War and Technology

by Jeremy Black

Overview

In this engaging book, Jeremy Black argues that technology neither acts as an independent variable nor operates without major limitations. This includes its capacity to obtain end results, as technology's impact is far from simple and its pathways are by no means clear. After considering such key conceptual points, Black discusses important technological advances in weaponry and power projection from sailing warships to aircraft carriers, muskets to tanks, balloons to unmanned drones—in each case, taking into account what difference these advances made. He addresses not only firepower but also power projection and technologies of logistics, command, and control. Examining military technologies in their historical context and the present centered on the Revolution in Military Affairs and Military Transformation, Black then forecasts possible future trends.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780253009845
Publisher:	Indiana University Press
Publication date:	08/20/2013
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 5.90(h) x 1.20(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Jeremy Black is Professor of History at the University of Exeter. He is author of more than 100 books including Fighting for America: The Struggle for Mastery in North America, 1519-1871 (IUP, 2011) and War and the Cultural Turn. Black received the Samuel Eliot Morison Prize from the Society for Military History in 2008.

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations

Introduction: The Key Themes
1. Early Modern Western Warships: Technologies of Power Projection and Lethality
2. Gunpowder Technology, 1490–1800
3. Firepower, Steamships, Railways, Telegraphs, Radio: Technologies of Killing, Logistics, Command, and Control, 1775–1945
4. The Internal Combustion Engine: The Technology of Decentralized Power, 1910–2013
5. A New Sphere: Air Power, 1903–2013
6. Revolution, Transformation, and the Present
7. Into the Future
Conclusions
Postscript

Notes
Selected Further Reading
Index

What People are Saying About This

Spencer C. Tucker]]>

An interesting, thought provoking work by a major military historian . . . whose depth and wide range of knowledge across the entire sweep of world military history is without parallel. . . . Those who read this book closely will be richly rewarded for it is a mine of useful information and grist for discussion.

Spencer C. Tucker

"An interesting, thought provoking work by a major military historian . . . whose depth and wide range of knowledge across the entire sweep of world military history is without parallel. . . . Those who read this book closely will be richly rewarded for it is a mine of useful information and grist for discussion."

John France

"Clear, concise, and thoughtful. An eminently readable synthesis of historical literature on technology and war . . . with analyses of the limitations of the impact of technology on warfare."

John France]]>

Clear, concise, and thoughtful. An eminently readable synthesis of historical literature on technology and war . . . with analyses of the limitations of the impact of technology on warfare.

Editorial Reviews

Whenever a new weapon is developed, there’s bound to be heated debate regarding the ethical implications and possible repercussions of its increased lethality. In this scholarly overview of military technology throughout history—starting roughly in the 15th century and extending into the future—Black (Fighting for America) expands the typical focus of those arguments to include not just the killing power of a new weapon, but also the cultural, historical, and strategic forces that led to its invention and how its deployment affected history. Early modern (1450–1700) European naval advances—superior sails, hulls, navigation instruments, and cannon—propelled the West to primacy, and though China was the first to develop gunpowder and guns, a Western focus on efficiency, coupled with the advent of the printing press and thus a proliferation in military literature, kept Europe in the lead. The 20th century brought aircraft and computers into the equation, and kicked off the widely heralded Revolution in Military Affairs, a theoretical framework for increasing military efficiency that Black condemns as too vague, multivalent, and idealistic (proponents look forward to an age of “empty battlefield” and satellite-controlled combat) to be useful. Black’s turgid academic prose will turn off the bulk of lay readers, but specialists will appreciate his insightful analysis. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"Students will find this book a most useful introduction to a very complex subject, and particularly valuable for its notes and references to other works. Provocative and vigorously argued, Black's book will stimulate professional discussion and debate, particularly on the subject of military revolutions, always welcome in the defense community and to those who seek to understand the complex interplay of technology and warfare. . . . Highly recommended."—Choice

"Specialists will appreciate Black's insightful analysis."—Publishers Weekly

"...[F]or those interested in diving into these realities behind military history, this book is thoughtful and valuable."—Library Journal

"An interesting, thought provoking work by a major military historian . . . whose depth and wide range of knowledge across the entire sweep of world military history is without parallel. . . . Those who read this book closely will be richly rewarded for it is a mine of useful information and grist for discussion."—Spencer C. Tucker, author of The Great War, 1914–1918

"Clear, concise, and thoughtful. An eminently readable synthesis of historical literature on technology and war . . . with analyses of the limitations of the impact of technology on warfare."—John France, author of Perilous Glory: The Rise of Western Military Power

From the Publisher

Students will find this book a most useful introduction to a very complex subject, and particularly valuable for its notes and references to other works. Provocative and vigorously argued, Black's book will stimulate professional discussion and debate, particularly on the subject of military revolutions, always welcome in the defense community and to those who seek to understand the complex interplay of technology and warfare. . . . Highly recommended.

Choice

"Clear, concise, and thoughtful. An eminently readable synthesis of historical literature on technology and war... with analyses of the limitations of the impact of technology on warfare." —John France, author of Perilous Glory: The Rise of Western Military Power

John France

"An interesting, thought provoking work by a major military historian... whose depth and wide range of knowledge across the entire sweep of world military history is without parallel.... Those who read this book closely will be richly rewarded for it is a mine of useful information and grist for discussion." —Spencer C. Tucker, author of The Great War, 1914 – 1918

Spencer C. Tucker