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Rating: 
Summary: great history
Review: Great companion to the PBS show. Reminds of us what we have to be proud of. Perfect gift for any fan of american history.
Rating: 
Summary: Glossy photos, glossy history
Review: I admit I didn't watch the PBS program to which this book is 'companion,' but I have no doubt that the pretty pictures on TV matched the pretty pictures in this book. In fact, that's probably the biggest impression I carry away from this book: it's very ... colorful. The text gives an adequate history of the US Military Academy, hitting on all the requisite high points: Thayer, Lee, Flipper, MacArthur, Eisenhower, Hollen, and so on. The images -- portraits, old maps, memorabilia from the USMA museum, etc -- decently illustrate the text (though the contemporary photos mixed in with the historic ones are sometimes rather *non sequitur* to what's being discussed). Among the great piles of books and videos that have been produced to observe West Point's bicentennial, I'm sure this picture book will be very popular. But I suspect it will mean more to people who didn't themselves actually attend the school. Those who did will find little that's new -- and despite the Academy's official cooperation with this production, may find the book too, well, glossy for their tastes.
Rating:
Summary: great history
Review: I have read several books about West Point but this is easily one of the best. Many books have come out recently about this topic but dont let this one slip by you. Some people think that all the recent books are an attempt to capitalize on the 200 year aniversary but this one is clearly more than that. Not only is this a great book by itself but it is also a wonderful companion to the PBS televsion program.
Rating:
Summary: Very, very nice
Review: Partly because I grew up as an Army brat, I've always been fascinated by the military and naval academies, as far back as the 1950s TV series "The Long Grey Line." This coffee table book is a companion to a special on PBS marking the 200th anniversary of President Jefferson's founding of a military educational institution at West Point, up the Hudson from New York. It's a gorgeous piece of work, with as much attention given to the text as to the pictures, tracing the Academy from its floundering first few years, to the sixteen-year reign of Superintendent Sylvanus Thayer (the true father of the school), through the classes that supplied most of the leaders on both sides of the Civil War (who all had served together in the War with Mexico), through the long years leading up to World War I. Fifty-nine of the cadets in the Class of 1915 ("the Class the Stars Fell On") became general officers, and one became president. During the later days of the Vietnam War, cadets seldom left the school, they were so badly treated by civilians their own age, and there were several major cheating scandals -- the author doesn?t whitewash any of that stuff -- but the Academy, having revised itself almost continuously for two centuries -- seems to be coming back. This is a beautiful book.
Rating: 
Summary: It's just a coffee table book!
Review: Take this book for what it is, a nice coffee table book (and I can go see the place any day I want as I live 4 miles away). For those looking for meat, I would personally suggest the Long Gray Line. For interesting views on how the world at the academies once was it would be the Lords of Discipline. On another note, to the parent in TX, I am sure they would be happy to give away free copies but then Uncle Sam would be footing the bill. Maybe you should just accept that your son/daughter got a great $250K education in return for a 5 yr committment to serve their country. What more do you want???
Rating: 
Summary: I Admire West Point, But This Does Not Live Up To The Hype
Review: Ugh. Another West Point coffee table book. The concept is the same as we have seen repeatedly in the past. It's a book of mainly pictures, with sound bites of ideas that can be covered in 5 pages. The result is 95% fluff, 5% something of value. It seems everyone is trying to bilk unwitting customers under the guise of doing something noble for West Point's Bicentennial. What spin. Forgive me for laughing at authors' and publishers' perceptions of altruism! I think, if they are sincere about wanting others to help them celebrate 200 years of this noble and great institution, they should pass out their books-of-celebration for FREE! Uh-oh. The emperor has no clothes?
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Photographs in a Candid History!
Review: West Point is the companion volume to the PBS series that will commemorate the 200th anniversary of West Point's formal founding as America's military university. Although I have never visited West Point and have never met anyone who described being a cadet there, I had some general familiarity with West Point's past and traditions based on reading news accounts, history books and biographies of our most famous generals. West Point did a fine job of filling in the many blanks in my understanding of West Point's past. Here are some of the questions that I had wondered about that are answered in the book. Why did the British care about capturing West Point in the Revolutionary War? What was the political process that led to the establishment of having the Academy established at West Point, rather than somewhere else? How has education and training evolved at West Point? How did integration of African-American cadets proceed? Where did the hazing traditions come from? Who were the most influential superintendents? What influence did West Point graduates have on armed conflicts prior to the Civil War? What influence did West Point have outside of the U.S. Army? How was pilot training handled before the Air Force was established? Who are the famous cadets who did not pursue military careers? The United States has been well served by its commitment to and investment in military education at West Point. Reading this volume will leave you even more impressed with that point than you were when you started. I especially liked the book's candor about the very difficult problems of establishing and maintaining the quality of such an important educational institution. The early superintendents had great difficulty maintaining discipline and in overcoming political influence used to reinstate ousted cadets, and had very few resources to work with. Did you know that cadets originally had to learn French because almost all major military texts were written in that language? More recently, the difficulties of adapting to co-education, overcoming past cheating scandals, and continuing battles against hazing are all well documented. If you are like me, you will come away astonished by the positive influence that Colonel Thayer had in establishing the permanent character of the Academy during his tenure as superintendent from 1817-1833. Your sense of the Civil War will also be changed as you read about the ways that Academy classmates kept up with each other's lives and needs during and after that terrible conflict. As interesting and rewarding as the text was, I would have liked even more information. For example, military leadership in the United States seems to have greatly improved in the last ten years. What role did West Point play in this enhancement? The photographs and images captured in the book deserve enormous praise for their relevance, reproduction quality, and inherent appeal to the viewer. You will get a strong sense of place, even without ever visiting West Point. I came away with a great desire to visit during peak fall foliage to see the many buildings and landmarks illustrated in the book. What other important institutions does our nation need that it does not yet have? How can you help to see that these bodies are formed and well developed? To enjoy peace, be sure you are prepared for whatever comes your way!
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