Bibliography of United States military history

Surveys

• Allison, William T. Jeffrey G. Grey, Janet G. Valentine. American Military History: A Survey from Colonial Times to the Present 416pp
• Anderson, Fred, ed. The Oxford Companion to American Military History
• Black, Jeremy. Fighting for America: The Struggle for Mastery in North America, 1519-1871
• Boyne, Walter J. Beyond the Wild Blue: A History of the U.S. Air Force, 1947–2007 , popular
• Chambers, ed. John Whiteclay. The Oxford Guide to American Military History
• Futrell, Robert Frank. Ideas, Concepts, Doctrine: A History of Basic Thinking in the United States Air Force
• Doughty, Robert. American Military History and the Evolution of Western Warfare,
• Hearn, Chester G. Air Force: An Illustrated History: The U.S. Air Force from 1910 to the 21st Century, popular
• Howarth, Stephen. To Shining Sea: A History of the United States Navy, 1775–1998 ; a standard history
• Huston, James A. The Sinews of War: Army Logistics, 1775-1953, U.S. Army; 755pp
• Love, Robert W. History of the U.S. Navy, 1775–1941 and History of the U.S. Navy, 1942–1991 ; ; a standard history
• Matloff, Maurice, ed. American Military History ; standard textbook used in ROTC; Now replaced by Richard Stewart 2010
• Millett, Allan R., and Peter Maslowski, and William B. Feis. For the common defense: a military history of the United States of America
• Millett, Allan R. Semper Fidelis. A History of the United States Marine Corps
• Muehlbauer, Matthew S., and David J. Ulbrich. Ways of War: American Military History from the Colonial Era to the Twenty-First Century, 536pp; university textbook;
• Stewart, Richard W. American military history
• Weigley, Russell Frank. History of the United States army
• Weigley, Russell Frank. The American Way of War: A History of United States Military Strategy and Policy,

  Historiography

• Ferris, John. "Coming in from the cold war: The historiography of American intelligence, 1945–1990." Diplomatic History 19.1 : 87-115.
• Grenier, John. "Recent Trends in the Historiography on Warfare in the Colonial Period," History Compass April 2010 Volume 8, Issue 4, pages 358–367,
• Grimsley, Mark. "The American military history master narrative: Three textbooks on the American military experience," Journal of Military History 79#3 pp 782–802; review of Allison, Millett, and Muehlbauer textbooks
• Hogan, Michael J. ed. Paths to power: the historiography of American foreign relations to 1941.
• Kimball, Jeffrey. "The Influence of Ideology on Interpretive Disagreement: A Report on a Survey of Diplomatic, Military and Peace Historians on the Causes of 20th Century U. S. Wars," History Teacher 17#3 pp. 355–384 DOI: 10.2307/493146
• Millett, Allan R. "The Korean War: A 50‐year critical historiography." Journal of Strategic Studies 24.1 : 188-224 .
• Romero, Federico. "Cold War historiography at the crossroads." Cold War History 14.4 : 685-703.

  Atlases

• Esposito, Vincent J. West Point Atlas of American Wars. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1959.
• Esposito, Vincent J. The West Point Atlas of American Wars: 1900-1918, covers entire war, not just US role
• Griess, Thomas E. Atlas for the Second World War: Europe and the Mediterranean
• Griess, Thomas E. West Point Atlas for the Second World War: Asia and the Pacific
• Griess, Thomas E. West Point Atlas for the American Civil War
• Griess, Thomas E. The West Point Atlas for Modern Warfare
• Griess, Thomas E. West Point Atlas for the Great War: Strategies and Tactics of the First World War
• Murray, Stuart. Atlas of American Military History

  Pre 1775

• Anderson, Fred. The War That Made America: A Short History of the French and Indian War
• Grenier, John. The First Way of War: American War Making on the Frontier, 1607–1814.
• Grenier, John. "Recent Trends in the Historiography on Warfare in the Colonial Period," History Compass April 2010 Volume 8, Issue 4, pages 358–367,
• Hirsch, Adam J. The Collision of Military Cultures in Seventeenth-Century New England," Journal of American History, 74 : 1187–1212.
• Starkey, A. European and Native American Warfare, 1675–1815
• Steele, Ian. Warpaths: Invasions of North America.
• Tucker, Spencer C., James Arnold, and Roberta Wiener eds. The Encyclopedia of North American Colonial Conflicts to 1775: A Political, Social, and Military History

  1775–1800

• Alden, John R. A History of the American Revolution, general survey; strong on military
• Black, Jeremy. America as a Military Power: From the American Revolution to the Civil War
• Carp, E. Wayne. "Early American Military History: A Review of Recent Work", Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, 94, pp. 259–84.
• Fremont-Barnes, Gregory, and Richard A. Ryerson, eds. The Encyclopedia of the American Revolutionary War: A Political, Social, and Military History 5 volume paper and online editions; 1000 entries by 150 experts, covering all topics
• Higginbotham, Don. The War of American Independence: Military Attitudes, Policies, and Practice, 1763–1789. an analytical history of the war
• Lancaster, Bruce. The American Revolution , heavily illustrated
• Maass, John R. Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History, 2013.
• McCullough, David. 1776. New York, New York: Simon & Schuster.
• Middlekauff, Robert. The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763–1789

  1800–1860

• Bauer K. Jack. The Mexican War, 1846–1848., good on military action.
• Black, Jeremy. America as a Military Power: From the American Revolution to the Civil War
• Crawford, Mark et al. eds. Encyclopedia of the Mexican War
• Frazier, Donald S. ed. The U.S. and Mexico at War,, 584; an encyclopedia with 600 articles by 200 scholars
• Heidler, Donald & Jeanne T. Heidler Encyclopedia of the War of 1812 636pp; most comprehensive guide to this war; 500 entries by 70 scholars from several countries
• Heidler, David S. and Heidler, Jeanne T. The War of 1812.. 217 pp. short survey
• Heidler, David S. and Heidler, Jeanne T. The Mexican War.. 225 pp. basic survey, with some key primary sources
• Herrera, Ricardo A. For Liberty and the Republic: The American Citizen as Soldier, 1775-1861
• Hickey, Donald R.
• Hickey, Donald R. , standard scholarly history
• Johnson, Timothy D. Winfield Scott: The Quest for Military Glory
• McCaffrey, James M. Army of Manifest Destiny: The American Soldier in the Mexican War, 1846–1848
• Quimby, Robert S., The US Army in the War of 1812: an operational and command study
• Roosevelt, Theodore. The Naval War of 1812 , by the future president
• Smith, Justin H. The War with Mexico 2 vol ; Pulitzer Prize; 2:233-52; ; Pulitzer Prize winner.
• Winders, Richard Price. Mr. Polk's Army , focus on the soldiers

  Civil War

• Beringer, Richard E., Archer Jones, and Herman Hattaway. The Elements of Confederate Defeat: Nationalism, War Aims, and Religion
• Carter, Alice E. and Richard Jensen. The Civil War on the Web: A Guide to the Very Best Sites
• Catton, Bruce. Centennial History of the Civil War ; Catton has many very well written books on the war
• Current, Richard N., et al. eds. Encyclopedia of the Confederacy
• Donald, David et al. The Civil War and Reconstruction ; 700 pages
• Faust, Patricia L., ed. Historical Times Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Civil War 2000 short entries
• Fellman, Michael et al. This Terrible War: The Civil War and its Aftermath, 544 pages
• Heidler, David Stephen, ed. Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History, 1600 entries in 2700 pages in 5 vol or 1-vol editions
• McPherson, James M. Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era, 900 pages; ; also , Pulitzer Prize; comprehensive history
• Nevins, Allan. Ordeal of the Union, an 8-volume set. the most detailed political, economic and military narrative; by Pulitzer Prize winner
• *vol 1. Fruits of Manifest Destiny, 1847–1852; 2. A House Dividing, 1852–1857; 3. Douglas, Buchanan, and Party Chaos, 1857–1859; 4. Prologue to Civil War, 1859–1861; 5. The Improvised War, 1861–1862; 6. War Becomes Revolution, 1862–1863; 7. The Organized War, 1863–1864; 8. The Organized War to Victory, 1864–1865
• Rhodes, James Ford. , old, accurate survey; won Pulitzer prize
• Shannon, Fred. The Organization and Administration of the Union Army 1861–1865 ;
• Symonds, Craig L. and William J. Clipson. A Battlefield Atlas of the Civil War schematic maps that are easy to understand

  1865–1917

• Abrahamson, James L. America Arms for a New Century: The Making of a Great Military Power, examines reformers and modernizers
• Coffman, Edward M. The Old Army: A Portrait of the American Army in Peacetime, 1784–1898.
• Cosmas, Graham A. An Army for Empire: The United States Army and the Spanish–American War, looks at organization, not combat
• Holmes, James R. Theodore Roosevelt and World Order: Police Power in International Relations..
• Roosevelt, Theodore The Naval War of 1812 systematic study of the US Navy's role in the War of 1812
• Trask, David F. The War with Spain in 1898, 654pp , the most detailed scholarly coverage
• Utley, Robert M. Frontier Regulars; the United States Army and the Indian, 1866–1891

  World War I

• Chambers, John W., II. To Raise an Army: The Draft Comes to Modern America
• Clark, J. P. Preparing for War: The Emergence of the Modern U.S. Army, 1815–1917 336 pp.
• Coffman, Edward M. The War to End All Wars: The American Military Experience in World War I, a standard history
• Faulkner, Richard S. Pershing's Crusaders: The American Soldier in World War I. xiv, 758 pp
• Freidel, Frank. Over There, well illustrated history by scholar
• Hurley, Alfred F. Billy Mitchell, Crusader for Air Power
• Morrow, John H. Jr. A Yankee Ace in the RAF. The World War I Letters of Captain Boart Rogers, Editor,.
• Kennedy, David M. Over Here: The First World War and American Society
• Koistinen, Paul. Mobilizing for Modern War: The Political Economy of American Warfare, 1865–1919
• Smythe, Donald. Pershing: General of the Armies
• Vandiver, Frank E. Black Jack: The Life and Times of John J. Pershing – Volume II
• Venzon, Anne ed. The United States in the First World War: An Encyclopedia
• Weigley, Russell Frank. History of the United States army
• Woodward, David R. The American Army and the First World War. 484 pp.

  Interwar

• Coffman, Edward M. The Regulars: The American Army, 1898–1941
• Koistinen, Paul A. C. Planning War, Pursuing Peace: The Political Economy of American Warfare, 1920–1939

  World War II

• Ambrose, Stephen. The Supreme Commander: The War Years of Dwight D. Eisenhower
• James, D. Clayton. The Years of Macarthur 1941–1945, vol 2. of standard scholarly biography
• Koistinen, Paul A. C. Arsenal of World War II: the political economy of American warfare, 1940–1945?
• Larrabee, Eric. Commander in Chief: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, His Lieutenants, and Their War, chapters on all the key American war leaders
• Morison, Two-Ocean War: A Short History of the United States Navy in the Second World War
• Perret, Geoffrey. There's a War to Be Won: The United States Army in World War II
• Perret, Geoffrey. Winged Victory: The Army Air Forces in World War II
• Pogue, Forrest. George C. Marshall: Ordeal and Hope, 1939–1942 ; George C. Marshall: Organizer of Victory, 1943–1945 ; standard scholarly biography
• Potter, E. B. Nimitz. .
• Sherrod, Robert Lee. History of Marine Corps Aviation in World War II
• Spector, Ronald. Eagle Against the Sun: The American War With Japan
• Weigley, Russell. Eisenhower's Lieutenants: The Campaigns of France and Germany, 1944–45
• Weinberg, Gerhard L. A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II. Global history of the war; strong on diplomacy of FDR and other main leaders

  Cold War

• Atkins, Stephen E. Historical Encyclopedia of Atomic Energy.. 491 pp.
• Bacevich, Andrew J., ed. The Long War: A New History of U.S. National Security Policy Since World War II
• Bundy, McGeorge. Danger and Survival: Choices About the Bomb in the First Fifty Years.
• Friedman, Norman. The Fifty Year War: Conflict and Strategy in the Cold War.
• Gaddis, John Lewis. Strategies of Containment: A Critical Appraisal of Postwar American National Security Policy ; also
• Goldfischer, David. The Best Defense: Policy Alternatives for U.S. Nuclear Security from the 1950s to the 1990s.. 283 pp.
• Isenberg, Michael T. Shield of the Republic: The United States Navy in an Era of Cold War and Violent Peace 1945–1962
• Lewis, Adrian R. The American Culture of War: The History of U.S. Military Force from World War II to Operation Iraqi Freedom
• Williamson, Samuel R., Jr. and Reardon, Steven L. The Origins of U.S. Nuclear Strategy, 1945–1953.. 224 pp.

  Korea and Vietnam

• Anderson, David L. Columbia Guide to the Vietnam War.
• Brune, Lester H. ed. The Korean War: Handbook of the Literature and Research
• Herring, George C. America's Longest War: The United States and Vietnam, 1950–1975, most widely used short history.
• Kutler, Stanley ed. Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War. essays by experts
• Lewy, Guenter. America in Vietnam, defends U.S. actions.

• Schulzinger, Robert D. Time for War: The United States and Vietnam, 1941–1975.
• Tucker, Spencer. ed. Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War 3 vol. reference set; also one-volume abridgement.
• Tucker, Spencer. Vietnam. 226pp.
• Tucker, Spencer, ed. Encyclopedia of the Korean War
• The Pentagon Papers ; combination of narrative and secret documents compiled by Pentagon.