Reference Reviews

Lawrence Looks at Books

U.S. Leadership in Wartime: Clashes, Controversy, and Compromise, edited by Spencer C. Tucker. 2 vols. 978p. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2009. 978-1-59884-172-5; 2009-10010. $195.

Over the past 15 years, ABC-CLIO has produced a wide range of encyclopedias on all aspects of American military history, from colonial conflicts to the Cold War. Many of these conflict-specific, scholarly surveys have been guided by the expertise of Spencer C. Tucker with outstanding results. With this latest guide, this successful publishing partnership has produced a general biographical survey of American military leadership. The expert-written essays trace the careers of more than 320 political and military leaders who were prominently involved in the conduct of this country’s major wars. The entries are arranged chronologically by conflict. Coverage includes the American Revolution, War of 1812, Mexican-American War, Civil War, Spanish-American War, the First and Second World Wars, Korean War and Vietnam War. A final chapter covers United States involvement in the recent wars in the Middle East. Each section begins with an overview article addressing the contemporary relationship of military and civilian leadership, as well as military organization and the general conduct of the war. Some 50 battles and campaigns are used to illustrate issues of command as well as changing military practices, strategies, and battlefield tactics. Biographical entries critically evaluate the roles of played by both military and political leaders. Coverage includes all branches of the military, in addition to presidents, cabinet officers, governors, Congressional figures and even selected dissidents. The sketches outline the individual’s entire career, and are not exclusively focused on a single conflict. For leaders like Winfield Scott, Jefferson Davis or Dwight Eisenhower, who played significant roles in multiple wars, their entries are repeated under each conflict. Suggestions for further research are given in every essay as well as general bibliographies for each conflict. While some of Tucker’s previous publications provided more detailed analysis of specific events or military figures, this work provides balanced coverage of the decisionmaking process over 230 years of American military tradition. This biographical dictionary is suitable for high school, public and academic libraries.