From the first interactions between European and native peoples, to the recent peace-keeping efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq, military issues have always played an important role in American history. Ways of War comprehensively explains the place of the military within the wider context of the history of the United States, showing its centrality to American culture and politics. The chapters provide a complete survey of the American military's growth and development while answering such questions as: How did the American military structure develop? How does it operate? And how have historical military events helped the country to grow and develop? Features Include: Chronological and comprehensive coverage of North American conflicts since the seventeenth century and international wars undertaken by the United States since 1783 Over 100 maps and images, chapter timelines identifying key dates and events, and text boxes throughout providing biographical information and first person accounts A companion website featuring an extensive testbank of discussion, essay and multiple choice questions for instructors as well as student study resources including an interactive timeline, chapter summaries, annotated further reading, annotated weblinks, additional book content, flashcards and an extensive glossary of key terms. Extensively illustrated and written by experienced instructors, Ways of War is essential reading for all students of American Military History. 'Billed as a comprehensive survey of American military history for undergraduates, this work achieves much. Matthew Muehlbauer and David Ulbrich do the heavy lifting to produce a text which, given the breadth of the subject, is both comprehensive and compelling. Furthermore, against the standard of a university textbook, it is readable, quick-paced, and offers just enough thought-provoking commentary to encourage young scholars further in military history. I have no qualms recommending this book for its intended function, it being entirely fit for purpose as an introductory text.' ― Review in Parameters: The US Army War College Quarterly 45 by Jill Sargent Russell, Teaching Fellow, Joint Services Command and Staff College, Shrivenham, UK ‘Matthew Muehlbauer and David Ulbrich have raised the standard for American military history textbooks with their Ways of War . Featuring a lively narrative that synthesizes the latest scholarship, this volume will engage undergraduate readers on several levels while serving the pedagogical needs of their professors.I look forward to adopting Ways of War as the main textbook in my own United States at War course.’ ― Gregory J. W. Urwin, Professor of History, Temple University, USA ‘The data is accurate. The analysis is perceptive. The material is well organized. The text is crisply written. The maps and sidebars are illuminating. This is, in short, not merely a model course text, but a valuable general-audience survey of the American military experience.’ ― Dennis Showalter, Colorado College, USA ‘The authors wrote Ways of War for two related audiences. Undergraduate students of American Military History gain the base breadth of coverage and depth of detail necessary for them to go on into the specialized monographs and articles. Instructors are assured that the diligent and attentive student will have the context and bibliographic starting points that allows the instructor to examine specific topics, campaigns or battles, and provides enough introduction to support the assignment of substantive papers and research topics.’ ― Joseph Fitzharris, University of St Thomas, USA ‘ Ways of War: American Military History: From the Colonial Period to the Present offers a detailed yet expansive view of U.S. military history.The authors deftly survey America’s military past, exploring definitive wars and campaigns, but also issues of policy, strategy and leadership.This is a useful and informative text, especially for introductory college courses examining the broad sweep of American military history.’ ― Lesley J. Gordon, University of Akron, USA 'In their new survey for Routledge, military historians Matthew S. Muehlbauer and David J. Ulbrich move beyond a simplified critique of Russell F. Weigley’s critical “American Way of War” thesis to offer a reassessment of how the construct evolved from a number of original influences to take on various forms and applications as circumstances dictated. The end result is a view of American military affairs that is marked by an inherent flexibility that has on occasion been hamstrung by misperceptions on the part of the nation’s civilian and military leaders. Based on a wide range of secondary scholarship in American Military History, Ways of War: American Military History from the Colonial Era to the Twenty-First Century (Routledge, 2013) offers far more analytical and narrative detail than many other like-minded surveys, making it a worthy candidate for supplementing and