To raise an army : the draft comes to modern America /

Chambers deals with the question of how a nation that prides itself on its devotion to individual liberties and a distrust of the powers of any government could ever adopt conscription as a mechanism for creating a military force. The author believes the answer lies in the constant reiteration of the necessary connection between citizenship and the ``duty'' of each individual to defend the nation against all enemies, ``foreign and domestic.'' In short, the link between the volunteer militia of the Revolution and those individuals later ``volunteered'' by their friends and neighbors to defend the nation is absolute. The difference is simply one of degree, a distinction based on the progressive shift of power from the local and state communities to the national level. This monopolization of military power by central governments over other elements is, of course, part of the history of the development of all modern states. In this sense, the US is not unique, although the armed forces in this country proved less a force for nationalism than elsewhere in the world. This work is essentially a reworked version of Chambers's 1973 dissertation on the creation of the draft law that sent Americans to war in 1917. Upper-division undergraduates and above.-J.K. Sweeney, South Dakota State University

This volume describes the history of ``raising'' soldiers in the U.S. from colonial times to the contemporary, ``all-volunteer'' force. The author presents an enormous amount of material in a somewhat academic, not-always-accessible style. However, the data are solid and so is Chambers' persuasively argued thesis that the choice of methods for raising armies has always reflected political and economic factors more than military needs. This book is likely to prove valuable for serious students of American military history. Notes, bibliography; to be indexed. RG. 355.2'2363 Military service, Compulsory U.S. / U.S. Armed Forces Recruiting, enlistment, etc. History / World War, 1914-1918 U.S. [OCLC] 87-15150

The draft has been an important fact of American lifeand a focus of controversysince the 1700s. Chambers examines in considerable detail the roots, justifications, and mechanics of the various American systems of conscription from colonial times to the present. His primary interest is the remarkable creation of a million-man army in 1917 and the impact of that achievement. Chambers's overriding thesisthat the draft is and has always been more a reflection of political and social beliefs than a purely military activitycan scarcely be denied. Enormously detailed, rather dry, thickly annotated, this is an important book on U.S. military history and should be widely purchased.Edwin B. Burgess, U.S. Army TRALINET Ctr., Fort Monroe, Va. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.