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Review
| Atlas of American Military History, edited by James C. Bradford. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. 248 pages. $50.00, cloth.
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| In the average book store, one finds literally dozens of historical atlases. Most atlases are arranged with a generally chronological focus, but some have a specialized focus on a particular historical focus. Military history tends to be the most common theme among those atlases with a historical theme. Military history is naturally suited for the purposes of an atlas because military campaigns and battles simply cannot be properly understood without the aid of maps. One of the best of these military history atlases, currently in print, is the Atlas of American Military History. James C. Bradford, editor of the Atlas of American Military History, is an associate professor of history at Texas A&M University and the author or editor of a dozen books, including: Papers of John Paul Jones, 1747–1792 (1986); Command Under Sail: Makers of the American Naval Tradition 1775–1850 (1985); Captains of the Old Steam Navy: Makers of the American Naval Tradition, 1840–1880 (1986); and Admirals of the New Steel Navy: Makers of the American Naval Tradition, 1880–1930 (1990). |
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The nineteen chapters of this book are divided logically in a chronological fashion and contain almost 200 excellent color maps. In addition, each chapter contains a brief history of the conflict or period in question. Prominent historians, such as Carol Reardon, Graham Cosmas, Alan Wilt, and Spencer Tucker, contributed the historical text for each of the chapters. This book is quite current and even includes a brief discussion of the American campaign in Afghanistan in 2001. As a teaching tool, this book would be most useful in an American military history course, but I could also imagine using it as a supplemental text in an American history survey course. I have nothing but positive things to mention about this book and I wholeheartedly recommend it both for the general and academic audience. |
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| Independent Scholar |
Alexander M. Bielakowski |
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