America at War: Concise Histories of U.S. Military Conflicts from Lexington to Afghanistan

Gr 8 Up—Twelve of the wars in which the United States fought are discussed here in a manner that is thorough yet concise. Finn—When Europe Went Mad (Pentland, 2009)—discusses the events, the reasons why the war was fought, and how the outcome was important to the United States. In order for a war to be included, it had to meet the following criteria: it was large in scale, the enemy was a sovereign state, and the outcome had to influence the future of the U.S. significantly. Though the Cold War, French and Indian War, and the Panama Incursion are not included, each of the following has a chapter dedicated to it: the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Mexican/American War, War Between the States, Spanish/American War, World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Persian Gulf, Iraq, and Afghanistan. While the technology and participants have changed throughout the years, it is clear that war is still a conflict of organized violence, the necessity of which many will disagree. A victory depends greatly on who is in charge and the available resources. Even though the trade title reads like a textbook, the pacing of Sean Pratt's narration makes it easy to understand and tolerable. Best for students looking for an in-depth picture of wars in the history of the U.S. or for those who are teaching the subject. The audio is easy to takes notes from with major points emphasized throughout.—Karen Alexander, Library Media Specialist, Lake Fenton High School, Linden, Michigan