Want to know more about American military history? U.S. Military History For Dummies presents concise and revealing accounts of all of the nation's armed conflicts from the French and Indian War to Iraq. It explains how the U.S. military is organized and how its branches operate, both independently and together.

This straightforward guide examines the causes for each of America's wars and reveals how these conflicts have shaped the nation's borders, society, politics, culture, and future. You'll meet heroes, cowards, patriots, and traitors; relive great battles; and get a taste of what combat is really like, as you discover:



How the French/Indian war sowed the seeds of the Revolutionary War
Why America's battle for independence didn't end at Yorktown
Early U.S. wars against Indians, tax cheats, and pirates
The War of 1812: guaranteeing U.S. sovereignty
"Manifest Destiny" wars that stretched America from sea to shining sea
Why the American Civil War could not be avoided
The Spanish American War and the U.S. as an emerging global power
Why World War I failed to "make the world safe for democracy"
How World War II changed America's role in the world
Korea and Vietnam: hot wars during the Cold War

Featuring important insights on technological, political, and social changes that transformed the way America fights its wars U.S. Military History For Dummies is your key to understanding the evolution of the most powerful military force in history.