In a familiar story; the USS Monitor battled the CSS Virginia (the armored and refitted USS Merrimack) at Hampton Roads in March of 1862. In War; Technology; and Experience aboard the USS Monitor; David A. Mindell adds a new perspective to the story as he explores how mariners―fighting "blindly" below the waterline―lived and coped with the metal monster they called the "iron coffin." Mindell shows how the iron warship emerged as an idea and became practicable; how building it drew upon and forced changes in contemporary manufacturing technology; and how the vessel captured the nineteenth-century American popular and literary imaginations.Combining technical; personal; administrative; and literary analysis; Mindell examines the experience of the men aboard the Monitor and their reactions to the thrills and dangers that accompanied the new machine. The invention surrounded men with iron and threatened their heroism; their self-image as warriors; even their lives. Mindell also examines responses to this strange new warship by Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville; who prophetically saw in the Civil War a portent of the mechanized warfare of the future. The story of the Monitor shows how technology changes not only the tools but also the very experience of combat; generating effects that are still felt today in the era of "smart bombs" and pushbutton wars."We find new significance in the otherwise well-known history of the Monitor. It is no longer the story of the heroic inventor and his impenetrable weapon thrusting themselves upon a doubtful and conservative bureaucracy... It is no longer the story of a heroic battle and the machine's epic loss soon after. Rather it is a story of people experiencing new machinery; attempting to make sense of its thrills; constrictions; and politics; and sensing its power and impotence―both in glory and frustration."―from War; Technology; and Experience aboard the USS Monitor
#716878 in Books Luttwak; Edward N. 1979-01-01Ingredients: Example IngredientsOriginal language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x 6.00 x .50l; .91 #File Name: 0801821584272 pages
Review
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Clausewitz in a togaBy RETThis book is approachable to the strategist; the scholar and the simply curious. Well-written and well-reasoned; Luttwak has produced yet another excellent book. The approach of using modern strategical analysis on Roman politico-military affairs is something that has long been missing from studies of the Roman Army. Certainly the armchair legates who cry that the death of the Roman Empire was in its failure to continue expanding should read this book before continuing to rant their expansion-without-profit creed!0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. I recommend this bookBy moises nadalThe topic is too important to be ignored. I recommend this book. I liked the quick service and fast delivery by this store. Thanks.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Bob GibsonGreat support
