David, Geoff and Joan According to Vera, in 1951 he was inspired to write a memoir after seeing ''South Pacific '' on Broadway and walking out halfway through. He said "I have to tell the story of how it really was. I have to let people know the war wasn't a musical His first and best-selling book, ''Helmet for My Pillow'', a war memoir, was published in 1957. Leckie subsequently wrote more than 40 books on American war history, spanning from the French and Indian War (1754–1763) to Operation Desert Storm (1991). Robert Leckie died on December 24, 2001, after fighting a long battle with Alzheimer's Disease.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 10, 2012
This book is awesome if you like history, especially warfare. Robert Leckie had a purpose for writing The Wars of America. Throughout the book, Leckie informs as well as explains the actions of the people in charge, instead of just describing the battles themselves. In doing so, he shows his purpose, which is to inform the reader(s) of the wars of our forefathers, to provide a look at the thoughts behind the decisions made by America’s leaders, and to show American patriotism, militarism, and independence. The wars of the past gave our nation its personal stamp on the world. We say we love peace as well as exercise disciplined warfare when necessary. Leckie touches on the backbone of our nation: The struggle for independence and democracy for those who wish to have it. The book explores the different conflicts in America’s history, giving a chronological reference of the wars of that time.
The theme of this book is that America is a country bred for war. America has no qualms about fighting for what is considered right, and that is shown by this book. As Leckie shows the battles of our first wars to Vietnam, he paints a clear picture of America’s purpose: to defend the rights of its citizens, ideas, and assets, through war or peace. We know what we want, and fight to get it if we have to. If freedom is part of all Americans, then so is war. Without it, our nation would have never come to be. Leckie uses his theme to illustrate how dependent on troops we really are. We are a military-oriented country, yet we only use it for the defense of ourselves and others.
The style of The Wars of America is descriptive. The book describes the events and why/how they happened, including a back-story to show the full circle. He uses his opinions rarely, slipping in adjectives such as “brilliant” or “unwise” to show agreement or disagreement. For the most part, he just gives the facts. I think the book could also be considered an exposition. The book analyzes our battles and breaks them down into understandable pieces of information. Leckie criticizes some of the wars, giving reasons for why they failed or succeeded as well as backing other wars, showing why they happened and how America won or lost. He states something, then supports it, attacks it, or just explains it. The research is well done, not many holes appear in the explanations.
I think this book is a good read for anyone who is a history or war buff, but I do not recommend it for anyone else. It is a tough read, due to the large amount of facts and raw historical information. If you do decide to read it, the book will answer most questions about the main wars of America as well as provide descriptions about vague wars or ones most often forgotten or not covered in depth in history classes. I thought this book was awesome; I love history, maps, and wars, so this book was right up my alley. The descriptions are amazing and keep you reading. There are dry parts however, as in any historical book, and the information is provided as just facts. I would give it four stars for me but probably two for other people. I would have to say it is unique since it is the first book I have read that spans a country’s whole lifetime of wars up to its publication, shortly after the close of the Vietnam conflict.
The theme of this book is that America is a country bred for war. America has no qualms about fighting for what is considered right, and that is shown by this book. As Leckie shows the battles of our first wars to Vietnam, he paints a clear picture of America’s purpose: to defend the rights of its citizens, ideas, and assets, through war or peace. We know what we want, and fight to get it if we have to. If freedom is part of all Americans, then so is war. Without it, our nation would have never come to be. Leckie uses his theme to illustrate how dependent on troops we really are. We are a military-oriented country, yet we only use it for the defense of ourselves and others.
The style of The Wars of America is descriptive. The book describes the events and why/how they happened, including a back-story to show the full circle. He uses his opinions rarely, slipping in adjectives such as “brilliant” or “unwise” to show agreement or disagreement. For the most part, he just gives the facts. I think the book could also be considered an exposition. The book analyzes our battles and breaks them down into understandable pieces of information. Leckie criticizes some of the wars, giving reasons for why they failed or succeeded as well as backing other wars, showing why they happened and how America won or lost. He states something, then supports it, attacks it, or just explains it. The research is well done, not many holes appear in the explanations.
I think this book is a good read for anyone who is a history or war buff, but I do not recommend it for anyone else. It is a tough read, due to the large amount of facts and raw historical information. If you do decide to read it, the book will answer most questions about the main wars of America as well as provide descriptions about vague wars or ones most often forgotten or not covered in depth in history classes. I thought this book was awesome; I love history, maps, and wars, so this book was right up my alley. The descriptions are amazing and keep you reading. There are dry parts however, as in any historical book, and the information is provided as just facts. I would give it four stars for me but probably two for other people. I would have to say it is unique since it is the first book I have read that spans a country’s whole lifetime of wars up to its publication, shortly after the close of the Vietnam conflict.
June 17, 2008
An outstanding synopsis of every war we have been involved in as a nation - from Champlain's campaign against the Iriqouis to Gulf War I.
Written by a WWII veteran who is one of my all-time favorite authors.
Written by a WWII veteran who is one of my all-time favorite authors.
May 7, 2013
Another outstanding Leckie book, great narrative, detailed facts on all levels. Enjoyable yet educational and insightful.
March 30, 2024
The Wars of America is Robert Leckie's magnum Opus - a survey of all the major U.S. wars from the French and Indian to the Persian Gulf. Written in a fast-moving, accessible style, Leckie provides a general survey of each war without going into much detail as to the causes or the strategies involved.
The first half of the book is far superior to the second. As he approaches the modern era, Leckie's right-wing political bias begins to distort the facts of what occurred. He portrays the American people as basically pacifist and isolationist, who are usually drawn into wars against their will by outside forces.
This view conveniently overlooks the broad support of blatantly imperialistic wars against Mexico, Spain and, of course the Native American tribes. Lackie rarely mentions the near constant interference, during the 20th Century, of Latin American governments. For example, the 1954 CIA-backed overthrow of the democratically-elected Guamanian government (which gained U.S. support so that the United Fruit Company could maintain its monopoly on banana sales) is not mentioned at all.
But Lackie's greatest bias is in his account of the Vietnam War. The author holds to the theory that Vietnam was lost due to a conspiracy of the liberal media, hippie protesters and pacifists in Congress. In fact, we know from declassified documents. that Johnson's military advisors warned him early on that the war was not winnable by force. LBJ and McNamera's constant lying about the progress of the war was exposed by the Tet Offensive. It was not media reporting or protests that turned Middle America against the war. It was the gradual realization that defeat of the North Vietnamese, if it were possible at all, would take years or even decades.
Interviews with North Vietnamese officials, after the war, make it clear that they would have never accepted a divided Vietnam. It's also clear that the Soviet Union and China would never stop support for the North Vietnamese. They had too much prestige tied up in their assistance to their Communist brethren.
His recounting of the Persian Gulf war is essentially propaganda. Granted, the war was the most successful in American history, accomplishing all of its goals with a minimum of casualties and with broad support internationally. However, Leckie fails to point out that the Bush administration allowed the repressive Kuwaiti royal family to reestablish power with out insisting on democratic reforms. And, of course, Saddam Hussein was allowed to remain in power, which would come back to haunt us later.
The Wars of America ends in 1991 with America triumphant. Iraq had been evicted from Kuwait, the Soviet Union had collapsed and the Baltic states and Eastern Europe freed from the decades-long oppression of the Russians. President Bush spoke hopefully of a new world order in which countries would choose to accept democracy and capitalism.
Leckie had no way of knowing that, ten years later, the U.S. would suffer the worst terrorist attack in its history and be drawn into its two longest wars. The rise of Vladimir Putin would bring about a second Cold War and the descent of the Middle East into chaos and civil war would make a joke of Bush's vision.
All of these caveats aside, The Wars of America is definitely worth reading, albeit with a grain of salt.
The first half of the book is far superior to the second. As he approaches the modern era, Leckie's right-wing political bias begins to distort the facts of what occurred. He portrays the American people as basically pacifist and isolationist, who are usually drawn into wars against their will by outside forces.
This view conveniently overlooks the broad support of blatantly imperialistic wars against Mexico, Spain and, of course the Native American tribes. Lackie rarely mentions the near constant interference, during the 20th Century, of Latin American governments. For example, the 1954 CIA-backed overthrow of the democratically-elected Guamanian government (which gained U.S. support so that the United Fruit Company could maintain its monopoly on banana sales) is not mentioned at all.
But Lackie's greatest bias is in his account of the Vietnam War. The author holds to the theory that Vietnam was lost due to a conspiracy of the liberal media, hippie protesters and pacifists in Congress. In fact, we know from declassified documents. that Johnson's military advisors warned him early on that the war was not winnable by force. LBJ and McNamera's constant lying about the progress of the war was exposed by the Tet Offensive. It was not media reporting or protests that turned Middle America against the war. It was the gradual realization that defeat of the North Vietnamese, if it were possible at all, would take years or even decades.
Interviews with North Vietnamese officials, after the war, make it clear that they would have never accepted a divided Vietnam. It's also clear that the Soviet Union and China would never stop support for the North Vietnamese. They had too much prestige tied up in their assistance to their Communist brethren.
His recounting of the Persian Gulf war is essentially propaganda. Granted, the war was the most successful in American history, accomplishing all of its goals with a minimum of casualties and with broad support internationally. However, Leckie fails to point out that the Bush administration allowed the repressive Kuwaiti royal family to reestablish power with out insisting on democratic reforms. And, of course, Saddam Hussein was allowed to remain in power, which would come back to haunt us later.
The Wars of America ends in 1991 with America triumphant. Iraq had been evicted from Kuwait, the Soviet Union had collapsed and the Baltic states and Eastern Europe freed from the decades-long oppression of the Russians. President Bush spoke hopefully of a new world order in which countries would choose to accept democracy and capitalism.
Leckie had no way of knowing that, ten years later, the U.S. would suffer the worst terrorist attack in its history and be drawn into its two longest wars. The rise of Vladimir Putin would bring about a second Cold War and the descent of the Middle East into chaos and civil war would make a joke of Bush's vision.
All of these caveats aside, The Wars of America is definitely worth reading, albeit with a grain of salt.
May 11, 2020
The Wars of America is Robert Leckie's excellent survey of all wars and conflicts of American history, from Colonial wars up through the first years of the Vietnam War (the book was published in 1967). I personally found the histories of the colonial wars, the Revolutionary War, and the War of 1812 to be the most enlightening, because those are the wars of which I knew the least. But besides chronicling all the battles and campaigns, Leckie also discusses the whys and wherefores that brought about the conflicts in the first place. I found Leckie's conclusions about causes and effects to be thoughtful and insightful.
I would have given the book a 5-star rating if Leckie's coverage of all American wars wasn't uneven. In particular, the discussion of the Indian wars in the post-Civil War era is too brief, and coverage of the Indian Wars prior to the Civil War almost non-existent (except for his excellent coverage of the Indian wars during the Colonial period). Also, I tripped over a couple of passages that contained outright and obvious errors. The errors weren't major, but they were startling because they were so unexpected. (The error that come to mind is his stating that Japanese "Betty" bombers participated in the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Mitsubishi G4M was a land-based, twin-engine medium bomber that was not assigned to aircraft carriers--I assume what Leckie had in mind were the Nakajima B5N "Kate" torpedo bombers which were also used for level bombing. It's perhaps a minor detail, but it's an error I would not have expected a veteran of the Pacific War to make.)
(A final note: The edition I read was the first edition, first printing of The Wars of America, published in 1967. As such, Leckie's discussion of the Vietnam War was incomplete, but it was exactly that closeness that I found the most intriguing part of that final chapter.)
I would have given the book a 5-star rating if Leckie's coverage of all American wars wasn't uneven. In particular, the discussion of the Indian wars in the post-Civil War era is too brief, and coverage of the Indian Wars prior to the Civil War almost non-existent (except for his excellent coverage of the Indian wars during the Colonial period). Also, I tripped over a couple of passages that contained outright and obvious errors. The errors weren't major, but they were startling because they were so unexpected. (The error that come to mind is his stating that Japanese "Betty" bombers participated in the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Mitsubishi G4M was a land-based, twin-engine medium bomber that was not assigned to aircraft carriers--I assume what Leckie had in mind were the Nakajima B5N "Kate" torpedo bombers which were also used for level bombing. It's perhaps a minor detail, but it's an error I would not have expected a veteran of the Pacific War to make.)
(A final note: The edition I read was the first edition, first printing of The Wars of America, published in 1967. As such, Leckie's discussion of the Vietnam War was incomplete, but it was exactly that closeness that I found the most intriguing part of that final chapter.)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 29, 2018
This was a very objective breakdown of all the Wars that America had been involved in up to and including the Vietnam War. It's obviously a bit dated but still reads very well. Robert Leckie is very thorough, bringing each and every reason that the U.S. chose or chose not to engage in a particular conflict from analyzing where America was as a country both politically and socially as well as economically at the time of each war. I enjoyed this holistic view immensely.
December 24, 2008
Great book for an introduction to the various wars in the Americas.
Read
October 18, 2010Tried it, got bored even though narrative. May have to try reading it again
August 13, 2012
The best military book I have EVER read.
September 1, 2022
Although a little outdated as it was written in 1981, an excellent overview of the wars America has been involved with since its beginning.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews