A unique but largely neglected part of the American legal system, the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Services marks its fiftieth anniversary in 2001. In Military Justice in America, Jonathan Lurie chronicles the struggles leading to the Court's creation, as well as its subsequent efforts to fulfill a difficult and sometimes controversial mission. Illuminating and fairminded, Lurie's work provides a new and valuable perspective on the uneasy relations between civil and military authority.

Both comprehensive and detailed, Military Justice in America explores the history...