American arsenal : a century of waging war / Patrick Coffey.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Coffey, Patrick.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Inventors--United States--History--20th century.

Inventors.

Military research--United States--Case studies.

Military research.

Military weapons--Research--United States--History.

Military weapons.

Military weapons--United States--History--20th century.

Weapons systems--Technological innovations--United States--History.

Weapons systems.

United States--History, Military--20th century.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (337 p.)

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; NewYork : Oxford University Press, [2014]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

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 h

Contents:

Edison at war

Gassing the senator

Mitchell's war in three dimensions

The bombsight

Precision bombing tested

Napalm

The switch

The atomic bomb

The weapon not used

The Cold War and the hydrogen bomb

Missiles

War games

Lessons from Vietnam

Star Wars

Smart bombs and drones

Epilogue.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-19-934172-9

0-19-995975-7

OCLC:

863042951