James R. Arnold is a military historian and the author of more than thirty military history books. In addition to his eight Napoleonic titles, he has written Grant Wins the War, a campaign study of Vicksburg, and Jeff Davis’s Own, a study of how pre-war experience shaped the future conduct of prominent Civil War generals who served in the Second Cavalry in Texas during the Indian Wars. His Americans at War: Eyewitness Accounts won the 2018 Army Historical Foundation’s distinguished writing award. He has also written two historical novels, about the Civil War and the Spanish American War: The Cost of Freedom and Freedom’s Children. For the past 25 years, Arnold and his wife have lived on a working farm near Lexington, Virginia.
Awards:
- 2018 Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Award for Americans at War: Eyewitness Accounts from the American Revolution to the 21st Century
- 2015 Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Award for Understanding U.S. Military Conflicts through Primary Sources
- 2011 Army Historical Foundation LTG Richard G. Trefry Award for The Moro War: How America Battled a Muslim Insurgency in the Philippine Jungle, 1902–1913
- 1995 International Napoleonic Society Literary Award for Napoleon Conquers Austria: The 1809 Campaign for Vienna
Published Works by James R. Arnold
Books:
- October Triumph: Napoleon’s Invasion of Germany, 1806. Jena and Auerstädt. Lexington, Va.: Napoleon Books, 2020.
- 1898: Freedom’s Children. Lexington, Va.: Napoleon Books, 2019.
- Americans at War: Eyewitness Accounts from the American Revolution to the 21st Century. 3 vols. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC CLIO, 2018.
- Napoleon 1813: Decision at Bautzen. Lexington, Va.: Napoleon Books, 2015.
- Health under Fire: Medical Care during America’s Wars. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC CLIO, 2015.
- The Cost of Freedom: A Novel of the Civil War. Lexington, Va.: Napoleon Books, 2013.
- Napoleon’s Triumph: La Grande Armée versus the Tsar’s Army. The Friedland Campaign 1807, Ralph R. Reinertsen, coauthor. Lexington, Va.: Napoleon Books, 2011. Polish-language edition published 2012 by Napoleon V.
- The Moro War: How America Battled a Muslim Insurgency in the Philippine Jungle, 1902–1913. New York: Bloomsbury Press, 2009.
- Jungle of Snakes: A Century of Counterinsurgency Warfare from the Philippines to Iraq. New York: Bloomsbury Press, 2009.
- Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century Books, 2009.
- The Aftermath of the French Revolution. Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century Books, 2009.
- Battles for Empire: Napoleonic Wargame Scenarios, 1807 & 1809, Ralph R. Reinertsen, coauthor. Lexington, Va.: Napoleon Books, 2009.
- Crisis in the Snows: Russia Confronts Napoleon, the Eylau Campaign 1806–1807, Ralph R. Reinertsen, coauthor. Lexington, Va.: Napoleon Books, 2007. Polish-language edition published 2014 by Napoleon V.
- US Commanders of World War II: Army & USAAF. Elite Series, No. 85. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2002.
- US Commanders of World War II: Navy & USMC. Elite Series, No. 87. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2002.
- Jeff Davis’s Own: Cavalry, Comanches, and the Battle for the Texas Frontier. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2000.
- Marengo and Hohenlinden: Napoleon’s Rise to Power. Lexington, Va.: Napoleon Books, 1999. Reprint, Pen & Sword, 2005.
- Shiloh 1862: The Death of Innocence. Campaign Series, No. 54. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 1998.
- Grant Wins the War: Decision at Vicksburg. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1997.
- The Armies of U. S. Grant. London: Arms & Armour Press, 1995.
- Napoleon Conquers Austria: The 1809 Campaign for Vienna. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1995. Reprint, Napoleon Books, 2013.
- Presidents Under Fire: Commanders in Chief In Victory and Defeat. New York: Crown Publishing, 1994.
- Chickamauga 1863: The River of Death. Campaign Series. No. 17. London: Osprey Publishing, 1993.
- The First Domino: Eisenhower, the Military, and America’s Intervention in Vietnam. New York: William Morrow & Co., 1991.
- Ardennes 1944: Hitler’s Last Gamble in the West. Campaign Series, No. 5. London: Osprey Publishing, 1990.
- Tet Offensive 1968: Turning Point in Vietnam. Campaign Series, No. 4. London: Osprey Publishing, 1990.
- Crisis on the Danube: Napoleon’s Austrian Campaign of 1809. New York: Paragon House, 1990. Reprint, Napoleon Books, 2009.
- Rangers. Illustrated History of the Vietnam War, Vol. 10. New York: Bantam Books, 1988.
- Artillery. Illustrated History of the Vietnam War, Vol. 7. New York: Bantam Books, 1987.
- Armor. Illustrated History of the Vietnam War, Vol. 3. New York: Bantam Books, 1987.
Published Works coauthored/edited by James R. Arnold and Roberta Wiener
- Understanding U.S. Military Conflicts through Primary Sources. 4 vols. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC CLIO, 2016.
- Cold War: The Essential Reference Guide. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC CLIO, 2012.
- American Civil War: The Essential Reference Guide. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC CLIO, 2011.
- Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe. Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century Books, 2007.
- The Industrial Revolution. 10 vols. Danbury, Conn.: Scholastic Library Publishing, 2005.
- The 13 Colonies. 13 vols. Chicago: Raintree, 2005.
- The Revolutionary War. 10 vols. Danbury, Conn.: Grolier Educational, 2002.
- The Civil War. 6 vols. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications Company, 2002.
- The American West: Living the Frontier Dream. London: Cassell, 1996.
Articles, Chapters:
- “Winfield Scott Makes a Name for Himself,” The Journal of Military History 76, No. 4 (October 2012).
- “A Reappraisal of Column Versus Line in the Napoleonic Wars,” The Journal of Military History 68, No. 2 (April 2004).
- “We Will Water Our Horses in the Mississippi: A. S. Johnston vs. U. S. Grant,” in Peter Tsouras, ed., Dixie Victorious: An Alternate History of the Civil War. London: Greenhill Books, 2004.
- “Patton and the Narrow Thrust: The Ardennes Route into Germany,” in Peter Tsouras, ed., Battle of the Bulge: Hitler’s Alternate Scenarios (London: Greenhill Books, 2004).
- “The Pusan Disaster, 1950,” in Peter Tsouras, ed,. Cold War Hot: Alternate Decisions of the Cold War (London: Greenhill Books, 2003).
- “Coral and Purple: The Lost Advantage,” in Peter Tsouras, ed., Rising Sun Victorious: The Alternate History of How the Japanese Won the Pacific War (London: Greenhill Books, 2001).
- “Rough Work on the Mississippi,” Navy History 13, No. 5 (October 1999).
- “The French Army in the Peninsula,” in Paddy Griffith, ed., A History of the Peninsular War: Volume IX, Modern Studies of the War in Spain and Portugal, 1808–1814 (London: Greenhill Books, 1999).
- “Napoleon and his Men,” in Napoleon: The Final Verdict (London: Arms and Armour Press, 1996).
- “Armor Holds the Line,” Vietnam 5, No. 1 (June 1992).
- “Le Beau Soleil’— Victor,” in David G. Chandler, ed., Napoleon’s Marshals (New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1987).
- “Britain’s First Eagle,” Annals of War 1, No. 2 (1987).
- “Austerlitz: Bold Gambles Unexpected Crises,” Military History 3, No. 2 (October 1986).
- “A Northern Virginia Patriot,” Northern Virginia Heritage 8, No. 1 (1986).
- “Exploring Theories of Modern Command,” Army 34, No. 2 (1984).
- “A Reappraisal of Column Versus Line in the Napoleonic Wars,” Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research 60, No. 244 (1983).
Ralph R. Reinertsen combines a life of world travel and a skill in solving complex business challenges with his training in history to examine the conflicts in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, specializing in the Napoleonic wars.
Napoleon Books published his joint work with James R. Arnold in Crisis in the Snows: Russia Confronts Napoleon: The Eylau Campaign 1806-1807 (2007) and Battles for Empire: Napoleonic Wargame Scenarios 1807 & 1809 (2009).
Reinertsen’s contributions are acknowledged in exploring, with his critical eye, the Hohenlinden battlefield for James R Arnold’s Marengo and Hohenlinden: Napoleon’s Rise to Power (published by Napoleon Books in 1999), in researching several complex American Civil War issues for Grant Wins the War: Decision at Vicksburg (1997) and in examining Sheridan’s use of modern fire and movement tactics for The Armies of U.S. Grant (1995).
Reinertsen resides in Basel, Switzerland, reflecting his European heritage and an upbringing in New Canaan, Connecticut. He founded Reinertsen Associates GmbH and received degrees in History and Economics.