General & Miscellaneous Military History, Military - Weapons - General & Miscellaneous, Military - Strategy, Technology - General & Miscellaneous
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Overview
Technological failure often results when one side in a conflict does not fully grasp the potential impact of known, or even familiar, weapons in the enemy's hands. In most cases, such failure resulted from higher officials' ignorance or their total misunderstanding of the importance and relevance of such technology and science, as well as their application to warfare. Technological failure is also the root cause of technological surprise. While operational surprise on the battlefield poses grave problems, technological surprise is far more serious, because, as Azriel Lorber explains, it usually leads to disasters on the battlefield and is more difficult to recover from. In too many cases, technological failure and surprise stem from all-too-human characteristics, such as self-satisfaction, disdain for the adversary, obtuseness, and conservatism. Because these traits show no evidence of disappearing, political decision-makers and military commanders should be aware that technological failure and technological surprise could happen at any time.Editorials
Booknews
Lorber, an aerospace engineer and retired Israeli Defense Force officer, analyzes how technological failure affects the conduct of warfare and shows how human nature plays into technological issues, with case examples drawn largely from the two world wars. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)Book Details
Published
June 28, 2002
Publisher
Potomac Books, Inc.
Pages
304
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9781574883954