Reference Reviews

Reference for Students

Military Draft. Edited by Jeff Hay. Detroit, Mich.: Greenhaven Press Thomson Gale, 2008. 1 vol. 196 p. $32.45. ISBN 10: 0-7377-3842-1; 13: 978-0-7377-3842-1.

With occasional talk surfacing about reinstituting the draft to increase numbers in the military service during the current conflicts, students should be especially interested in the formerly published articles found in this book. These are separated into four chapters: "The Military Draft from the French Revolution through World War II," "The Notion of National Service and the Military Needs of the Cold War," "The Military Draft, Citizenship, and Personal Freedom" and "The Military Draft in Recent Times." Both sides of the issue: 1) the need to increase the armed forces since the volunteer army no longer provides enough men and women and 2) a discussion that a drafted military might not produce an efficient armed service. A 9-page timeline, a 4-page glossary, a 5-page "Organizations to Contact" and a 3-page bibliography of books and Internet resources complete the book.