Award-Winning ASU Professor Publishes New Book

SAN ANGELO, TX — Dr. William A. Taylor, a professor of global security studies at Angelo State University and holder of the Lee Drain Endowed University Professorship, has published his sixth book, "The All-Volunteer Force: Fifty Years of Service," through the University Press of Kansas.

The all-volunteer force (AVF) was created in conjunction with the end of the draft in 1973 and has been the most significant development in modern American military history. Its influence has reached far beyond the U.S. military, affecting the very character of American civil-military relations.

Taylor's book brings together a multidisciplinary group of distinguished authors who provide essential perspectives on specific aspects of the AVF. Contributors include a Pulitzer Prize winner, leading scholars, general officers, civilian policymakers, and personnel experts, who collectively provide a holistic assessment of the accomplishments and shortcomings of the AVF during its 50 years of service.

In crafting this far-reaching collection of essays, Taylor examines the AVF in four distinct parts, analyzing its history, results, challenges, and implications. In doing so, this compelling book explores all the major facets of the AVF - past, present, and future.

"The All-Volunteer Force: Fifty Years of Service" is part of the University Press of Kansas's "Studies in Civil-Military Relations" series, of which Taylor is the editor, and is available in paperback, hardcover, and e-book through the University Press of Kansas, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online booksellers.

An ASU faculty member since 2011, Taylor has published five previous books:

"The Advent of the All-Volunteer Force: Protecting Free Society" (2023) - won the Sharon Ritenour Stevens Prize from the Association for Documentary Editing

"George C. Marshall and the Early Cold War: Policy, Politics, and Society" (2020)

"Contemporary Security Issues in Africa" (2019)

"Military Service and American Democracy: From World War II to the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars" (2016) - selected in 2020 as required reading for every first-year cadet at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point

"Every Citizen a Soldier: The Campaign for Universal Military Training after World War II" (2014) - won the Crader Family Book Prize Honorable Mention

Taylor is also the editor of the "Studies in Marine Corps History and Amphibious Warfare" book series with the Naval Institute Press. He has also contributed to 24 other books and published more than 100 reference articles and book reviews. His books are housed in more than 2,000 libraries across the U.S. and in 56 countries around the world.

To fund his research, Taylor has won 18 national fellowships and research grants. He also won the Texas Tech University System Chancellor's Council Distinguished Teaching Award (2022) and Distinguished Research Award (2016). Additionally, he is the first faculty member to win the ASU President's Award for Faculty Excellence in all three areas of faculty performance: Teaching (2021), Research/Creative Endeavor (2016), and Leadership/Service (2019).