Regular marked price: $20.95Discount Price: $14.25
Cost Savings: $6.70 (32%)Price fluctuation possible.
How soon does it ship: Normal ship time within one day
Shipping? Absolutely FREE if you qualify for Super Saver Shipping.
Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 355.0071173
EAN num: 9780801862939
ISBN number: 0801862930
Label: The Johns Hopkins University Press
Manufacturer: The Johns Hopkins University Press
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 400
Printing Date: December 01, 1999
Publishing house: The Johns Hopkins University Press
Sale Popularity Level: 212904
Studio: The Johns Hopkins University Press
Other books you might be interested in perusing:
Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
This new paperback edition of Stephen E. Ambrose's highly regarded history of the United States Military Academy features the original foreword by Dwight D. Eisenhower and a new afterword by former West Point superintendent Andrew J. Goodpaster.
'There have been many other histories of West Point, but this is the best... From this excellent book every American will find interest and take pride in this truly national institution that has played so great a part in the building of the country.' -- Historical Times
'The title of this first-rate account of the United States Military Academy is drawn from the Academy's motto... [Ambrose] follows the long gray line through history, skillfully re-creating the administrations of West Point's outstanding superintendents (Sylvanus Thayer and Douglas MacArthur), telling some amusing anecdotes about cadets 'who simply refused to conform to the West Point mold' (James McNeill Whistler and Edgar Allan Poe).' -- New York Times Book Review
'The conception of West Point, as Ambrose makes clear in his short history of the Military Academy, was immaculately Jeffersonian. It was a school to train engineers -- that most liberal, nonaristocratic, and socially useful branch of the military service -- not in order to create a corps d'élite but to provide the reservoir of military expertise which was needed if the militia ideal were to become a practical reality... Ambrose has told this story clearly and well; he is at his best in tying it to the larger context of American politics, social attitudes, and higher education.' -- Journal of American History
'A welcome addition to the growing literature on military education. Ambrose covers the whole history of West Point, from the very first feeble beginnings under President Jefferson down to the present. He has carefully examined both the published and unpublished sources and has rounded out the basic data with numerous interviews.' -- Journal of Higher Education
Amazon.com Review:
Duty, Honor, Country: the motto of the United States Military Academy has resounded for more than 200 years. Stephen Ambrose charts the history of West Point from its origins in the Revolutionary War--when students attached to engineering and artillery regiments studied the rudiments of strategy, but mostly came and went as they pleased--to the academy's time of crisis during the Vietnam War. Ambrose's narrative centers on West Point's superintendents, the Army officers who emphasized both tradition and innovation over the years--men such as Sylvanus Thayer, who commanded from 1817 to 1833 and who introduced customs that are still observed today; and Douglas MacArthur, who joined personal flamboyance with a deep-seated commitment to martial, academic, and athletic excellence. (Among MacArthur's other contributions was his codification of the 'honor system,' a set of self-policing regulations that distinguishes West Point from any other nation's military colleges.) Ambrose does not gloss over the academy's less exalted moments, especially the frictions brought on by the Civil War, when many Northerners accused West Point as a whole of being proslavery. Writing in an afterword that brings the history of the academy to the present, former superintendent Andrew Goodpaster confronts such matters as the honor code scandal of 1976 and the cultural changes brought on by the admission of women to the academy in the same year. Yet this book is a fitting celebration of an institution that has been of central importance to the American military. Originally published in 1966, at the start of his career, Duty, Honor, Country shows Stephen Ambrose's skills as researcher and popularizer, skills that he would go on to develop in such later books as Undaunted Courage and Citizen Soldiers. --Gregory McNamee
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
-
An insightful look into the making of a "West Point" graduate, the back bone of our Army officer corp.
Rated by buyers 
-
Ambrose complied a great deal of information into a concise, readable, text that will give the reader a deeper insight into the country's most important military institution.
Rated by buyers 
-
In my opinion, this book reads like a school book report. It is a disappointment, considering the reputation of the source -- Stephen Ambrose. Maybe I expected too much because the author is well known. On the other hand, I didn't expect too much from the not well known author Norman Thomas Remick and his book "West Point", and was most pleasantly surprised. But there you are, then. It's not what you do, it's who you know that counts.
Rated by buyers -
After its initial publication in the mid sixties, this book was difficult to find so I for one was delighted when it was rereleased several years ago. West Point is always an interesting subject and books on its history are always interesting to read. My only complaint was that the whole book should have been completely updated given the changes that occurred between the 1960s and 1990s. However, I do recommend this book as a good starting point for anyone interested in West Point and the US military.
Rated by buyers -
Ambrose's 1964 history of the Military Academy is an easy flowing and enjoyable insight into many of the core traditions of West Point. Some of the early history seems dry at times, but provides a seldom seen picture of the politics of the early nineteenth century. As a grad, I learned much of WP's early history that I had never known of. It was delightful to see how much of the culture and tradition has remained relatively unchanged under 150 years. On the other hand, it was interesting to see the stark contrast that exists in many areas of cadet and army life from then to now.
Ambrose has organized his work in a manner that defines the developmental stages of the Academy, beginning with the concept of military academies as very first initiated in Europe. He does an excellent job of telling of the internal, and uniquely American, concerns about putting too much power into the hands of an elite military authority versus being adequately prepared for the defense of the new nation. Ambrose describes the rather weak beginnings of the Academy, and takes the reader through the its generational evolution. Along the way he cites many examples of how West Point pioneered many of the educational changes in the early American collegiate environment, as well as describing the contributions made by many of the Academy grads. He intertwines his historical narrative with a look at the cultures and traditions of West Point and how they contribute to the education of the officer corps.
I would love to see Ambrose bring this work up to date, and provide his insight as an historian into the last 35 years at the academy. The current edition has been updated by the publisher to include an afterword by General Goodpastor. Unfortunately, I found the General's comments to be a rather self-serving view of the changes that have transpired since the mid-sixties, and in particular his comments regarding the 1970's struck me as being weak, distorted, and inaccurate. As a superintendant of West Point, the General obviously has close ties to many of the recent changes and can hardly be considered as an objective oberserver. The afterword really detracts from the value of Ambrose's work. Nevertheless, I would highly recommend this work to anyone interested in the early history of our republic.
Find other books like this one:
