The West Point History Book Series

This fourth volume in the West Point History of Warfare series features concise military histories, rare images, maps, analysis, a look into what the American Revolution meant to the population at the time it was growing.  

Before it was a military academy, West Point was a fortress on the Hudson River.  Cadets at the Academy now use the digital edition produced by Rowan Technology Solutions to learn about the War of Independence in their "history of the Military Art" course.  Contributing to the volume are three military historians Samuel J. Watson, Edward Lengel, and Stephen Conway, who handle the military and political background of the revolution - its causes, conduct, and consequences.  They examine the creation of the US Army, the military leadership of Generals George Washington and Nathanel Greene, as well as the failed British strategies that shaped the conflict.  

The West Point History of World War II, Vol. 2, by The United States Military Academy, Edited by Clifford J. Rogers, Ty Seidule, and Steve R. Waddell, Simon and Schuster 2016

This second volume of the pictorial history of WWII picks up at the midpoint of the war in 1942.  Comprised of chapter contributions from a range of experts such as "Strategic Sea power and Air power" by Richard J. Overy, "The Defeat of Japan" by Robert W. Love, Jr., "The Allies Turn the Tide" by Robert M. Citino, and "Occupation, Demobilization, and Assessing Victory" by Steve R. Waddell, the most impressive immediate impact of the book is its incredible graphics - maps, photos, charts, over 200 images, original battle schemata, all arranged in chronological order and cross-referenced in the detailed Index at the back.  

Readers will be able to compare Allied munitions output, for example, to five charts graphing Output of Main Classes of Weapons in Germany, including munitions, artillery, submarines, armor, and aircraft.  Another two-page spread, positioned at the beginning of the chapter entitled "Waging Global War" shows the major victories and decisions, as well as treaties, laid opposite corresponding global maps.  Key milestones, for instance,  include US Forces Under Patton Capture Palermo in July 22, 1943, and the Moscow Conference in Oct 18, 1943, followed by Soviets liberating Kiev, the Battle of Tarawa Nov 20, 1943, and the Tehran Conference of Nov 20, 1943.  Being able to compare military milestones to diplomatic and other strategic moves on the same timeline is invaluable. 

For fans of the film "Hacksaw Ridge" there are substantial sections on the invasion of Okinawa - the terrain, the populace, etc. - as well as maps showing the main island.  An amazing tinted photo of bombs being dropped out of an American plane on Japanese soil was printed on a million warning leaflets dropped over thirty-five Japanese cities following the Okinawa defeat saying, "In the next few days some or all of the cities named on the reverse side will be destroyed by American bombs.  These cities contain military installations and workshops or factorizes which produce military goods.  We are determined to destroy all of the tools of the military clique which they are using to prolong this useless war.  But, unfortunately, bombs have no eyes.  So, in accordance with America's humanitarian policies, the American Air Force, which does not wish to injure innocent people, now gives you warning to evacuate the cities named and save your lives.  America is not fighting the Japanese people but is fighting the military clique which has enslaved the Japanese people."

And a further word about graphics.  Although readers may like the black and white war photos, most of them relatively unknown,  the additional color posters, sketches of holocaust and other historic sites, for example,  as well as the introduction of German language posters, such as Sieg oder Boschewismus ( "Victory or Bolshevism!") is impressive.  There are aerial photos of before and after bombed out areas, photos of equipment, sketches of major leaders.  But what renders this whole collection a single integrated unique volume is the in depth and detailed picture it gives readers of key elements supporting the Axis and the Allied efforts.  Seeing everything - men, material, factories, and leaders - laid out in a timeline makes all the information manageable.

THE WEST POINT HISTORY OF WORLD WAR II, Vol. 1, by The United States Military Academy 2015

Not a compendium of archival photos of the important WWII events   - Pearl Harbor, the Normandy invasion, the surrender on the USS Missouri, etc -  this volume  is a look inside how the US Military Academy at West Point views and teaches the geography and events leading up to WWII, as well as the key leaders and political issues that drove it. 

Readers will appreciate the chronological approach with maps and detailed time lines; the book format and design concept is to teach and present insights into the politics, economic strengths and weaknesses - including manufacturing output before and during full-blown conflict - as well as commentary presenting other critical background issues.  Vol. 1 takes readers from the WWI aftermath, through the formation of pro-war institutions and groups in Germany and England, closing in mid-1942 when Allies begin their comeback.

The book contains over fifty battle maps arranged chronologically.  Further, Rowan Technology Solutions offers in their digital edition complementary materials, including animated campaign and battle maps, dynamic timelines and commentary, all used by 2400 cadets and 45 instructors to cover WWII.  

More than a treasured pictorial history, with the addition of politics, geography, military strategy and West Point insight, this volume offers a more in-depth approach to understanding and following the progress of a world wide conflict whose resolution lives with us today.