American Arsenal : A Century of Waging War
(Book)
Author
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Copies
Location | Call Number | Status |
---|---|---|
Carnegie Public Library - NONFICTION | 355.809 COFFE | On Shelf |
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Subjects
LC Subjects
Inventors -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
Military research -- United States -- Case studies.
Military weapons -- Research -- United States -- History.
Military weapons -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
United States -- History, Military -- 20th century.
Weapons systems -- United States -- Technological innovations -- History.
Military research -- United States -- Case studies.
Military weapons -- Research -- United States -- History.
Military weapons -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
United States -- History, Military -- 20th century.
Weapons systems -- United States -- Technological innovations -- History.
More Details
Format
Book
Physical Desc
328 pages : illustrations, map ; 25 cm
Language
English
Notes
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 291-315) and index.
Description
When America declared war on Germany in 1917, the United States had only 200,000 men under arms, a twentieth of the German army's strength, and its planes were no match for the German air force. Less than a century later, the United States today has by far the world's largest military budget and provides over 40% of the world's armaments.In American Arsenal Patrick Coffey examines America's military transformation from an isolationist state to a world superpower. Focusing on fifteen specific developments, Coffey illustrates the unplanned, often haphazard nature of this transformation, which has been driven by political, military, technological, and commercial interests. Beginning with Thomas Edison's work on submarine technology, American Arsenal moves from World War I to the present conflicts in the Middle East, covering topics from chemical weapons, strategic bombing, and the nuclear standoff with the Soviet Union, to "smart" bombs, hand-held anti-aircraft missiles, and the Predator and other drone aircrafts. Coffey traces the story of each advance in weaponry from drawing board to battlefield, and includes fascinating portraits of the men who invented and deployed them -Edward Teller, "the father of the hydrogen bomb", Robert Oppenheimer, head of atomic bomb design at Los Alamos; Curtis LeMay, who led the fire-bombing of Japan; Herman Kahn, nuclear strategist and a model for Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove; Abraham Karem, inventor of the Predator, and many others. Coffey also examines the increasingly detached nature of modern American warfare- the ultimate goal is to remove soldiers from the battlefield entirely- which limits casualties (211,454 in Vietnam and only 1,231 in the Gulf War) but also lessens the political and psychological costs of going to war. Examining the backstories of every major American weapons development, American Arsenal is essential reading for anyone interested in the continuing evolution of the U.S. defense program.
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Citations
APA Citation, 7th Edition (style guide)
Coffey, P. (2014). American Arsenal: A Century of Waging War . Oxford University Press.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)Coffey, Patrick. 2014. American Arsenal: A Century of Waging War. Oxford University Press.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities (Notes and Bibliography) Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)Coffey, Patrick. American Arsenal: A Century of Waging War Oxford University Press, 2014.
MLA Citation, 9th Edition (style guide)Coffey, Patrick. American Arsenal: A Century of Waging War Oxford University Press, 2014.
Note! Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy. Citation formats are based on standards as of August 2021.
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