The hidden history of America at war

Combat tales have come to form an essential piece of our identity as Americans. But as some war stories have been repackaged and embellished, the truth behind the conflicts--the lives of the average soldiers and civilians involved and the lasting significance of the battles on American history--often lies buried. Kenneth C. Davis aims to change that. Here, he takes readers inside six landmark battles that offer crucial insights. From the Battle of Yorktown (1781), where a fledgling America learned hard lessons about what kind of military it would need to survive; to 1945 Berlin, when the downfall of the Third Reich set the stage for decades of Cold War tension; to Fallujah (2004), which epitomized the dawn of privatized war, Davis explores the key battlefield characters and events, shattering myths and misconceptions. Revelations include: the unacknowledged role that enslaved people and free African Americans played in the Revolution and Civil War; the grave miscalculations and cruelty that took place at Petersburg, Virginia, site of the longest siege of an American city; the scandalous use of water torture and civilian atrocities that shook Theodore Roosevelt's White House; the se