This essay is a brief history of the U.S. army during the years immediately following the Korean War. For many in our own time that period-corresonding to the two terms of the Eisenhower presidency-has acquired an aura of congenial simplicity. Americans who survived Vietnam, Watergate, and painful economical difficulties wistfully recall the 1950s as a time when the nation possessed a clearly-charted course and had the will and the power to follow it.

The author analysis of the Armys post-Korea, pre-Viernam era contributes valuable insights to the study of recent US military history, Especially important is authors caution tat military professionals temper their enthusiasm for technoligical progress with an eye to those elements of warfare that remains cgangeless.