Author Description

This volume examines the state of the art in modern military history, and the utility of the subject as a training, educational, and policy-relevant tool for professional armed forces. Part 1 explores the state of military historical writing in Britain and the United States, and on specific topics, such as air warfare, naval warfare, intelligence, low-intensity conflict, and the most recent trends in the New Military History. Part 2 illustrates the utility of the historical method in analyzing command decisions, providing an institutional memory for a wide range of policy, command, and operational problems, and its application in specific subjects such as naval strategy, and by certain countries (the US, Germany, and the Soviet Union) in the search for lessons and fundamental principles. The contributing authors represent an impressive cross-section of prominent academic and official historians recognized as leading scholars in the study of military history. The Foreword is written by Anne N. Foreman, Undersecretary of the United States Air Force. This book will be of interest to the academic and the official historian (and their students) and to military professionals.