War in the Age of Technology: Myriad Faces of Modern Armed Conflict

Bys: Geoffrey Jensen and Andrew Wiest

Book Overview

Technology of one kind or another has always been a central ingredient in war. The Spartan king Archidamus, for instance, reacted with alarm when first witnessing a weapon that could shoot darts through the air. And yet during the past two centuries technology has played an unprecedented role in military affairs and thinking, and in the overall conduct of war. In addition, the impact of new technology on warfare has brought major social and cultural changes.
This volume explores the relationship between war, technology, and modern society over the course of the last several centuries. The two world wars, total conflicts in which industrial technology took a terrible human toll, brought great changes to the practice of organized violence among nations; even so many aspect of military life and values remained largely unaffected. In the latter half of the twentieth century, technology in the form of nuclear deterrence appears to have prevented the global conflagration of world war while complicating and fueling ferocious regional contests.
A stimulating fusion of military and social history, extending back to the eighteenth century, and with contributions from such leading historians as Brian Bond, Paddy Griffith, and Neil McMillen, War in the Age of Technology will interest lay readers and specialists alike.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0814742513
• ISBN13: 9780814742518
• Release Date: April 2001
• Publisher: New York University Press
• Length: 406 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

lots of bang for the buck

The title is a little misleading, since some of the chapters are not directly related to technology per se. But there are some really good pieces in this volume, e.g. Paddy Griffith on weapons technology, Sean McKnight on Iraq (especially worth reading now!), Michael Orr on the Soviet/Russian army that screwed up in Afghanistan and is trying to get its act together now in Chechnya, and Brian Bond on changing interpretations of the Somme. -Even if you don't like all 13 chapters, you're sure to like enough to make it worthwhile--the paperback edition is an excellent value.