Rowman & Littlefield Publishers / AASLH
Pages: 276
•
Trim: 7¼ x 10⅜
978-1-4422-3973-9 • Hardback • April 2016 • $103.00 • (£79.00)
978-1-4422-3974-6 • Paperback • April 2016 • $52.00 • (£40.00)
978-1-4422-3975-3 • eBook • April 2016 • $46.50 • (£36.00)
Marc K. Blackburn earned a BA in history at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington and a Ph.D. with an emphasis on modern American military and diplomatic history from Temple University.. Greenwood Press published his dissertation, “A New Form of Transportation, The Quartermaster Corps and Standardization of the US Army’s Motor Trucks” in 1996.
He has worked for the National Park Service since 1994, presently at the Mount Rainier National Park in Washington. Dr. Blackburn has always been drawn to interpretation – facilitating opportunities for the public to make connections to the meanings inherent in the resources we protect. He has worked as a peer reviewer in the NPS interpretive development program since 2004 and has given presentations on various aspects of historical interpretation at the Western Museum Association and the National Association for Interpretation annual meetings.
Preface
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1: Interpretation
Chapter 2: Introduction to American Military History
Chapter 3: Colonization and Settlement (1607- 1763)
Chapter 4: Revolution and the New Republic: 1763-1815
Chapter 5: The Constitutional Settlement, 1783-1815
Chapter 6: The Antebellum Period, 1815-1860
Chapter 7: The Civil War, 1860-1865
Chapter 8: 1865-1914: Internal and External Expansion
Chapter 9: On The World’s Stage: 1914-1939
Chapter 10: World War Two, 1941-1945
Chapter 11: On The Brink: The Cold War, 1945-1973
Chapter 12: A World Undone: The Cold War and Beyond, 1973-Present
Epilogue
Index
About the Author
Drawing on both his own experience and the work of others, Marc K. Blackburn has crafted an essential introduction for beginners, and an excellent refresher for experienced interpreters of America’s complex military history. He traces and examines the techniques and goals of historical interpretation over the last decades and provides a framework to build a contemporary model. Blackburn also distills three hundred years of America’s wars into a condensed and understandable form for interpreters to access. This is not a dry academic exercise, but practical information on improving the public dialogue on American military history.For those who handle the important task of helping visitors and guests make relevant connections to our past conflicts, Interpreting American Military History at Museums and Historic Sites should render indispensable service.
— Alan D. Gutchess, Director, Fort Pitt Museum