American Military Technology: The Life Story of a Technology

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JHU Press, Nov 29, 2007 - History - 232 pages

The growth of American engineering and science has affected military technology, organization, and practice from the colonial era to the present day—even as military concerns have influenced, and often funded, domestic engineering programs and scientific development. American Military Technology traces the interplay of technology and science with the armed forces of the United States in terms of what Hacker and Vining view as epochs: 1840–1865, the introduction of modern small arms, steam power, and technology, science, and medicine; 1900–1914, the naval arms race, torpedoes and submarines, and the signal corps and the airplane; and 1965–1971, McNamara's Pentagon, technology in Vietnam, guided missiles, and smart bombs.

The book is an excellent springboard for understanding the complex relationship of science, technology, and war in American history.

 

Contents

Through the Early Nineteenth Century
1
MidNineteenth Century
19
Late Nineteenth Century
35
Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries
49
19141918
63
19191941
79
19421945
93
19451951
109
19521965
123
19651980
137
19802000
151
Glossary
167
Select Bibliography
173
Index
191
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About the author (2007)

Barton C. Hacker is the curator of military history at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. He has received the Leonardo da Vinci Medal of the Society for the History of Technology and several writing prizes. He has curated major military and naval exhibits at the Smithsonian.