War Time: An Idea, Its History, Its Consequences

Thoughtful and accessible book. Totally explodes the American myth that our country is a peaceful nation most of the time. The facts prove otherwise.

Mary Dudziak's "War Time" examines war time and peace time with an analysis that threads through this country's wars and numerous expeditionary adventures taking the reader from the "good" wars, with finite beginnings and ends, through those which largely went unnoticed. Implicit in this examination are the strategic issues faced by the United States and the suggestion that the long wars we are fighting have become the centerpiece of both U.S. strategic policy and culture. But the country has not mobilized for open ended war and the long term strain on our military, national resources and cultural fabric was not anticipated. The U.S. is the last remaining global power but we may have reached our limits. Dudziak's "War Time" will provoke your thoughts and reveal challenging concepts which cannot be ignored. It's all about time.

It a boring collection of court cases, medal counts, and petty arguments about the beginning and endings of wars. It's also very myopic by focusing only on the internal American story. Not even international organizations are mentioned very much.