A collection of essays about the leaders and the led in America's wars. Ambrose (history, U. of New Orleans) looks at the accomplishments of leaders such as Custer, Eisenhower, Patton, and MacArthur. He also examines events such as the massacre at My Lai, the Christmas bombing of Hanoi in 1972, the first uses of the atomic bomb, and D-Day in their historical perspectives. Several of the essays have been published previously in various academic journals. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.