Instrumental In War ― Science, Research, And Instruments Betweeen Knowledge And The World

Covering (a bit unevenly) the past 400 years of American, British, and French history, this collection examines the progress of the use of scientific instrumental thought in war. Presented by Walton (science, technology, and society, Penn State U.), 12 contributions examine early modern armies acceptance of scientific models and ideas of the "Scientific Revolution, as well as the developments of particular instruments in the service of war, and relate these processes to wider social, political, and economic developments within the military itself and in the world. Amongst the topics discussed are the advocacy by gunners for the instatement mathematical, instruments, and behaviors into the field of artillery; the British subjugation of Ireland as a trigger for instrumental use of rapid cadastral surveying by circumferentor and chain; the role of the military telegraph in the creation of the US National Weather Service; archaeological investigation of the 19th century US ordnance testing site, the Sandy Hook Proving Grounds; and comparative British and French attitudes towards scientific development of gyrocompasses during the period between World Wars I and II. Annotation c2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Steven A. Walton, Ph.D. (1999), Toronto, teaches Science, Technology, and Society at Penn State University. Working on the intersection of military technology and scientific understanding, he currently is working on renaissance gunnery, nineteenth-century American ordnance manufacture, and post-Civil War torpedo research.