War Made New Technology Warfare and the Course of History 1500 to Today by Max Boot was a book that made me realize that there were many weak and small groups of people could challenge much stronger and better groups For example Japan at around 1850 was still keeping out the western influences But a half a century later this changed They became known as one of the superpowers because of its victory in the Russo Japanese War A uote explainsOut of thirty eight Russian warships that had entered Tsushima Strait thirty one had been captured or sunk including all of the battleships Russian losses amounted to 4830 dead 5907 captured and an unknown number wounded The Japanese lost only 117 officers and men killed and another 583 were wounded A number of Japanese ships including the Mikasa were damaged and three torpedo boats had been sunk but not a single battleship or cruiser had been lostpg 191 This shows that the Japanese uickly modernized and defeated a very strong Russian fleet which is pretty impressive I can infer that the Japanese modernized fleet and well respected men could easily destroy anyone with an ancient fleet and horrible conditions because as a rule people with a advance and untied cause could easily beat the opponent Another case is the French and the German in 1941 The weaken Germans easily captured France without drastic loses In conclusion this book shows how weaken or small armies of countries could match a superpowerUS Christian romance historical Whenever I pick up a book newspaper or magazine my expectation is that I will be learning something new by reading it So it is always a bit of a let down when a book fails this test as did War Made New by Max Boot OK so I'm getting old and jaded War Made New is nothing new since the ground was already covered by numerous authors like van Creveld Dupuy Weigley Addington and others War Made New would do just fine as a starter book but experienced readers won't lose anything by skipping it Boot sticks with the John Keegan method of exposition looking at the progression of technology and war by settling on episodic chapters that act as mile markers on a long road Some chapters shine better than others The B 29s over Japan chapter seemed sidetracked as over half the developmental narrative replayed the air war over Europe The Ira War chapter seemed muddled recitation than analysis and seemed to gloss over the propagandainformation war aspects that would seem understandable to a newspaper reporter Boot is still very readable but it is very difficult for a journalist to break away from the who what when where of a story so he can really really dwell on why and how Here Boot runs uneven sometimes really explaining how technology and war had progressed in some chapters and seemingly missing the boat in others He scores well in his chapters of Gustavus Adolphus at Breitenfeld and Lutzen or von Moltke at Konnigratz The chapter on Midway proved weak with time spent on trends leading to the battle while giving the battle itself less time than it took to scrag three Japanese carriers Boot waxes poetic about the technology and tactics but overlooks doctrine and luck I have a feelign this volume will linger on my shelfes for a couple of years before I take it to the used bookstore At least I bought it used in the first place The book was OK It should have been better It still works as a starter book though based on its readability and topic selection Christian romance historical Because military innovation spread so rapidly in Europe the first mover advantage was limitedEven the poet Belloc understood the advantage of technology Whatever happens we have go the Maxim Gun and they have not Though some armies did not adopt advantages like the Union initially not taking the Spencer and Sharps repeating rifles because the head of ordnance thought that they would waste ammunitionFor all the advances in planes Boot claims that the Norden bombsight was the biggest advantage the US had in WWII Christian romance historical Engaging summary of some of the Revolutions in Military Affairs throughout history Christian romance historical I purchased this book expecting it to be a misguided proclamation of the current overwhelming might of the United States military; however I was pleasantly surprised that it turned out to be far insightful and nuanced than I had anticipated Boot divides modern military history into periods separated by four “revolutions”—Gunpowder First Industrial Second Industrial and Information I’m generally skeptical of efforts to say “this period was where the transformation took place” For instance combined arms warfare has its origins World War I efforts to break the trench warfare dreadlock but it wasn’t until 1940 that the concept was effectively proven So when did the revolution occur? Boot skirts this problem by broadening his revolutions to be decades long periods of innovation which allows him to have plausible divisions of modern history Still I did have a couple of issues with the book First Boot’s descriptions of battles seemed somewhat juvenile Discussions of swords cleaving through bodies like “tender steak” are simply not appropriate for a scholarly book Secondly I found his section on the Information Revolution to be fairly boring Though it’s probably because I’m far familiar with the capabilities of the modern American military than I am with those of the 19th Century Prussian force I wish that he had condensed that section where possible I found many of his conclusions insightful—the book’s concluding section is chalked full of interesting points—and his book has definitely influenced my thinking about the evolution of warfare Christian romance historical
Very illuminating fills in some of the blanks of Ira and Afghanistan warsAuthor is a conservative and it shows but does try to show both sides Christian romance historical Good Overview of Military Technological ProgessThis is before Max Boot went off the deep end so don't worry This book provides plenty of information about the several revolutions that have transformed warfare It also details important battles showcasing these revolutions in an engaging and descriptive way The digital version has notes at the end but no footnotes within the text However the notes and bibliography at the end indicate that it is well sourced Christian romance historical This book took uite a while for me to read but it was certainly a worthwhile read and one that has a lot of appeal to it If you have an encyclopedic interest in military history and various real and supposed military revolutions 1 this book will have much of interest This is a book that manages to balance several serious concerns giving praise to the United States and its military as well as nations like Israel who have done a good job so far in dealing with the information revolution while also cautioning the American military establishment and American readers against overconfidence because the American military is so powerful at present In general given the author's complex point and very lengthy discussion I think that in general the author does a good job at presenting the way in which technology techniues and warfare have changed over the past 500 years Is this book perfect? By no means but it is a generally good book and that is something to appreciate For most readers looking for military history and willing to deal with this book's length that will certainly be enoughConcerning this book's scope it is epic enough that in order to go into the depth he wishes the author chooses to limit which battles and campaigns he discusses making it clear that there is certain selectivity involved Overall the book is almost 500 pages in length apart from its lengthy bibliography and endnotes The book is divided into two parts that look at war in the last 500 years from a viewpoint of there being four revolutions up to the present First the author discusses the gunpowder revolution by looking at the battles of the Spanish Armada the battles of Gustavus Adolphus in the Thirty Years' War and the battle of Assaye bookended with the rise of the age and the conseuences of the age which are sections included in all of the other parts as well Then the author discusses the first industrial revolution with a look at the battle of Koniggratz the slaughter am Omduram and Japan's stunning victory at Tsushima The second industrial age is examined through Germany's conuest of France in 1940 the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor and the firebombing of Tokyo in March 1945 The fourth part of the book looks at the information revolution and Desert ShieldStorm Afghanistan and the Second Ira War There is a short fifth section on revolutions to come along with an epilogue and a lot of acknowledgements Throughout the author gives a great deal of critical analysis about failures and successes and ways that money and power were not always guaranteed ways of leading to victory for nationsYet although this book is very good it is not by any means a perfect book Part of this comes from the author's own biases such as a hostility to religion and to moral factors when it comes to the military One gets the sense that the author is upset that popular support of war and military operations is tied to moral behavior in those operations leading to difficulty in achieving outcomes without unacceptable and immoral conseuences The author also shows a strange inability to wrestle with the civilian helpers of war neglecting the vital importance of civil aviation to US effectiveness in the aerial warfare of World War II or to the general success that came from investment in human elements as well as technological improvement Although democracy is not necessarily a handmaiden of warfare those nations that did not increase the achievements and capabilities of their citizenry have consistently failed in warfare over the past few centuries This is certainly a lesson that contemporary nations would do well to understand and wrestle with1 See for example Christian romance historical 'Historical surveys of war and the way technological developments change the way it is fought are common—from the tours de force of major military historians like Martin Van Creveld and William O’Neill to potboilers marketed to 12 year old boys In his new book Max Boot certainly aspires to be among the former and the enthusiastic recommendations on the book’s dust jacket from no less than Sen John McCain Robert Kaplan retired Lt Gen Bernard Trainor and Paul Kennedy certainly add to this impression But War Made New is remarkably superficial and filled with the most extraordinary lacunae It ignores—by accident or design—the most important developments in modern military technology'Read the full review On War It's Not on our website Christian romance historical While not necessarily a bad overview that's all it is an overview Christian romance historical
A monumental groundbreaking work of history that shows how technological and strategic revolutions have transformed the battlefield—from the Spanish Armada to the War on Terror— and how mastery of these innovations has shaped the rise and fall of nations and empires In War Made New acclaimed author Max Boot explores how innovations in warfare mark crucial turning points in modern history influencing events well beyond the realm of combat Combining gripping narrative history with wide ranging analysis Boot focuses on four “revolutions” in military affairs and describes key battles from each period to explain how inventions ranging from gunpowder to GPS guided air strikes have remade the field of battle— and shaped the rise and fall of empires Bringing to life battles from the defeat of the Spanish Armada to Wellington’s victory at Assaye War Made New analyzes the Gunpowder Revolution and explains warfare’s evolution from ritualistic drawn out engagements to much deadlier events precipitating the rise of the modern nation state He next explores the triumph of steel and steam during the Industrial Revolution including the British triumph at Omdurman and the climax of the Russo Japanese war at Tsushima showing how it powered the spread of European colonial empires Moving into the twentieth century and the Second Industrial Revolution Boot examines three critical clashes of World War II—the German army’s blitzkrieg Pearl Harbor and the firebombing of Tokyo—to illustrate how new technology such as the tank radio and airplane ushered in terrifying new forms of warfare that aided the rise of highly centralized and even totalitarian world powers Finally in his section on the Information Revolution Boot focuses on the Gulf War the invasion of Afghanistan and the Ira war arguing that even as cutting edge technologies such as stealth aircraft have made America the greatest military power in world history advanced communications systems have allowed decentralized “irregular” forces to become an increasingly significant threat to Western power BACKCOVER Advance Praise for War Made New “Max Boot traces the impact of military revolutions on the course of politics and history over the past 500 years In doing so he shows that changes in military technology are limited not to warfighting alone but play a decisive role in shaping our world Sweeping and erudite while entirely accessible to the lay reader this work is key for anyone interested in where military revolutions have taken us—and where they might lead in the future” —US Senator John McCain “While much has been in written in recent years about the so called ‘Revolution in Military Affairs’ Max Boot is the first scholar to place it within the broad sweep of history and in the context of the rise of the West in world affairs since 1500 In so doing he not only tells a remarkable tale but he compels us all even those obsessed solely with contemporary military affairs to ask the right uestions and to distinguish what is truly new and revolutionary from what is merely ephemeral He has rendered a valuable service and given us a fascinating read at the same time so we are doubly in his debt” —Paul Kennedy Professor of History at Yale University and author of The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers “ War Made New is impressive in scope What is eually impressive is its uniue interpretation of the causal relationship between technology warfare and the contemporary social milieu This is a superb thinking person's book which scrutinizes conventional historical wisdom through a new lens” —Lt Gen Bernard E Trainor USMC ret co author of Cobra II The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Ira “Max Boot's book takes hundred of years of tactical battle history and reduces it to an incisive narrative of how war has changed By providing such a coherent view of the past he has pointed us toward the future What is doubly impressive is how he draws surprising fresh lessons from wars we thought we knew so much about but in fact didn't” —Robert D Kaplan author of Imperial Grunts War Made New Technology Warfare and the Course of History 1500 to Today