Military Science: A Research Guide
Military science encompasses many aspects such as military art and science, supplies,
equipment, military history, military-civil relations, and arms control. The resources below can
assist researchers and students in learning more about military history and current issues in
military life. This guide introduces researchers to some of the basic informational sources on the
topic. The terms and phrases listed in the subject headings below can be used to search for more
materials in the library’s catalog and research databases. If you need further assistance, please
ask a librarian.
Books
American Military Leaders from Colonial Times to the Present by John C. Fredriksen. 2 vols.
Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 1999. ISBN: 1576070018.
Prominent men and women of the military are the scope of this reference work. Biographies
range from two to three pages, concluding with a bibliography. Photographs and illustrations are
included, and both a subject index and a list of leaders organized by their military titles can be
found at the end of volume two.
Dictionary of American Military Biography edited Roger J. Spiller and Joseph G. Dawson. 3 vols.
Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1984. ISBN: 0313214336.
Lengthy biographical essays on some 400 individuals important in U.S. military history.
Dictionary of Military Terms: A Guide to the Language of Warfare and Military Institutions, 2nd ed.
edited by Trevor Nevitt Dupay, et al. New York: H. W. Wilson, 2003. ISBN: 0824210255.
All aspects of military affairs are covered: strategy, tactics, fortifications, weapons, ranks,
organization, and administration.
Dictionary of Modern War edited by Edward N. Luttwak and Stuart L. Koehl. New York:
HarperCollins, 1991. ISBN: 0062700219.
Explains general concepts, major organizations, weapons and weapon systems, military
concepts, basic military technologies, modes of warfare, and negotiations and treaties.
Guide to Military Installations, 5th ed. edited by Dan Cragg. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole
Books, 1997. ISBN: 0811724840.
Provides description of American military bases, both overseas and in the United States.
International Military and Defense Encyclopedia edited by Trevor Nevitt Dupay. 6 vols.
Washington, DC: Brassey’s, 1993. ISBN: 0028810112.
Definitive, comprehensive, multidisciplinary, and multicultural encyclopedia of military and
defense information. Focuses primarily on post-WWII events and developments.
The Military Balance. London: Institute for Strategic Studies, 1964. Annual. ISSN: 04597222.
www3.oup.co.uk/milbal/
Statistical assessment of military forces and defense expenditures.
Oxford Companion to Military History edited by Richard Holmes. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
2001. ISBN: 0198662092.
Surveys all military services from ancient to modern time periods, but emphasizes land warfare in
Europe and North America from the 18th–20th centuries.
Penguin Encyclopedia of Modern Warfare: From 1850 to the Present Day edited by Kenneth
Macksey and William Woodhouse. New York: Penguin, 1993. ISBN: 0140513019.
Gives quick access to personalities, battles, campaigns, strategy, tactics, intelligence handling,
logistics, and technology.
Strategic Survey. London: Institute for Strategic Studies, 1966. Annual. ISSN: 04597230.
Supplements The Military Balance, giving narrative summaries of the strategic situation in
countries and regions of the world.
Webster’s American Military Biographies edited by Robert McHenry. New York: Dover, 1984.
ISBN: 0486247589.
More than 1,000 biographies of persons important to the military history of the nation.
Abstracts and Indexes
Air University Library Index to Military Periodicals. Maxwell Air Force Base, AL: Air University
Library. 1990–present. Quarterly Publication. ISSN: 00022586.
www.dtic.mil/search97doc/aulimp/main.htm
Indexes articles, news items, and editorials in approximately 80 English language military and
aeronautical periodicals.
Magazines
Air & Space Power Journal
www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil
U.S. Air Force’s primary forum for professional discourse on air and space power. Archived back
to 1987.
Airman
www.af.mil/news/airman/indxflas.html
Magazine for America’s airmen. Archived back to September 1995.
Internet Resources
DefenseLINK
www.defenselink.mil
Provides direct access to the information services established by the military departments and
selected Department of Defense organizations.
DOD Dictionary of Military Terms
www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/doddict/
Contains both military terms, acronyms, and abbreviations.
Subject Headings
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armed forces
military art and science
military history
military science
national security
naval art and science