From a broad, historical perspective, the dreadnought represents an
archetype, and its history a kind of moral tale. Its awesome size,
its formidable presence, and its immense power have gained it
tremendous respect, loyalty, and, as Robert O'Connell shows in this
myth-shattering book, unwarranted longevity as well. With
provocative insight and wit he offers us an irreverent history of
the modern battleship and its place in American history, from the
sinking of the coal-fueled Maine in 1898 to the deployment of the
cruise missile-armed Missouri in the Persian Gulf War of
1991.
The modern navies were the first of the armed services faced with
fundamental and abrupt technological change. The wooden sailing
ships that had fought sea battles for nearly two centuries were, in
only a few years, rendered obsolete by a veritable tidal wave of
innovation. With the deployment of the revolutionary HMS
Dreadnought in 1903, the new technology reached its full fruition:
the gigantic sleek, steel-clad, many-gunned vessel that would rule
the seas (or at least the minds of Naval commanders) for years to
come. O'Connell shows how other nations raced to emulate this new
prototype (much in the fashion of the nuclear arms race of later
decades), usually at the expense of much more effective forms of
naval force. He also demonstrates compellingly the dashed
expectations for the battleship occasioned by the outbreak of war
in 1914. While many anticipated a massive twentieth-century
Trafalgar, in actuality dreadnoughts everywhere avoided battle, and
when they did fight, the results were most often inconclusive or
even irrelevant. With the Battle of Jutland in 1916--the only real
naval showdown of the war--the ineffectiveness of the battleship as
the pre-eminent weapon of war was made abundantly clear: the German
navy scored on only 120 hits out of 3,597 heavy shells fired while
the British had an even more dismal showing--100 out of 4,598, or a
hit ratio of 2.17%. Yet, in spite of this display of impotence, the
world's great naval yards continued to turn out the huge vessels.
O'Connell observes that even after the heart of the American fleet
was sunk by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor, the almost superstitious
faith in the battleship insured its survival. While they have never
played a decisive role in the outcome of any modern war, they have
continued to be resurrected and refurbished--even equipped with
cruise missles--right up to the present day.
Sacred Vessels is more than the unmasking of a false idol of naval
history. It is a cautionary tale about the often unacknowledged
influence of human faith, culture, and tradition on the exceedingly
important, costly, and suppossedly rational process of national
defense. Not only is it a gripping tale well-told, it is essential
reading for anyone hoping to understand the dynamics involved in
the arming of nations.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
