1.

Record Nr.

UNISA996247998403316

Autore

Winkler Jonathan Reed

Titolo

Nexus : Strategic Communications and American Security in World War I / / Jonathan Reed Winkler

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cambridge, MA : , : Harvard University Press, , [2009]

©2008

ISBN

0-674-03390-6

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (347 p. ) : ill., maps ;

Collana

Harvard Historical Studies ; ; 162

Disciplina

358

Soggetti

World War, 1914-1918 - United States

World War, 1914-1918 - Diplomatic history

National security - United States - History - 20th century

Strategy - History - 20th century

World War, 1914-1918 - Communications

Communication, International - History - 20th century

Communication in politics - United States - History - 20th century

World War, 1914-1918 - Diplomatic history - 20th century - United States

World War, 1914-1918 - History - 20th century - United States

National security - History - 20th century - United States

Strategy - Communications - 20th Century

World War, 1914-1918 - History

Communication, International - History

Communication in politics

History & Archaeology

History - General

United States Foreign relations 1913-1921

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. 285-336) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Maps and Figures -- Introduction -- ONE The Information Network and the Outbreak of War -- TWO Neutrality and Vulnerability -- THREE Security and Radios -- FOUR At War in



Europe -- FIVE In Pursuit of Cables to Asia and the Americas -- SIX Radio, the Navy, and Latin America -- SEVEN The Quest for Independence -- EIGHT The Illusion of Success -- Conclusion -- Abbreviations -- Primary Sources -- Notes -- Acknowledgments -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

In an illuminating study that blends diplomatic, military, technology, and business history, Jonathan Reed Winkler shows how U.S. officials during World War I discovered the enormous value of global communications. At the outbreak of war in 1914, British control of the cable network affected the Americans' ability to communicate internationally, and the development of radio worried the Navy about hemispheric security. The benefits of a U.S. network became evident during the war, especially in the gathering of intelligence. This led to the creation of a peacetime intelligence operation, later termed the "Black Chamber," that was the forerunner of the National Security Agency. After the war, U.S. companies worked to expand network service around the world but faced industrial limitations. Focused on security concerns, the Wilson administration objected to any collaboration with British companies that might alleviate this problem. Indeed, they went so far as to create a radio monopoly and use warships to block the landing of a cable at Miami. These efforts set important precedents for later developments in telephony, shortwave radio, satellites-even the internet. In this absorbing history, Winkler sheds light on the early stages of the global infrastructure that helped launch the United States as the predominant power of the century.