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American Military Technology The Life Story of a Technology
Barton C. Hacker, Margaret Vining
ISBN: 0-313-33308-4
ISBN-13: 978-0-313-33308-8
232 pages
Greenwood Press
Publication: 3/30/2006
List Price: $45.00 (UK Sterling Price: £31.95)
Availability: In Stock
Media Type: Hardcover
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects:
Series Title: Greenwood Technographies
Reviews:
  • American Military Technology is one in a series, each volume devoted to a specific technology and its influence on society. This book is concise at 203 pages, but not lacking in detail. A well-thought-out feature is the many sidebars describing the lives of individuals who created and fostered specific military technologies from the 1700s to the present....A lesson this book builds by its sheer presentation of facts and information is that technological domination of a battlefield will not bring victory. As John Boyd (1927-97) determined, people are the key to victory and it is their ability to use technology correctly that brings success. But more so it is their ability to observe, orient, decide, and act (OODA) that allows technology to work. Recommended. All levels.
    —      00/00/00
  • Follows a straightforward chronological timeline (indeed, the book includes an actual timeline in its front matter), with the exception of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, where military and naval developments are covered in parallel chapters. The chapters for each era, in turn, are organized thematically.... a useful overview of the subject, and the select bibliography suggests further readings over a wide range of accessibility.
    —H-War     September 2007
  • [P]rovides solid historical underpinnings for more advanced discussions about, and research into, these and similar subjects.
    —The Journal of Military History     .
  • Aimed at students and general readers, this volume surveys the development of American military technology from the early 19th century through the end of the 20th century. The technological innovations described are also placed in the larger context of American social, political, and economic development. Supplementary materials include a timeline and a glossary of terms. Hacker is curator of military history at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.
    —SciTech Book News     June 2006
Description: War is part of American history. This book examines how military technology both molded and reflected interactions between American military institutions and other American institutions. The growth of engineering and science has reshaped military technology, organization, and practice from the Colonial era to the present day. At the same time, military concerns influenced, and and sometimes channeled, American engineering and scientific development.

American Military Technology chronicles the interactions of technology and science with America's armed forces from colonial times to the end of the 20th century. Each period of the nation's history brought new and influential changes to the interaction of the military and technology.

The book is an excellent springboard for understanding the complex relationship of science, technology, and war in American history.
Table of Contents:
  • Introduction
    Before Industrialization: Through the Early 19th Century
    Transition to the Industrial Age: Mid-19th Century
    Military-Technological Revolution: Late 19th Century
    The Naval-Technological Revolution and the Rise of Navalism: Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries
    Catastrophe of Industrial War, 1914-1918
    From War to War, 1919-1941
    Climax of Mechanization, 1942-1945
    Military Research Institutionalized, 1945-1951
    Strategic Technologies Ascendant, 1952-1965
    The Impact of Vietnam, 1965-1980
    A New Era in Warfare? 1980-2000
    Selected Readings
About the Author: Barton C. Hacker is curator of Military History at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. He is a recipient of the Leonardo da Vinci Medal of the Society for the History of Technology and of several writing prizes. He has curated major exhibits on Submarines in the Cold War and West Point in the Making of America. His publications include books on the history of Project Gemini, radiation safety in nuclear weapons testing, and world military institutions, as well as many articles and book reviews on a wide range of topics in the history of military technology.

Margaret Vining is Curatorial Specialist in Military History at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. She is also Secretary-General of the U.S. Commission on Military History. She has curated or co-curated major exhibits on the G.I. in World War II, Submarines in the Cold War, and West Point in the Making of America, as well as smaller exhibits on the G.I. Bill, the buffalo soldiers in the West, and navy women in World War I. Her publications include a book on West Point plus articles and reviews on military uniforms and women's military history.
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