The Age of Total War, 1860–1945 (Studies in Military History and International Affairs)

This book seems to be based on a poorly written dissertation, although it appears the author has been writing for some time. There are very many run-on sentences in the book, which can stretch for almost half a page or more. In addition, commas are liberally sprinkled here and there whether they are needed or not. While I am very interested in the subject matter, the technicality of the book is a drawback to the comprehension of the reader. Many (and I mean MANY) times the author uses an example that almost no one will have ever heard of. I say this as a degreed historian (Americanist) who teaches for a living. This is the hardest read out of the hundreds of academic military histories that I own. The author obviously knows his subject well, but that knowledge is not transferred in such a way that the average reader will understand it. Too often obscure references are used to make a point which is clouded by the use of the reference instead of cleared up. The later chapters on the world wars are better, but still suffer from the same flaws as the earlier chapters. This book may be useful in a graduate level course, although I believe that better alternatives exist.