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THE WAR WITH SPAIN IN 1898. By David F. Trask. Macmillan Publishing Co., New York, 1981, 654 pp., $29.95. (Member $26.95)
For a variety of reasons the Spanish-American War has been downplayed by most American military writers. The short duration of the war, the disparity between the contestants, and the satiric genius of Walter Millis have all contributed to an air of good humored contempt toward "the splendid little war." Recent academic scholarship has concentrated on such topics as the growth of the U.S. Navy, the problems of Army mobilization, and the reforms that arose from the war. Combat accounts have tended to focus on such individual actions as the charge up San Juan (or Kettle) Hill, the Schley-Sampson feud, or the sinking of the Maine. The only people who seem to care consistently about the war are the diplomatic, economic, and social historians. These writers, however, restrict themselves to the causes, nature, and significance of American overseas expansion. The result is that while a great deal of research has been done on various parts...