War and technology [[electronic resource] /] / Jeremy Black

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910452781903321
• Autore: Black Jeremy <1955->
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: Bloomington, : Indiana University Press, c2013
• ISBN: 0-253-00989-8
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (342 p.)
• Disciplina: 355/.07
• Soggetti: Military weapons - History; Military art and science - History; Military art and science - Technological innovations - History; Electronic books.
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Note generali: Description based upon print version of record.
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references and index.
• Nota di contenuto: Introduction: the key themes -- Early modern western warships: technologies of power projection and lethality -- Gunpowder technology, 1490-1800 -- Firepower, steamships, railways, telegraphs, radio: technologies of killing, logistics, command, and control, 1775-1945 -- The internal combustion engine: the technology of decentralized power, 1910-2013 -- A new sphere: air power, 1903-2013 -- Revolution, transformation, and the present -- Into the future -- Conclusions -- Postscript.
• Sommario/riassunto: 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 a