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Americans at War
Collected here for the first time are fifteen essays that span over 100 years of American history--and the remarkable thirty-year career of America's foremost historian and New York Times bestselling author of D-Day , Undaunted Courage , and Citizen Soldiers .
Stephen E. Ambrose's vivid and compelling essays take you to the heart of America's wars, from Grant's stunning Fourth of July victory at Vicksburg, to Nixon's surprise Christmas bombing of Hanoi. Ambrose brings to life the ambition and charisma that led to Custer's great success in the Civil War and fateful disaster at Little Big Horn. With vivid imagery and precise commentary, he puts you on the beaches of Normandy with the common footsoldier and in the headquarters of America's great commanders, Eisenhower, Patton and MacArthur. He takes you to the trenches of the homefront, ground zero of the Atomic Bomb, and into the arsenals of the twenty-first century.
Stephen E. Ambrose's vivid and compelling essays take you to the heart of America's wars, from Grant's stunning Fourth of July victory at Vicksburg, to Nixon's surprise Christmas bombing of Hanoi. Ambrose brings to life the ambition and charisma that led to Custer's great success in the Civil War and fateful disaster at Little Big Horn. With vivid imagery and precise commentary, he puts you on the beaches of Normandy with the common footsoldier and in the headquarters of America's great commanders, Eisenhower, Patton and MacArthur. He takes you to the trenches of the homefront, ground zero of the Atomic Bomb, and into the arsenals of the twenty-first century.
252 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
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About the author
Stephen E. Ambrose
136 books2,405 followersStephen Edward Ambrose was an American historian and biographer of U.S. Presidents Dwight Eisenhower and Richard M. Nixon. He received his Ph.D. in 1960 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In his final years he faced charges of plagiarism for his books, with subsequent concerns about his research emerging after his death.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
May 15, 2021
Americans have fought in many wars; and historian Stephen Ambrose has chronicled Americans’ participation in war, diligently and skillfully, for many years now. A longtime professor of history at the University of New Orleans, Ambrose was particularly renowned as an authority on the Second World War generally and the Normandy campaign specifically: filmmaker Steven Spielberg made Ambrose an historical consultant for his Academy Award-winning film Saving Private Ryan (1998); Ambrose’s book Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne – From Normandy to Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest (1992) inspired the 2001 HBO miniseries of the same name; and he was instrumental in the founding of the National World War II Museum in New Orleans in 2003. And Ambrose’s many admirers will find much to enjoy in his 1997 book Americans at War.
Americans at War is a collection of 15 articles, published in a variety of magazine and book venues, and treating the American Civil War, the Second World War, the Cold War, and the Vietnam War. In reading these articles, one can see many of the same thematic perspectives that characterize Ambrose’s larger and better-known works.
For instance, Ambrose writes, in an article about General Ulysses S. Grant’s successful 1863 siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi, that “Greatness can take many forms, assuming one shape with a Douglas MacArthur, another with an Andrew Jackson. It is most appealing, perhaps, when couched in directness and simplicity” (p. 50) – qualities that Grant possessed in abundance. Looking not only at Grant’s use of speed and surprise, his application of superior force at critical points, but also at the respect with which he treated his defeated rebel foes – at Vicksburg as, later, at Appomattox – Ambrose reminds the reader of “a line of thought that does not often occur to our people: Americans do not fight wars to make permanent enemies, but ever strive to convert their ex-foes into allies” (p. 50).
As Ambrose is particularly renowned for his histories of the D-Day invasion and the Normandy campaign, his chapter on “D-Day Revisited” is likely to be of particular interest to many readers. Having visited Normandy, and having walked all five of the invasion beaches from 6 June 1944, I was pleased to hear Ambrose’s impressions of D-Day sites that I too have seen, as when he writes of Omaha Beach that, “Looking up the bluff, I reminded myself that the brush and small trees that today make it such a lovely sight were all cut down in 1944. The bluff was crisscrossed with rifle pits and trenches, machine-gun pillboxes, and Tobruks [concrete bunkers]. Barbed wire was everywhere” (p. 100).
After evoking the dramatic sequence from the film The Longest Day (1960) that depicts the successful seizure of Omaha Beach as a matter of U.S. troops blowing holes in concrete walls that block the draws along the beach – “As Robert Mitchum, playing General Norman Cota, climbs into his jeep and drives up the hill, the music swells” – Ambrose reveals that, “climbing the bluff myself, and listening to the veterans’ words on the tapes, I made a discovery: That wasn’t the way it happened. The victory was won by individuals and small groups struggling up the bluff. German defenses at the draws were too strong to be breached and had to be outflanked” (p. 100). Ambrose always encourages his readers to look in new ways at something they thought they already knew.
Fans of George C. Scott’s Oscar-winning performance in the movie Patton (1970) will enjoy the account, in Ambrose’s essay on Eisenhower and Patton, on the press-conference episode that lost the real-life General George Patton the command of the 3rd U.S. Army. The incident occurred in September of 1945, after the end of the Second World War. Patton had long since established a bilious relationship with the members of the press corps that had been assigned to cover his work as military governor of occupied Bavaria; and he had already made clear his predilection to work with former Nazis, in opposition to official U.S. Government policy, on the (false) pretext that the ex-Nazis were the only qualified people available. It was against that background that the following memorable exchange occurred:
[T]he press waited for a chance to bait Patton into damning the de-Nazification policy. It came on September 22, when he called a press conference and asserted that the military government “would get better results if it employed more former members of the Nazi party in administrative jobs.” A reporter, trying to appear casual, asked, “After all, General, didn’t most ordinary Nazis join their party in about the same way that Americans become Republicans or Democrats?”
“Yes,” Patton agreed. “That’s about it.”
The headlines the next day screamed that Patton had said the Nazis were just like Republicans and Democrats back home. (p. 172)
A summons to Eisenhower’s headquarters in Frankfurt-am-Main, and Patton’s fall from grace, followed quickly.
Ambrose is no jingoist; he is willing to look at the grimmer episodes of American military history, as in his article “My Lai: Atrocities in Historical Perspective.” As many as 500 South Vietnamese civilians were murdered by U.S. troops at My Lai in 1968; the massacre remains one of the most shameful episodes in the annals of the U.S. Army. Ambrose concludes that the massacre resulted in part from the fact that the United States was “trying to win a war on the strategic defensive” (p. 200), out of concern that an offensive war might bring Communist China into the war, as had happened during the Korean War 25 years earlier. A resulting emphasis on body count – Vietnamese body count – as an index of military success led, in Ambrose’s view, directly to the My Lai massacre. At the same time, Ambrose writes,
One of the things about My Lai that stands out about My Lai in my mind and makes it not only possible for me to live with it but to be once again proud of the institution that I have spent most of my life studying, the United States Army, was that the army itself investigated the incident, made that investigation public, and did its best to punish the perpetrators of that outrage. I would defy anybody to name another army in the world that would do that. (p. 202)
That faith in the United States Army as an institution that not only protects but also champions and nourishes American democracy is a core theme of Americans at War, as it is of all Ambrose’s work. It is an interesting and invigorating thing to see this historian who is known for his epic works of history take more of a short-focus look at the U.S. Army at its work.
Americans at War is a collection of 15 articles, published in a variety of magazine and book venues, and treating the American Civil War, the Second World War, the Cold War, and the Vietnam War. In reading these articles, one can see many of the same thematic perspectives that characterize Ambrose’s larger and better-known works.
For instance, Ambrose writes, in an article about General Ulysses S. Grant’s successful 1863 siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi, that “Greatness can take many forms, assuming one shape with a Douglas MacArthur, another with an Andrew Jackson. It is most appealing, perhaps, when couched in directness and simplicity” (p. 50) – qualities that Grant possessed in abundance. Looking not only at Grant’s use of speed and surprise, his application of superior force at critical points, but also at the respect with which he treated his defeated rebel foes – at Vicksburg as, later, at Appomattox – Ambrose reminds the reader of “a line of thought that does not often occur to our people: Americans do not fight wars to make permanent enemies, but ever strive to convert their ex-foes into allies” (p. 50).
As Ambrose is particularly renowned for his histories of the D-Day invasion and the Normandy campaign, his chapter on “D-Day Revisited” is likely to be of particular interest to many readers. Having visited Normandy, and having walked all five of the invasion beaches from 6 June 1944, I was pleased to hear Ambrose’s impressions of D-Day sites that I too have seen, as when he writes of Omaha Beach that, “Looking up the bluff, I reminded myself that the brush and small trees that today make it such a lovely sight were all cut down in 1944. The bluff was crisscrossed with rifle pits and trenches, machine-gun pillboxes, and Tobruks [concrete bunkers]. Barbed wire was everywhere” (p. 100).
After evoking the dramatic sequence from the film The Longest Day (1960) that depicts the successful seizure of Omaha Beach as a matter of U.S. troops blowing holes in concrete walls that block the draws along the beach – “As Robert Mitchum, playing General Norman Cota, climbs into his jeep and drives up the hill, the music swells” – Ambrose reveals that, “climbing the bluff myself, and listening to the veterans’ words on the tapes, I made a discovery: That wasn’t the way it happened. The victory was won by individuals and small groups struggling up the bluff. German defenses at the draws were too strong to be breached and had to be outflanked” (p. 100). Ambrose always encourages his readers to look in new ways at something they thought they already knew.
Fans of George C. Scott’s Oscar-winning performance in the movie Patton (1970) will enjoy the account, in Ambrose’s essay on Eisenhower and Patton, on the press-conference episode that lost the real-life General George Patton the command of the 3rd U.S. Army. The incident occurred in September of 1945, after the end of the Second World War. Patton had long since established a bilious relationship with the members of the press corps that had been assigned to cover his work as military governor of occupied Bavaria; and he had already made clear his predilection to work with former Nazis, in opposition to official U.S. Government policy, on the (false) pretext that the ex-Nazis were the only qualified people available. It was against that background that the following memorable exchange occurred:
[T]he press waited for a chance to bait Patton into damning the de-Nazification policy. It came on September 22, when he called a press conference and asserted that the military government “would get better results if it employed more former members of the Nazi party in administrative jobs.” A reporter, trying to appear casual, asked, “After all, General, didn’t most ordinary Nazis join their party in about the same way that Americans become Republicans or Democrats?”
“Yes,” Patton agreed. “That’s about it.”
The headlines the next day screamed that Patton had said the Nazis were just like Republicans and Democrats back home. (p. 172)
A summons to Eisenhower’s headquarters in Frankfurt-am-Main, and Patton’s fall from grace, followed quickly.
Ambrose is no jingoist; he is willing to look at the grimmer episodes of American military history, as in his article “My Lai: Atrocities in Historical Perspective.” As many as 500 South Vietnamese civilians were murdered by U.S. troops at My Lai in 1968; the massacre remains one of the most shameful episodes in the annals of the U.S. Army. Ambrose concludes that the massacre resulted in part from the fact that the United States was “trying to win a war on the strategic defensive” (p. 200), out of concern that an offensive war might bring Communist China into the war, as had happened during the Korean War 25 years earlier. A resulting emphasis on body count – Vietnamese body count – as an index of military success led, in Ambrose’s view, directly to the My Lai massacre. At the same time, Ambrose writes,
One of the things about My Lai that stands out about My Lai in my mind and makes it not only possible for me to live with it but to be once again proud of the institution that I have spent most of my life studying, the United States Army, was that the army itself investigated the incident, made that investigation public, and did its best to punish the perpetrators of that outrage. I would defy anybody to name another army in the world that would do that. (p. 202)
That faith in the United States Army as an institution that not only protects but also champions and nourishes American democracy is a core theme of Americans at War, as it is of all Ambrose’s work. It is an interesting and invigorating thing to see this historian who is known for his epic works of history take more of a short-focus look at the U.S. Army at its work.
January 10, 2011
Think of this as "Introduction to the United States at War." Ambrose's writing style is fantastic and tends to showcase small details left out of other larger narratives, such as the personal correspondence between Patton and Eisenhower. The section where Patton is dying and has his wife re-read the letter from Ike talking about keeping his job is a powerful insight into one of the US's greatest and controversial generals.
Ambrose is best when he concentrates on the Civil War, World War II, and the Cold War. His sections on Vietnam and the modern age of terrorism are fine but not as interesting as the previously mentioned historical eras. I have a feeling he's much more interested in walking the beaches of Normandy than My Lai in any case.
This book isn't comprehensive, nor is it meant to be. It's a great quick read to get you interested in the particular period that catches your interest. His section on Grant's campaign is particularly fascinating. Highly recommended.
Ambrose is best when he concentrates on the Civil War, World War II, and the Cold War. His sections on Vietnam and the modern age of terrorism are fine but not as interesting as the previously mentioned historical eras. I have a feeling he's much more interested in walking the beaches of Normandy than My Lai in any case.
This book isn't comprehensive, nor is it meant to be. It's a great quick read to get you interested in the particular period that catches your interest. His section on Grant's campaign is particularly fascinating. Highly recommended.
May 12, 2019
A collection of essays on several of the most important military issues, events, and personalities in American history, Stephen Ambrose mixes historical fact with his own judgment on the how and why of them. The reader with a keen knowledge of the entire picture can only shake his or head as the author goes back to his usual line that it was only the US that saved the day in the Second World War.
September 21, 2023
Americans at War is a collection of fifteen essays drawn from historian Stephen E. Ambrose's three decade career, the topics of which are snapshots of various crucial times in America's various wars from the Civil War up to the end of the Cold War. Picking bits and pieces of various conflicts and putting them together in one volume can make for somewhat disjointed reading, particularly if the topic of a specific essay is not as interesting to the reader, though I did find certain chapters good and interesting reads; two in particular I liked were concerning the person of General MacArthur, about whom I have not read much previously, and an interesting take on the Atomic bombings of Japan. One note I will make is that Ambrose is very much a believer in American exceptionalism, so keep that in mind when reading certain essays especially towards the latter half of the collection.
November 12, 2021
Every time I read a tome by this author, I come away impressed. For one, in many books can readers say that the prologue is wonderful? Just from this particular prologue, I admired the journey Ambrose details about his education, mainly his love for history, particularly his study of war and those effects. This book supports the author's passion for his choice of study.
Ambrose's depth of research is one earmark for the actual history of certain war events, beginning with the Battle for Vicksburg in the Civil War, continuing though World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and the Cold War. Ambrose even delves into what war in the 21st century would be like...and being the year 2021, he was not too far off. He does fine work capturing the essences of some of the most famous generals (Custer, Patton, MacArthur, Eisenhower). Moreover, he balances the research of the actual battles with theory for reasons for the battles, the decisions made (which he debates as to each's validity and merit), and his own position as to the importance and effects of the particular events.
Each chapter carries intrigue, curiosity, and relevance. This book could be a wonderful addition for extra reading for any social studies curriculum in secondary schools because it is filled with pointed remarks that can be debated.
One argument Ambrose proposes I found particularly intriguing and insightful. He writes:
"After four decades of study, what impresses me most is how far superior democracy is to all other forms of government in making war. Hitler was sure the opposite was true. He believed that a totalitarian government was overwhelmingly more efficient than democracy, with its squabbling parliamentarians representing this or that interest group. That is true enough in peace time, but when war comes and everyone in a democracy becomes a member of the team, eager to do his or her duty, ready to accept and exercise individual initiative, the result is an explosion of power.
Teamwork is the word that best describes the way democracies make war, whether in intelligence collection and deception measures, or on the home front" (xiii).
I found these ideas so valid...witness World War II and the Gulf War. Then, think of Vietnam. Two distinct opposites. What's more, the concept of teamwork is what is missing in America today.
An outstanding book.
Ambrose's depth of research is one earmark for the actual history of certain war events, beginning with the Battle for Vicksburg in the Civil War, continuing though World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and the Cold War. Ambrose even delves into what war in the 21st century would be like...and being the year 2021, he was not too far off. He does fine work capturing the essences of some of the most famous generals (Custer, Patton, MacArthur, Eisenhower). Moreover, he balances the research of the actual battles with theory for reasons for the battles, the decisions made (which he debates as to each's validity and merit), and his own position as to the importance and effects of the particular events.
Each chapter carries intrigue, curiosity, and relevance. This book could be a wonderful addition for extra reading for any social studies curriculum in secondary schools because it is filled with pointed remarks that can be debated.
One argument Ambrose proposes I found particularly intriguing and insightful. He writes:
"After four decades of study, what impresses me most is how far superior democracy is to all other forms of government in making war. Hitler was sure the opposite was true. He believed that a totalitarian government was overwhelmingly more efficient than democracy, with its squabbling parliamentarians representing this or that interest group. That is true enough in peace time, but when war comes and everyone in a democracy becomes a member of the team, eager to do his or her duty, ready to accept and exercise individual initiative, the result is an explosion of power.
Teamwork is the word that best describes the way democracies make war, whether in intelligence collection and deception measures, or on the home front" (xiii).
I found these ideas so valid...witness World War II and the Gulf War. Then, think of Vietnam. Two distinct opposites. What's more, the concept of teamwork is what is missing in America today.
An outstanding book.
December 18, 2018
I'm a big fan of author Stephen Ambrose. D-Day and Band of Brothers are 2 of the best military history books I've read. Americans at War is merely okay.
Americans at War consists of several essays on a variety of military people and topics, beginning with Ulysses S. Grant's siege of Vicksburg during the Civil War, ending with Ambrose's speculations on "War in the 21st Century" (Americans at War was published in 1997), and touching upon seemingly every military conflict in between. Unfortunately, I found fewer than half of the essays particularly well-written, insightful, or interesting. In some essays Ambrose completely fails to satisfactorily support his thesis, which is both surprising and disappointing in a historian and writer who has been as consistently superb as Ambrose.
I thought 2 essays were particularly interesting, "The Atomic Bomb and It's Consequences" and "A Fateful Friendship: Eisenhower and Patton." But beyond those essays, I wouldn't recommend Americans at War to anyone interested in military history, as there are dozens of far more worthwhile reads out there.
Americans at War consists of several essays on a variety of military people and topics, beginning with Ulysses S. Grant's siege of Vicksburg during the Civil War, ending with Ambrose's speculations on "War in the 21st Century" (Americans at War was published in 1997), and touching upon seemingly every military conflict in between. Unfortunately, I found fewer than half of the essays particularly well-written, insightful, or interesting. In some essays Ambrose completely fails to satisfactorily support his thesis, which is both surprising and disappointing in a historian and writer who has been as consistently superb as Ambrose.
I thought 2 essays were particularly interesting, "The Atomic Bomb and It's Consequences" and "A Fateful Friendship: Eisenhower and Patton." But beyond those essays, I wouldn't recommend Americans at War to anyone interested in military history, as there are dozens of far more worthwhile reads out there.
June 10, 2018
Reading Ambrose in middle and high school set me on the path of becoming a historian—no doubt about it. His skill as a storyteller, as a crafter of narrative grabbed hold of me then and still, I'm sure, influences my writing today. Rereading this volume now, however, I'm struck by several things: 1) good lord have my historical interests changed in the decade-plus since I first picked up one of his books, as military history is nowhere near my wheelhouse now; 2) it is uncomfortably clear how much effort Ambrose expended to write historical actors whom he admired as heroes (often a "Great Man" of some sort); 3) generalizations flatten out his arguments in spots.
As for my specific impressions of Americans at War, it's a wide-ranging collection that suffers from some essay-to-essay unevenness in terms of depth, and some sections get carried away into the rhapsodic. He also gets extremely close to being a full-blown apologist for My Lai, which I didn't recall from my first reading. Unforeseen consequences of revisiting one's inspirations, no?
As for my specific impressions of Americans at War, it's a wide-ranging collection that suffers from some essay-to-essay unevenness in terms of depth, and some sections get carried away into the rhapsodic. He also gets extremely close to being a full-blown apologist for My Lai, which I didn't recall from my first reading. Unforeseen consequences of revisiting one's inspirations, no?
August 13, 2009
The format of Ambrose's essay compilation makes it wonderful topic read and a powerful reference book. The chapter addressing the Atomic Bomb and its consequences presents an objective, interesting, and extremely informative perspective on this overwhelming event. This refreshing and riviting approach provides the reader a method of sitting in Professor Ambrose's classroom while being taught by a master historian. The final essay provides a prophetic outlook to war in the 21st century that is amazingly accurate considering current world events; a perspective that can only be provided through years of study and education. This work is an absolute must own.
January 2, 2020
From the photo on the front, I thought it was mostly about WWII. Where there were some good WWII stories, there were also some Civil War and Vietnam sections as well.
My biggest issue was that it was a bunch of short essays on aspects of American wars. I didn't particularly enjoy the Civil War sections. The WWII sections were okay and good, depending on the topic in that chapter.
When it came to Vietnam, it talked about My Lai. I had no idea what that was. There was no context in the chapter to let the reader know what it was or what took place there. I had to watch a documentary about Vietnam in order to find out what happened. That was a bit frustrating.
My biggest issue was that it was a bunch of short essays on aspects of American wars. I didn't particularly enjoy the Civil War sections. The WWII sections were okay and good, depending on the topic in that chapter.
When it came to Vietnam, it talked about My Lai. I had no idea what that was. There was no context in the chapter to let the reader know what it was or what took place there. I had to watch a documentary about Vietnam in order to find out what happened. That was a bit frustrating.
August 12, 2024
I have bought a lot of Stephen Ambrose's books cuz I heard he had a great reputation. This is the first book I've read. Now I'm wondering if buying all those books was a mistake.
This book was several pre-existing essays written by Ambrose regarding war fought by Americans, from the Civil War to Viet Nam. He wrote about Custer, his fallables, results. The siege of Vicksburg and how both sides made wrong conclusions about the other, more by the Rebel side than the Union soldiers.
MacArthur, Patton, Eisenhower.
My Lai - never described what happened there, but brought forth examples where leaders had failed to control themselves or their men (mostly leaders).
Well written, but not sure I agree with some of the descriptions of some people.
This book was several pre-existing essays written by Ambrose regarding war fought by Americans, from the Civil War to Viet Nam. He wrote about Custer, his fallables, results. The siege of Vicksburg and how both sides made wrong conclusions about the other, more by the Rebel side than the Union soldiers.
MacArthur, Patton, Eisenhower.
My Lai - never described what happened there, but brought forth examples where leaders had failed to control themselves or their men (mostly leaders).
Well written, but not sure I agree with some of the descriptions of some people.
February 22, 2021
i’ve always really enjoyed ambrose’s work. his books on the second world war and early american history are not only enjoyable for their content, but also for how he focuses on the facts and leaves opinion out of it.
however, in americans at war, it feels like he’s a bit scorned by new theories in historiography. i think i’ll stick to his works about subjects that happened way back in the past...
however, in americans at war, it feels like he’s a bit scorned by new theories in historiography. i think i’ll stick to his works about subjects that happened way back in the past...
February 25, 2023
A great educational collection of essays detailing the American experience in wars, ranging from the Civil War to the end of the Cold War. Interesting to read about the beginnings of NATO, in light of the war in Ukraine. Thank goodness for Eisenhower.
January 5, 2018
Ambrose never fails. Great book regarding different aspects of major American conflicts, ranging from the Civil War through the Gulf War.
May 27, 2022
Excellent collection of essays.
April 8, 2023
Excellent collection of essays on wars, battles, politics, generals, politicians...
March 14, 2024
Short essays by the best war historian. Definitely learned much, as always. Each essay probably could have been a book on its own. Not his best work, but worth reading.
August 22, 2024
A very wonderfully written summary of wars. Interesting, full of facts and names of those who served during wars throughout American history. I am a big fan of Stephen Ambrose.
May 9, 2019
A collection of 15 essays by one of the Nation’s experts on WWII. Ambrose profiles leaders, movements, ideas and even the American sacrifice back at home between the Civil War and the Cold War, concluding with thoughts about the future. Each essay is well written and researched, but as a collection they paint a picture of our Nation, which has been bound together by strife.
April 19, 2012
This is a series of essays written by Stephen E. Ambrose on various conflicts the U.S. has been involved in such as the civil war, world war II, and the cold war. He also has a couple essays that are more biographical in nature.
I only gave this book 3 stars because I found it fairly dry from time to time, which is unusual for a Stephen Ambrose book. I also disagreed with his assessment on President Roosevelt and his reaction (or lack thereof) to the growing conflict in Europe (which would become known as WWII). He seemed to be unusually harsh on Roosevelt which is what I didn't agree with, but maybe other readers agree with him.
So I do recommend this to people who are interested in a little survey of some of the conflicts the U.S. has been involved in and Mr. Ambrose's opinions on them.
I only gave this book 3 stars because I found it fairly dry from time to time, which is unusual for a Stephen Ambrose book. I also disagreed with his assessment on President Roosevelt and his reaction (or lack thereof) to the growing conflict in Europe (which would become known as WWII). He seemed to be unusually harsh on Roosevelt which is what I didn't agree with, but maybe other readers agree with him.
So I do recommend this to people who are interested in a little survey of some of the conflicts the U.S. has been involved in and Mr. Ambrose's opinions on them.
September 11, 2007
While not Ambrose' greatest book, Americans at War does synthesize some key lessons from various wars in which American troops have participated. Perhaps the greatest strength of the book is the last chapter on War in the 21st Century, which is already proving to be prophetic. The progression of destructive power from Ambrose' starting point at Vicksburg to the enormous destructive power of weaponry today and in the future is a foreboding fact that needs to be faced by all people of good will.
November 19, 2010
Awesome book, that is really a collection of essay's of different area's or time periods of America in a time of War. It starts from the Civil War until the Cold War and the war the US and the world will face in the 21st Century. I enjoyed it a lot and learned a lot of background things on certain events and people (like Custer, IKE and Patton).
I recommend to anyone who enjoys US History and/or Military history.
I recommend to anyone who enjoys US History and/or Military history.
March 16, 2009
The first 46 pages of this 200 page book is about the siege of Vicksburg followed by 10 pages on Custer's Civil War. The rest is a series of relatively short articles dealing mainly with WW II. However he does seem to be an apologist for the My Lai massacre (atrocities happen in all wars). He does comment on the Cold War and in the last article essentially posits we will always have war.
May 25, 2010
I have just started reading Ambrose's work, and I enjoy every moment of it. He has a wonderful sense of history, he is not afraid to admit his mistakes, and does not criticize. I can not stand historians who argue with should, could and would. Mr. Ambrose does none of that. I can't say I agree with every conclusion he draws, but that's what makes like interesting.
April 7, 2013
Best part in my mind was the final chapter with Ambrose's prediction about the future of war in the 21st century. This book was written 15-20 years ago(mid-90's) but his general assessment of the wars to come were basically spot on. Adds some creedance to his opinions which I don't always agree with.
February 23, 2008
This book is made up of many short pieces about the different wars that America has been involved in. Ambrose is very insightful and often challenges the popular view. I highly recommend this book for those interested in American history.
July 2, 2014
this was a great book to read I really enjoyed the different aspects of Americans at war and how our country rose to, responded to war in many different snapshots that were presented throughout the book.
February 15, 2016
First chapter was the most challenging for me, but any military history or Civil War buff will love it. Last chapter is rather interesting to read due to events that have happened since when the book was written. Ambrose is always good and this is just another book that proves it.
February 22, 2008
This book contained short biographies of various American generals. It was a good, short, and compact history book.
August 22, 2008
A great book. Some of the sections seem dry at first but the I just got sucked in to the stories and feelings behind these essays. The piece on the A-Bomb was very thought provoking.
October 29, 2008
Series of short stories. Enjoyable, short read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews