WEST POINT: TWO CENTURIES OF HONOR AND TRADITION, edited by Robert Cowley, Warner Books, 304 pages, $49.95.
"West Point: Two Centuries of Honor and Tradition" is a marvelous book. It celebrates the bicentennial of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and anyone who is even slightly interested in U.S. military history should love it.
The book contains a fine collection of well-written essays by a number of famed historians and writers, some of whom write whole chapters, while others have contributed short, one-page essays. It also has 400 illustrations, nearly half in full color, including paintings, historic letters from cadets, athletic memorabilia and many other artifacts.
It was on July 4, 1802, that West Point was formally opened on the banks of the Hudson River. There were two teachers and a handful of cadets who met in a building no larger than a country schoolhouse. From those tiny beginnings came what some call the National Citadel, which has produced numerous great military leaders, including two U.S. presidents as well as Jefferson Davis.
Such remarkable military leaders as Ulysses Grant, Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, James Longstreet, George McClellan, George Pickett and William T. Sherman attended West Point. Ironically, each of these generals learned different things from West Point. Some were "book soldiers" who tried to implement strategy exactly as they learned "at the Point," while others coupled it with their own creativity. Grant, for instance, was anything but a "book soldier," yet he led the Union against Robert E. Lee, who was a "book soldier" representing the Confederacy during the Civil War.
That is one of the more interesting conclusions to be drawn from the educational experience afforded at West Point.
The introduction is written by Norman Schwarzkopf, U.S. commanding general during the Persian Gulf War, and long essays are contributed by scholars and journalists Thomas Fleming, Cecilia Holland, Stephen Sears, Carlo D'Este, Robert Cowley, Tom Wicker, Dennis Showafter, Geoffrey Norman and Brian Haig.
Shorter but incisive articles are written by more famous writers, such as Stephen Ambrose, William Buckley, Jr., David Halberstam, Arthur Miller, George Plimpton and Wicker. Miller's piece about his invitation in 1971 to speak at West Point is the absolute highlight. Miller, the celebrated playwright, had long been opposed to the Vietnam War, yet West Point authorities invited him to address the cadets.
Thinking it was a mistake, he spoke with a colonel on the phone and told him he had "the wrong Miller." "Are you the writer?" replied the colonel. Yes, he was, but he had spoken out publicly several times against the war. The colonel said, "Yes, would you consider coming to the Academy?"
So he went, he expressed his true feelings about the war, suggested the politicians had made the wrong decision in getting into the war, then took questions, some of which were antagonistic. Then one colonel spoke from the back of the hall, saying, "I was the American military attach in Phnom Penh for nine years." Then he paused and said, "Everything this man has been telling you is the truth!" Then he walked out of the hall.
Miller was stunned but happy. He realized West Point was indeed a place where one could express his true feelings.
There are many other equally interesting pieces that, taken together, effectively capture the spirit and history of one of the most famous and revered places in American history.
E-MAIL: dennis@desnews.com