TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Book Reviews 265 port, the last available vessel blew up and sank, leaving Rouny and others stranded on shore. Having lost their radios on the sinking ship, they used powdered milk on the runway to spell out a message to the Air Force, which sent in rescue planes. Imagination is clearly a vital asset for any officer. Back in the United States as an instructor in the Infantry School at Fort Benning, Rouny made a strong pitch for the use of helicop ters by the Army. For this he was soundly criticized by the Army Chief of Staff, who wanted to avoid a roles and missions turf battle with the air force. Leaders in the Department of Defense, however, sup ported Rouny’s view. This led to the formation of the famous Howze Board under General Hamilton Howze, culminating in the creation of an air assault division that performed effectively in Vietnam and established choppers in a wide range of roles in the Army. If Rouny had had no subsequent career, his early advocacy ofair mobility and choppers as air cavalrywould alone have marked him as an outstand ing officer. He understood that technological advances do not be come effective weaponry until accompanied by carefully wrought doctrines to insure effective exploitation. This volume, a worthy addition to the Engineer Memoir series, has many virtues. There are anecdotes and perceptive observations on many officials, much sound advice on officership and the art of negotiating with foreign nationals, as well as a virtual case history on the importance of continual education to fit one for high office. In sum, Rouny played a significant role in that vital task of envi sioning the potential ofnovel technology and providing the intellec tual link that formulates doctrines to insure appropriate and effec tive application. On the negative side, the volume contains far too many photographs of Rouny and many political celebrities, includ ing the five presidents he served. His accomplishments are suffi ciently impressive to speak for themselves. He had no need to in clude the political mug shots which public relations staffs grind out in profusion. I. B. HolleyJr. Dr. Holley is emeritus professor of history at Duke University. He writes on mili tary technology and doctrine, teaches at Duke, and lectures at many of the military service schools. Flight Management Systems: The Evolution of Avionics and Navigation Technology. By Samuel B. Fishbein. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1995. Pp. xxii+237; illustrations, figures, bibliography, index. $65.00 (cloth). Modern aviation depends on highly sophisticated instruments and electronic systems to ensure the safety of the thousands of airplanes 266 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE aloft at any given time. Without avionics (aviation electronics) sys tems, a pilot would find it difficult, if not impossible, to know the condition of his aircraft and to navigate it at high altitudes, in dark ness, or through inclement weather. Air traffic control systems man age the growing volume of traffic that fills the sky and reduce the chance of collision to near zero. These devices and systems, known collectively as flight manage ment systems, are a relatively recent phenomenon. Seventy years ago, the typical aviator had no more than a magnetic compass, an airspeed indicator, and a couple ofengine gauges to keep him com pany in the cockpit. Everything else he knew about the airplane and how it was flying came, quite literally, through the seat of his pants. Today, the cockpit is filled with instruments, and the airline captain is often busier supervising the flight than flying the airplane. Al though their goals and methods are different, military pilots are like wise dependent on advanced avionics to complete their missions suc cessfully. The story of how such a dramatic change in aviation occurred in such a short time has yet to be adequately told. With the vast collec tion of devices and systems involved, the task is daunting indeed, and only a few authors, such as Bill Gunston in Avionics: The Story and Technology of Aviation Electronics (Wellingborough, Northamp tonshire: Patrick Stephens, 1990), have contributed pieces of the puzzle. As both an engineer who worked with such systems and a professional historian at the National Air...