America at War: Concise Histories of U.S. Military Conflicts From Lexington to Afghanistan

by Terence T. Finn

War—organized violence against an enemy of the state—seems part and parcel of the American journey. Indeed, the United States was established by means of violence as ordinary citizens from New Hampshire to Georgia answered George Washington’s call to arms.

Since then, war has become a staple of American history. Counting the War for Independence, the United States has fought the armed forces of other nations at least twelve times, averaging a major conflict every twenty years. In so doing, the objectives have been advance the cause of freedom, protect U.S. interests, and impose America’s will upon a troubled world. More often than not, the results have been successful as America’s military has accounted itself well. Yet the cost has been high, in both blood and treasure. Americans have fought and died around the globe—on land, at sea, and in the air. Without doubt, their actions have shaped the world in which we live.

In this comprehensive collection, Terence T. Finn provides a set of narratives—each concise and readable—on the twelve major wars America has fought. He explains what happened, and why such places as Saratoga and Antietam, Manila Bay and Midway are important to an understanding of America’s past. Readers will easily be able to brush up on their history and acquaint themselves with those individuals and events that have helped define the United States of America.

Genres: History, Military Fiction, Audiobook

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 7, 2014

Reviews

[Zac Andersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

America at War was a great well written non-fiction book. It teaches readers so much about each war the U.S has been in. All the way from the Revolutionary war to Afghanistan. The author must have done so much research and put a lot of time and effort into writing this book as accurately as he could. The facts about each war told in the book bring a sense of sorrow to a person reading the book. "U.S. military deaths during the Second World War numbered slightly more than 405,000" (Finn 234). Those deaths were just from one war and if you think of all the deaths mentioned in the chapters about the other wars it is really sad. The book also does a great job of portraying the evolution of the U.S army throughout the 220+ years it has been around. America went from volunteer farmers to one of the most powerful militaries in the world in which seems like a short time for a country to accomplish that. Throughout the book Terence Finn does a good job at proving that he loves the navy. In every chapter he manages to find a story of how the navy played a part in the war and how the battle went. In some wars like Korea the navy didn't really do any big things to help the U.S in the war. But with the author making it clear in previous chapters making it clear that he loves the Navy he managed to fit in the story of how the Navy rescued a group of marines that had been surrounded by North Koreans for a while. The book is a great resource for people wanting to learn about the U.S military history and it can help people experience war without having to actually be in one.
An important message to take away from this book is that good military leaders in charge make a huge difference. Every chapter Finn does a good job at going into detail about the main General in charge during each war. George Washington was an incredible leader that took a bunch of rag tag rebels and made an army out of them. Many other great leaders were mentioned and every time there was a good leader America and it's allies would win the war. However, in the civil war when the Union army had George B. McClellan at it's head they did not make any progress against the confederates. George's failure lead to him being fired and he got replaced by someone who would actually win the war. If we didn't have good military leaders from the start the U.S probably wouldn't even be a country. The world would have also fallen to German in the 1900's had America and it's leaders not joined in.

[Matthew Pleger · Rating 4 out of 5]

As others have said, concise descriptions of major wars that changed or influenced how America does war. I learned a good deal and this is a great launching point for someone one just getting into the history of war involving the United States.

[Hans · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brief overview of the major Wars fought by the US. A great introduction or refresher for follow-up in depth studying of the particulars of each. If you are unfamiliar with American history or just needing to dust off the cob-webs this book will help.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to read. Concise histories of various wars in which the U.S was involved. Gave me a lot of insight into strategy and not heavy on the military lingo and jargon.