World of War: A History of American Warfare from Jamestown to the War on Terror

by William Nester

Overview

World of War is an epic journey through America’s array of wars for diverse reasons with diverse results over the course of its existence. It reveals the crucial effects of brilliant, mediocre, and dismal military and civilian leaders; the dynamic among America’s expanding economic power, changing technologies, and the types and settings of its wars; and the human, financial, and moral costs to the nation, its allies, and its enemies. Nester explores the violent conflicts of the United States—on land, at sea, and in the air—with meticulous scholarship, thought-provoking analysis, and vivid prose.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780811773782
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	01/16/2024
Pages:	472
Product dimensions:	6.35(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.45(d)

About the Author

William Nester is a professor at St. John’s University in Queens, New York. He has written more than forty books on global politics/power and the history of warfare, including books about Europe’s colonial wars in North America, Napoleon, Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Charles De Gaulle, and Winston Churchill. His book George Rogers Clark: “I Glory in War” received a 2013 Distinguished Writing Award from the Army Historical Foundation; bestselling author Douglas Brinkley praised it as “an important contribution to early U.S. history.” He lives in Fresh Meadows, New York.

Editorial Reviews

12/22/2023

Nester (history, St. John's Univ.; Land of War) does well in relaying the entirety of the U.S. military history, from the first colonial settlements to the present. Arrangement is chronological and progresses through the more important conflicts in American history. The author details the background stories and intriguing tidbits of various wars, such as the differences between U.S. troops and their British counterparts during the Revolutionary War and the psychological casualties in World War II. But he also maintains brevity appropriate for a book of this nature. He pulls no punches; James Madison, George McClellan, Ronald Reagan, and others draw criticism. He also mentions relevant films and literature from different eras, but the recitation of numbers—troops participating on each side and the ones killed, wounded, and missing in action—may feel monotonous at times to some readers. Librarians should also be aware that the book contains a statement that American colonists suffered worse horrors than they inflicted upon their Indigenous, French, and Spanish adversaries. VERDICT A worthy general survey. This should please many readers looking for a single-volume introductory text on U.S. military history, but it includes a controversial sentence about colonists.—Matthew Wayman

Library Journal