Over the course of the book, O'Hanlon observes that wars tend to be more costly and difficult than expected, and that its ultimate outcome is rarely apparent at the outset.
He credits this success to the United States' resource-rich, continent-spanning infrastructure as well as its society, which is democratic, flexible and places a high value on research and development.
Amos C. Fox praised the book's focus on concise, qualitative analyses of case studies in a review for The Journal of Strategic Security.
Fox wrote that "readability and O’Hanlon’s ability to reduce complex ideas into manageable bits of information" made it stand out.
[2] Lieutenant Commander Michael Axel praised the book in a review for the United States Naval Institute, recommending it as a foundational text on U.S. military history.