author
Hoffman Nickerson
1888–1965
A sharp, wide-ranging historian of war and power, he wrote ambitious books that connected military conflict, politics, and religion across centuries. His work is especially remembered for its vivid studies of the American Revolution and the rise of mass warfare.
1 Audiobook
The Inquisition : a political and military study of its establishment
by Hoffman Nickerson
About the author
Born in Paterson, New Jersey, in 1888, Hoffman Nickerson studied at Harvard and went on to build a career that mixed public service, military work, and historical writing. He served as a major with G-2 at General Headquarters of the American Expeditionary Forces in 1918, and during World War II he worked with Military Intelligence, the Strategy and Policy Group of the Operations and Planning Division, and the Historical Section of the Army War College.
Nickerson wrote a number of books on warfare and history. Among the best known are The Inquisition: A Political and Military Study of Its Establishment, The Armed Horde, 1793–1939, and The Turning Point of the Revolution; or, Burgoyne in America, a major study of the Saratoga campaign. His writing often looked at how ideas, institutions, and military force shaped each other over long stretches of time.
He was also active in public life beyond the page, including service in the New York State Assembly, and he was remembered by later military historians as one of the founders of the American Military Institute. Nickerson died in 1965, leaving behind a body of work that appealed to readers interested in both narrative history and big historical arguments.