This wide-ranging; original account of the politics and economics of the giant military supply project in the North reconstructs an important but little-known part of Civil War history. Drawing on new and extensive research in army and business archives; Mark R. Wilson offers a fresh view of the wartime North and the ways in which its economy worked when the Lincoln administration; with unprecedented military effort; moved to suppress the rebellion. This task of equipping and sustaining Union forces fell to career army procurement officers. Largely free from political partisanship or any formal free-market ideology; they created a mixed military economy with a complex contracting system that they pieced together to meet the experience of civil war. Wilson argues that the North owed its victory to these professional military men and their finely tuned relationships with contractors; public officials; and war workers. Wilson also examines the obstacles military bureaucrats faced; many of which illuminated basic problems of modern political economy: the balance between efficiency and equity; the promotion of competition; and the protection of workers' welfare. The struggle over these problems determined the flow of hundreds of millions of dollars; it also redirected American political and economic development by forcing citizens to grapple with difficult questions about the proper relationships among government; business; and labor. Students of the American Civil War will welcome this fresh study of military-industrial production and procurement on the home front―long an obscure topic.
#98399 in Books Dwight David Eisenhower 1997-06-06Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.50 x 1.41 x 5.50l; 1.58 #File Name: 080185668X608 pagesCrusade in Europe
Review
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful. An Eagle Eye View of WWII in EuropeBy M. MacGowanI have been studying WWII for many years. However; FINALLY picking this book up and reading it has led me to tell others that I really wish I would have read it a long time ago. This is a very fascinating; sweeping view of the war in Africa; Sicily; Italy; and Fortress Europe. Gen. Eisenhower provides many great insights and details that only the Supreme Allied Commander could reveal. His relationships with other leaders; American and otherwise; gives much evidence to how difficult it was to hold the whole thing together with so many personalities and egos involved. The detailed strategy and tactics were most enjoyable to read for someone like myself who likes such detail. it might prove a bit much though for somebody who may just be interested in a more general telling of the war in Europe. Plentiful maps and detailed analysis abound in this book. Ultimately; one definitely comes away from it with a better appreciation and understanding of what a great general; strategist; tactician; American; and human being Dwight D. Eisenhower was. George C. Marshall knew what he was doing when he put him in charge.5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Crusade in EuropeBy John BlantonI purchased this book with the purpose of writing a review on the 70th anniversary of the European campaign. My review begins as follows:I was born before Eisenhower got the nod to become supreme commander of Allied forces in Europe; and in my early years I was a fan of his when he made his bid for the presidency. You could get; for free I’m sure; campaign buttons that said “I Like Ike;†and I had one of those and wore it to school. There was considerable push back from my classmates; because Texas was strongly Democratic at the time.Anyhow; I was in grade school when Eisenhower became president; and when he left office I was serving aboard an aircraft carrier in the Navy. A lot changed in the country during that time; and Eisenhower’s presentation and his mannerisms had become a familiar part of the American fabric. Reading the book brings a lot of that back. What is most noticeable is that he wrote just like he talked. In contrast to Eisenhower’s reserved tone; Winston Churchill’s delivery in The Second World War is almost shrill. This book would put you to sleep if the subject matter were not so intense.Up front I’m going to give the plot away. We won. At the time George C. Marshall was Army Chief of Staff; and Churchill; though he admired Eisenhower as a commander; was sure that Marshall would get the job of commanding Allied forces in the invasion of France. It was Franklin Roosevelt’s choice; and it turned out to be the right one.The complete review can be found here:http://skeptic78240.wordpress.com/2014/03/06/crusade-in-europe/0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. After all these years; I finally read Ike's view of the war.By James PalmerI've read a ton of WWII history; and particularly enjoyed Rick Atkinson's "Liberation Trilogy" of three books "An Army at Dawn;" "The Day of Battle;" and "The Guns at Last Light;" which provided much more detailed analysis. If that's what you are looking for; then Ike's book isn't for you.But; I did enjoy reading Ike's book at long last; recognizing that it was one of the earliest descriptions of the war in Europe; and his problems and solutions in waging it. I do think he went a bit light on the causes of the huge loss of American lives at Omaha Beach; Monty's shortcomings in his "Market Garden" campaign; and the way the Battle of the Bulge was allowed to happen (Ike does have one sentence about that; which places the blame on himself). Still; this was good insight from his point of view.Having read so many other books (including Atkinson's ones above) which portrayed British Field Marshall Montgomery as a general pain who was always carping and criticizing; grasping for overall command; and clearly making Ike's job harder; I admired Ike's restraint in hardly mentioning any of that; and not making more than a passing issue of Monty's sometimes over-caution; and other failures. In fact he was generous with his credit to Monty in several cases. I thought it was a pretty darned good book from a man who was not a professional writer; and had many other issues on his mind after the war.
