America's National Battlefield Parks: A Guide

Documents the battlefield parks administered by the National Park Service, including Gettysburg, Little Bighorn, and Pearl Harbor

This Baedeker of America's 38 battlefield parks, from Bunker Hill to Pearl Harbor and Guam, is a lively tribute to U.S. military heritage. One hears the crack of muskets in the capsule battle summaries. With 52 tactical maps of varying quality, sketches of principal figures, and many illustrations, this is an excellent introduction to the "great battles" on U.S. soil. Stevens's attention to smaller sites gives partisan and Indian warfare a due they rarely receive elsewhere, though the absence of maps for these misses a chance to compare irregular warfare with conventional movements. Likewise, the thin preface says nothing about the history and significance of the selection, establishment, and maintenance of the parks. Civil War buffs will prefer Emory Thomas's more trenchant but selective Travels to Hallowed Ground (Univ. of South Carolina Pr., 1987) and the U.S. Army College's series (on Antietam and Gettysburg to date); casual visitors will be content with Park Service literature and American Automobile Association guides. But for those who want to feel as well as understand the battles, this is the best source.
- Randall Miller, St. Joseph's Univ., Philadelphia
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.