David Milne

The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Military & Diplomatic History

Jointly edited with Timothy J. Lynch and Christopher McKnight Nichols, the Oxford Encyclopedia of American Military and Diplomatic History, a two-volume set, offers description and analysis of the key episodes, issues and actors in the military and diplomatic history of the United States. Entries are written by the top diplomatic and military historians and key scholars of international relations from within the U.S. academy, supplemented, as is appropriate for an encyclopedia of diplomacy, with articles written by academics from across the world.

Selected as a "Best Reference" Book of 2013 in Law and Politics by Library Journal.

Reviews

"As part of the 12-volume, 3,500-entry Oxford Encyclopedia of American History, this two-volume topical set has 450 alphabetically arranged entries that focus on the diplomatic and military episodes, people, and ideas central to American history. From biographies of the key decision-makers to doctrines like Truman and key strategies, they’re described here along with 150 of the most important events and treaties, foreign relations, historiography, organizations, and government departments concerned with war and diplomacy. Comprehensive, authoritative, and current entries from leading scholars give you the real story not always found on the Internet."
Brian E. Coutts and Cheryl Laguardia March 6, 2014, Library Journal Reviews

"In over 450 articles on 1,488 pages in two volumes, the Oxford encyclopedia of American military and diplomatic history marshals hundreds of authors to offer ‘a path through the central themes of America’s rise—its accomplishments, its many imperfections, its glories, and its failures—and into the period of what many claim is its inevitable decline.’ (By ‘America’ the editors mean the United States.) They succeed admirably: readers will find articles signed by authorities, complete with bibliographies, that assess subjects like ‘Manifest destiny’, ‘The strategy and ethics of bombing’ and ‘Counterinsurgency’; profile more than 80 individuals from Crazy Horse to Billy Mitchell; give short histories of key events, wars and treaties like the battle of Antietam and the Mormon War, and review broad topics in foreign relations, historiography, scholarship, theory and institutions. A directory of contributors lists authorial affiliations: famous names are legion; most are from universities in North America, the United Kingdom and Australia. These volumes are a valuable reference for professionals and will launch a thousand student papers—likely many more."
Robert M. Neer, International Affairs, September 2014