A How to Guide for high school students who want to get an appointment and attend the United States Military Academy.

Goodpaster.-- "Journal of Higher Education"

A collection of essays and photographs celebrates the first two hundred years of the illustrious military institution whose alumni include Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, William T. Sherman, Buzz Aldrin, and Norman Schwarzkopf.

Advice from moms who have "been there, done that" at the United States Military Academy. Information includes how things work, what to expect, how to dress, how to meet the needs of your cadet during the 47 month adventure.

New York Times Bestseller: A “fascinating, funny and tremendously well written” chronicle of daily life at the US Military Academy (Time). In 1998, West Point made an unprecedented offer to Rolling Stone writer David Lipsky: Stay at the Academy as long as you like, go wherever you wish, talk to whomever you want, to discover why some of America’s most promising young people sacrifice so much to become cadets. Lipsky followed one cadet class into mess halls, barracks, classrooms, bars, and training exercises, from arrival through graduation. By telling their stories, he also examines the Academy as a reflection of our society: Are its principles of equality, patriotism, and honor quaint anachronisms or is it still, as Theodore Roosevelt called it, the most “absolutely American” institution? During an eventful four years in West Point’s history, Lipsky witnesses the arrival of TVs and phones in dorm rooms, the end of hazing, and innumerable other shifts in policy and practice. He uncovers previously unreported scandals and poignantly evokes the aftermath of September 11, when cadets must prepare to become officers in wartime. Lipsky also meets some extraordinary people: a former Eagle Scout who struggles with every facet of the program, from classwork to marching; a foul-mouthed party animal who hates the military and came to West Point to play football; a farm-raised kid who seems to be the perfect soldier, despite his affection for the early work of Georgia O’Keeffe; and an exquisitely turned-out female cadet who aspires to “a career in hair and nails” after the Army. The result is, in the words of David Brooks in the New York Times Book Review, “a superb description of modern military culture, and one of the most gripping accounts of university life I have read. . . . How teenagers get turned into leaders is not a simple story, but it is wonderfully told in this book.”

The United States Military Academy at West Point is one of America’s oldest and most revered institutions. Founded in 1802, its first and only mission is to prepare young men—and, since 1976, young women—to be leaders of character for service as commissioned officers in the United States Army. West Point’s success in accomplishing that mission has secured its reputation as the foremost leadership-development institution in the world. An Academy promotional poster says it this way: “At West Point, much of the history we teach was made by people we taught.” Carved from Granite is the story of how West Point goes about producing military leaders of character. An opening chapter on the Academy’s nineteenth-century history provides context for the topic of each subsequent chapter. As scholar and Academy graduate Lance Betros shows, West Point’s early history is interesting and colorful, but its history since then is far more relevant to the issues—and problems—that face the Academy today. Drawing from oral histories, archival sources, and his own experiences as a cadet and, later, a faculty member, Betros describes and assesses how well West Point has accomplished its mission. And, while West Point is an impressive institution in many ways, Betros does not hesitate to expose problems and challenge long-held assumptions. In a concluding chapter that is both subjective and interpretive, the author offers his prescriptions for improving the institution, focusing particularly on the areas of governance, admissions, and intercollegiate athletics. Photographs, tables, charts, and other graphics aid the clarity of the discussion and lend visual and historical interest. Carved from Granite: West Point since 1902 is the most authoritative history of the modern United States Military Academy written to date. There will be lively debate over some of the observations made in this book, but if they are followed, the author asserts that the Academy will emerge stronger and better able to accomplish its vital mission in the new century and beyond.

Although Jefferson feared the potential power of a standing army, the contributors point out he also contended that "whatever enables us to go to war, secures our peace." They take a broad view of Jeffersonian security policy, exploring the ways in which West Point bolstered America's defenses against foreign aggression and domestic threats to the ideals of the American Revolution." "Thomas Jefferson's Military Academy should appeal to scholars and general readers interested in military history and the founding generation."--BOOK JACKET.

West Point, New York, home of the United States Military Academy, is one of the nation's most famous and unique landscapes. Established in 1802 to train engineer officers for the Army, West Point has for over two hundred years produced many of the country's greatest leaders, including Ulysses S. Grant, Dwight D. Eisenhower, George S. Patton, and Douglas A. MacArthur. Using nearly two hundred historical photos from the Library of Congress, National Archives, and collections at the United States Military Academy, here is West Point as it was from the mid-nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century. These priceless, black-and-white photos highlight cadets in classrooms, during military training, and on the fields of friendly strife. West Point buildings long demolished are shown as they were when Eisenhower and MacArthur were cadets. Also featured are special occasions such as graduations and visits by presidents, celebrities, and world leaders. This is West Point as you have never seen it, from the early days of photography through world events that thrust the Academy's graduates onto the world stage.

Established in 1802, the United States Military Academy at West Point is the oldest of the United States's service academies. Since the nearly 210 years of its existence, literally thousands of cadets have graced its halls. West Point has long been a leader in establishing traditions that have crept not only into the other service academies, but into colleges and universities throughout the United States. Traditions such as class rings, parades, rank structures, and its own lexicon have made USMA a model to emulate--and these are traditions that cadets must learn on the double. The life of a cadet is highly structured and full of pageantry. Pass in Review will be the first book to examine the lives of the cadets who earn their bars at West Point. Author Clyde Cocke and photographer Eilene Harkless Moore will collaborate to chronicle the uniforms, events, and traditions of cadet life at West Point. From dining in the Cadet Mess to strolling the Flirtation Walk to participating in Ring Weekend, readers will get an inside peek into the life of a cadet. West Point's Highlanders, the Pipes and Drums of the United States Corps of Cadets, will be featured, as will the unique West Point Tartan. Contemporary images will blend with seldom-seen artwork from the West Point Museum collection to provide a behind-the-scenes look into the life of USMA cadets.