The essays on aspects of the Anglo-American approach to war range from study of volunteer soldiering in the Mexican War of 1846-48, analyses of operations in the two World Wars, to a reconsideration of the nature of future warfare.

The great strength of this collection of studies is that academics and senior military practitioners have been brought together, drawing from similar sources and working to the highest scholarly standards, but bringing their own perspectives to bear on complex military subjects. The essays on multifarious aspects of the Anglo-American approach to war range from study of volunteer soldiering in the Mexican War of 1846-48, analyses of operations in the two World Wars, to a reconsideration of the nature of future warfare. All the contributors thoroughly consider the overall historical context and explore the relationship between theory and practice in military operations. They also review the problems of transition from the small-scale duties of an imperial or frontier constabulary to coping with the demands of continental warfare, a central feature of the Anglo-American military tradition. Throughout a major theme is the importance of peacetime in mental preparation and training for war.

"Zealous for Annexation" - volunteer soldiering, military government, and the service of Colonel Alexander Doniphan in the Mexican-American War, Joseph G. Dawson III
the Spanish-American War - land battles in Cuba, 1895-1898, Joseph Smith
General Allenby and the Palestine Campaign, 1917-1918, Matthew Hughes
the British Expeditionary Force and the difficult transition to peace, 1918-1919, Ian M. Brown
"Small Wars" and "Imperial Policing" - the British Army and the theory and practice of colonial warfare in the British Empire, 1919-1939, T.R. Moreman
Montgomery, morale, casualty conservation and "Colossal Cracks" - 21st Army Group's operational technique in North West Europe, 1944-1945, Stephen Hart
"Tommy
is No Soldier" - the morale of the Second British Army in Normandy, June-August 1944, David French
the British Army and approaches to warfare sinde 1945, John Kiszely
manoeuvre theory in operations other than war, J.J.A. Wallace
the buffalo thorn - the nature of the future battlefield, Alistair Irwin.