Rodney P. Carlisle earned a B.A. (cum laude) in history from Harvard and an M.A. and Ph.D. in history from the University of California, Berkeley. He is a former chair of the history department at Rutgers University, Camden, where he taught for more than 30 years, specializing in 20th-century history, in particular military history. Carlisle is now professor emeritus there. He has written many articles and more than 30 books on history, including Facts On File's Encyclopedia of the Atomic Age and Iraq War and Afghanistan War in Chelsea House's America at War set. His most recent work is Sovereignty at Sea: U.S. Merchant Ships and American Entry into World War I.
Gr 9 Up-Each of these examinations of American "police action" opens with an introductory chapter that puts readers into the action within the country by following either a general (Schwarzkopf) or a battalion (Korean War) as the fighting begins. Subsequent chapters look at the background to the conflict and the U.S. role as world policeman, and provide comprehensive, chronological coverage of the military action. The books conclude with a discussion of the aftermath of each war and the lessons the United States and its possible adversaries learned from them. Both volumes provide a great deal of information, but they can be dry as they detail the specifics of battle strategies and troop movements. Both Carlisle and Isserman are objective about American goals, successes, and failures. Persian Gulf War does a good job of explaining how the goals of the multination coalition and the decision to end the offensive without removing Hussein created conditions for future conflict. Korean War is a revision of a 1992 title, and although most of the main text is unchanged, numerous sidebars have been added about topics such as the No Gun Ri controversy, and there are six new maps. Both books include numerous maps as well as several average-quality, black-and-white photos in every chapter. While Korean War is not different enough to warrant its purchase for libraries that hold the first edition, both this revision and Persian Gulf War are good choices for libraries that need new materials on these wars.-Mary Mueller, Rolla Junior High School, MO Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
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