Description
Book SynopsisThe evolution and persistence of the battleship navy,he argues, offer direct insight into the dominance of the aircraft-carrier paradigm after 1945 and into the twenty-first century.
Trade ReviewAn intellectual history of American naval technology that examines the dominance of the battleship mentality... Thought-provoking, a book sure to spark debate. -- Robert J. Schneller, Jr. Technology and Culture One could say this is yet another book about the rise and fall of the battleship as the centerpiece of naval power. But what sets the author's subtle work apart from earlier histories is his purpose. He sets out neither to defame nor defend naval leaders. Do not expect to find even the most obvious troglodyte of an admiral belittled in this text... [A] well-balanced analysis. -- Michael A. Palmer U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings An excellent survey of how the U.S. Navy adapted to changing technology, and how technological change in turn shaped the Navy. New York Military Affairs Symposium Newsletter McBride examines the tendency of military institutions to favour stability over radical innovations... Well researched and clearly written. -- Christopher Bell Northern Mariner 2003 Well written, easy to read, and ultimately leads the reader to think about the larger issues of technological change. -- Steve R. Waddell History: Reviews of New Books 2001 This fine study explores the dynamics through which American naval officers have interacted with technological change. -- James C. Bradford Journal of Military History 2001
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Introduction
1. The Postbellum Naval Profession: From Discord to Amalgamation
2. Competing for Control: Line Officers, Engineers, and the Technological Exemplar of the Battleship Paradigm
3. Refining the Technological Ideal: The Simsian Uproar, Engineer Bashing, and the All-Big-Gun Battleship
4. Technological Trajectory: Geostrategic Design Criteria, Turboelectric Propulsion, and Naval-Industrial Relations
5. Anomalous Technologies of the Great War: Airplanes, Submarines, and the Professional Status Quo
6. Controlling Aviation after the World War: The 1924 Special Board and the Technological Ceiling for Aviation
7. Disarmament, Depression, and Politics: Technological Momentum and the Unstable Dynamics of the Hoover-Roosevelt Years
8. War and a Shifting Technological Paradigm: Fast Task Forces and "Three-Plane" Warfare
9. Castles of Steel: Technological Change and the Modern Navy
Notes
Note on Sources
Index
