?All the confusions of various plans, numerous actors and complex motives of the attempt to strengthen U.S. military power before its entry into World War I are unfurled in this very scholarly study. Although the preparedness movement never achieved its goals, it did modify views sufficiently so that the country went to war ready for compulsory military service. No other book shows so carefully how the movement matured... should become a standard on the subject for scholars.?-Library Journal