American Military Technology

Barton C. Hacker is curator of Military History at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. He is a recipient of the Leonardo da Vinci Medal of the Society for the History of Technology and of several writing prizes. He has curated major exhibits on Submarines in the Cold War and West Point in the Making of America. His publications include books on the history of Project Gemini, radiation safety in nuclear weapons testing, and world military institutions, as well as many articles and book reviews on a wide range of topics in the history of military technology.Margaret Vining is Curatorial Specialist in Military History at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. She is also Secretary-General of the U.S. Commission on Military History. She has curated or co-curated major exhibits on the G.I. in World War II, Submarines in the Cold War, and West Point in the Making of America, as well as smaller exhibits on the G.I. Bill, the buffalo soldiers in the West, and navy women in World War I. Her publications include a book on West Point plus articles and reviews on military uniforms and women's military history.

"American Military Technology is one in a series, each volume devoted to a specific technology and its influence on society. This book is concise at 203 pages, but not lacking in detail. A well-thought-out feature is the many sidebars describing the lives of individuals who created and fostered specific military technologies from the 1700s to the present....A lesson this book builds by its sheer presentation of facts and information is that technological domination of a battlefield will not bring victory. As John Boyd (1927-97) determined, people are the key to victory and it is their ability to use technology correctly that brings success. But more so it is their ability to observe, orient, decide, and act (OODA) that allows technology to work. Recommended. All levels." -

• Introduction Before Industrialization: Through the Early 19th Century Transition to the Industrial Age: Mid-19th Century Military-Technological Revolution: Late 19th Century The Naval-Technological Revolution and the Rise of Navalism: Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries Catastrophe of Industrial War, 1914-1918 From War to War, 1919-1941 Climax of Mechanization, 1942-1945 Military Research Institutionalized, 1945-1951 Strategic Technologies Ascendant, 1952-1965 The Impact of Vietnam, 1965-1980 A New Era in Warfare? 1980-2000 Selected Readings