War and Technology [Hardcover]

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 technologys 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 dronesin 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.

Specialists will appreciate Black's insightful analysis.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.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.

Preface
Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations

Introduction: The Key Themes
1. Early Modern Western Warships: Technologies of Power Projection and Lethality
2. Gunpowder Technology, 14901800
3. Firepower, Steamships, Railways, Telegraphs, Radio: Technologies of Killing, Logistics, Command, and Control, 17751945
4. The Internal Combustion Engine: The Technology of Decentralized Power, 19102013
5. A New Sphere: Air Power, 19032013
6. Revolution, Transformation, and the Present
7. Into the Future
Conclusions
Postscript