Arms and Men: A Study in American Military History

by Walter Millis

"A classic..., a brilliant interpretation of the origins of mass warfare. In Arms and Men, Walter Millis has helped to explain not only how war has come to dominate our age, but the often troubled, anomalous relationship between the military and the rest of American society. For everyone, from the beginning student to the advanced scholar, there is not a more comprehensive, more stimulating, or more lively introduction to the men, the ideas, the policies, and the forces that have shaped the development of American military power."
--Richard H. Kohn

"In my opinion Arms and Men is a splendid piece of work, clearly organized, well argued and beautifully written. We have long needed an informed and intelligent commentary on the evolution of American military policy; and in Mr. Millis' book we have it. I think that his book will awaken great interest and be widely used. I am sure also that professional students of the subject will find it possible, after reading this book, to see the course of American military affairs with a new perspective. That is one of the great services performed by Mr. Millis. He has covered the whole subject with authority, but - thank heaven - in a short book, in which the arguments are not blunted by unnecessary detail."
--Gordon A. Craig

"This author knows weapons, politics and human nature. His perceptive grasp of these complexes shines in the writing."
--The New York Times

Genres: History, Military History, War, Nonfiction, American History

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1956

About the author

Walter Millis was an editorial and staff writer for the New York Herald Tribune from 1924 to 1954. Millis was a staff member of the Fund for the Republic from 1954 to 1968.

Reviews

[Edgar Raines]

Arguably _Arms and Men_ is the most important book yet written on American military history. Millis analyzes American military history in the light of major social, economic, and political themes to include the democratization of war, the industrial revolution, the scientific revolution, and so forth. It as if Max Weber had decided to write American military history, except that this book is the work of a consummate stylist.