America, War and Power: Defining the State, 1775-2005 (War, History and Politics)

Written by leading historians and political scientists, this collection of essays offers a broad and comprehensive coverage of the role of war in American history.

Addressing the role of the armed force, and attitudes towards it, in shaping and defining the United States, the first four chapters reflect the perspectives of historians on this central question, from the time of the American Revolution to the US wars in Vietnam and Iraq. Chapters five and six offer the views of political scientists on the topic, one in light of the global systems theory, the other from the perspective of domestic opinion and governance. The concluding essay is written by historians Fred Anderson and Andrew Cayton, whose co-authored book The Dominion of War: Empire and Liberty in North America, 1500-2000 provided the common reading for the symposium which produced these essays.

America, War and Power will be of much interest to students and scholars of US military history, US politics and military history and strategy in general.

Lawrence Sondhaus is Professor of History at the University of Indianapolis, where he serves as chair of the History and Political Science Department and Director of the Institute for the Study of War and Diplomacy. He is the author of nine books, including Strategic Culture and Ways of War (2006).

James A. Fuller is Associate Professor of History at the University of Indianapolis. His most recent publications include Chaplain to the Confederacy: Basil Manly and Baptist Life in the Old South (2000) and co-author (with John Hollitz) of Contending Voices: Biographical Explorations of the American Past (2003).