From Crossbow to H-Bomb; The Evolution of the Weapons and Tactics of Warfare

Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1973. First Midland Edition [stated]. Second Printing [stated]. Revised and Enlarged Edition. Trade paperback. Good. 320 pages. Bibliography and Name and Weapon Index. Cover has some wear and soiling. Includes Introduction, as well as chapters on Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Also includes The Impact of Gunpowder, War and Science in the 17th Century; The 18th Century and Napoleonic Wars; The 19th Century; World War One, the Use and Non-Use of Science; World War Two; The Nuclear Revolution; Operations and Systems Analysis, the Science of Strategic Choice; and Recent Weaponry Changes (1962--1972). This is a comprehensive history of weapons from Archimedes' catapult down to MIRV and the ABM, as well as a thoughtful examination of the application of science to warfare and its effects on military strategy. Although the authors do not overlook the contributions of craftsmen and intuitive inventors, their chief emphasis is on the advances wrought by scientists and hence on the events of the last two centuries. An extensive new chapter brings the reader up to date on guided missiles, antiballistic systems, nuclear-powered weaponry born of the wish to "put the nuclear genie back into the bottle." With exhaustive research and lucid exposition, the Brodies have produced a classic in the field of military history that can be understood and enjoyed by the general reader. Bernard Brodie (May 20, 1910 - November 24, 1978) was an American military strategist well known for establishing the basics of nuclear strategy. Known as "the American Clausewitz," and "the original nuclear strategist," he was an initial architect of nuclear deterrence strategy and tried to ascertain the role and value of nuclear weapons after their creation. Working at the RAND Corporation, Brodie wrote Strategy in the Missile Age, which outlined the framework of deterrence. Brodie was initially a strong supporter of the concept of escalating responses; he promoted the view that a war in Europe would be started with conventional forces and escalate to nuclear only if and when necessary. After a meeting with French counterparts in 1960, he came to espouse a very different policy, one based purely on nuclear deterrence with the stated position that the US would use nuclear arms at the first instance of hostilities of any sort. Brodie felt that anything short of this seriously eroded the concept of deterrence and might lead to situations where one side might enter hostilities believing it could remain non-nuclear. This change in policy made Brodie increasingly at odds with his contemporaries. Brodie was also responsible, along with Michael Howard and Peter Paret, for making the writings of the Prussian strategist Carl von Clausewitz more accessible to the English-speaking world. Brodie's incisive "A guide to the reading of On War" in the Princeton translation of 1976 corrected most of the misinterpretations of the theory and provided students with an accurate synopsis of the vital work. In 1959. Bernard was awarded a grant by the Carnegie Foundation. The grant, a "Reflective Year Fellowship," allowed the family to spend a year in Paris. Out of this came Fawn and Bernard Brodie's first collaborative work, From Crossbow to H-Bomb. Fawn McKay Brodie (September 15, 1915 - January 10, 1981) was an American biographer and one of the first female professors of history at UCLA, who is best known for Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate History (1974), a work of psychobiography.