The American Novel of War

In song, verse, narrative, and dramatic form, war literature has existed for nearly all of recorded history. Accounts of war continue to occupy American bestseller lists and the stacks of American libraries. This innovative work establishes the American Novel of War as its own sub-genre within the greater American Literature of War genre, creating standards by which the American Novel of War can be classified and critically and popularly analyzed. Each chapter identifies a defining characteristic, analyzes existing criticism, and explores the characteristic in American war novels of record. Topics include violence, war rhetoric, the death of noncombatants, and terrain as an enemy. By establishing guidelines to categorize the American Novel of War, this volume enriches the oeuvre of war literature.