Intended for high school students and the general public, this four-volume reference examines the effect of war on American society, culture, and national identity in 395 contributed articles. Beginning in 1500 and ending with the present, each volume tackles a chunk of time and offers a synoptic outline that groups entries under themes such as civil liberties, dissent, gender, literature, media, music, and religion, among others. Each volume also includes a chronology, a glossary, a section of primary source documents, and the complete index. Arranged alphabetically, the entries are generally about one page in length, but some extend to several pages; each includes cross- references and a bibliography. The design is unintimidating but not flashy; there's plenty of white space, sidebars highlight some material, and photos are b&w. Editor-in-chief Resch is a professor of history at the U. of New Hampshire-Manchester. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)