For nearly four centuries, from Bunker Hill to Gettysburg, from Normandy to Vietnam and the Persian Gulf, America's armed forces have fought to defend our national interests, alliances, and values. In their sweeping narrative, Millett and Maslowski provide the most comprehensive and perceptive history of the military institutions and policies that have ensured our survival from the colonial era to the present. -- Adapted from the flyleaf.

A dangerous New World, 1607-1689 -- The colonial wars, 1689-1763 -- The American Revolution, 1763-1783 -- Preserving the new republic's independence, 1783-1815 -- The armed forces and national expansion, 1815-1860 -- The Civil War, 1861-1862 -- The Civil War, 1863-1865 -- From postwar demobilization toward great power status, 1865-1898 -- The birth of an American empire, 1898-1902 -- Building the military forces of a world power, 1899-1917 -- The United States fights in "the war to end all wars", 1917-1918 -- Military policy between the two world wars, 1919-1939 -- The United States and World War II : from the edge of defeat to the edge of victory, 1939-1943 -- The United States and World War II : the road to victory, 1943-1945 -- Cold War and hot war : the United States enters the age of nuclear deterrence and collective security, 1945-1953 -- Waging Cold War : American defense policy for extended deterrence and containment, 1953-1965 -- In dubious battle : the war for Vietnam and the erosion of American military power, 1961-1975 -- The common defense and the end of the Cold War, 1976-1993 -- Epilogue: After the Cold War.