Guardians of empire

by Brian McAllister Linn

In a comprehensive study of four decades of military policy, Brian McAllister Linn offers the first detailed history of the U.S. Army in Hawaii and the Philippines between 1902 and 1940. By making extensive use of official records, personal papers, and veterans' accounts - many of which are cited here for the first time - Linn sheds new light on several persistent controversies. He addresses issues such as American military conduct in Asian pacification campaigns, the failure of the U.S. Army to develop a counterinsurgency doctrine, the predictions of Billy Mitchell and others of a Japanese air attack on Hawaii, the army's misinterpretation of prewar maneuvers, plans to intern Japanese Americans in concentration camps, and the generalship of Douglas MacArthur.