Naval Tradition Research Articles

Histoire de l’École Polytechnique by Ambroise Fourcy

952 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE terns has evolved from a mix of international traditions that deserve historical consideration. Todd Shallat Dr. Shallat directs the public history program at Boise State University. He recently completed a book on river and harbor development for the U.S. Armv Corps of Engineers. Histoire de l’École Polytechnique, By Ambroise Fourcy. Introduction by Jean Dhombres. Paris: Editions Belin, 1987. Pp. 516 (histoire); pp. 198 (additional material); notes, bibliography, index. F 140.00 (paper). In his introduction to this republication of Ambroise Fourcy’s classic Histoire de l’Ecole Polytechnique (brst published in 1828), Jean Dhombres points out that, in the world’s collective imagination, the Ecole Poly­ technique ranks somewhere alongside “the wines of Bordeaux, the reason of Descartes, and the Eiffel Tower.” What this has meant in terms of scholarship is that the Ecole Polytechnique is without doubt the most written about and most extensively studied technical school in the world. The work of Fourcy has a rather unique position within this extensive body of scholarship: not only was it the first major attempt to write a history of the Ecole Polytechnique, but also its author combined an intimate personal knowledge of the school with meticulous standards of scholarship. Fourcy spent most of his profes­ sional life working as the school’s head librarian, and thus he had access to all its published and archival documents. Among other things, his book includes a full listing of the 4,000 or so students who attended the school up to 1828 together with data on their subsequent occu­ pations. It is information like this, along with Fourcy’s knowledge about virtually every aspect of the school’s life in this early period, that makes his book worth reprinting. Dhombres has supplemented the text with a long section of explanatory notes and an appendix containing brief biographies of everyone mentioned in the book to­ gether with other prominent French scientists and engineers of the era. Equally important, Dhombres has included an extensive historio­ graphical essay in which he reviews more or less the entire body of scholarship concerning the Ecole Polytechnique that has appeared up to the present (and this is accompanied by a thorough bibliography of both primary and secondary sources). Anyone interested in sci­ entific and technical institutions generally (and anyone interested spe­ cifically in the history of French science and technology) can gain much from this essay. In effect, since the École Polytechnique has TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Book Reviews 953 been studied from so many perspectives, the insights that emerge from reviewing the literature about it provide a valuable guide to the analysis of scientific and technical institutions in general. And the very richness of this literature serves to emphasize the extent to which the study of technical schools and technical education has been compar­ atively neglected elsewhere (for example in the United States). Eda Kranakis Dr. Kranakis is a member of the Department of Science Dynamics at the University of Amsterdam. “The Best School in the World”: West Point, The Pre—Civil War Years, 1833— 1866. By James L. Morrison, Jr. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1986. Pp. xii + 255; illustrations, notes, appendixes, bibliog­ raphy, index. $27.50. Captains of the Old Steam Navy: Makers of the American Naval Tradition 1840-1880. Edited by James C. Bradford. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 1986. Pp. xvi + 356; illustrations, notes, bibliography, index. $24.95. These two volumes provide essential information on developments in the profession of arms in the United States. “The Best School in the World” covers the era in which developments at West Point became critical to the success of the United States on the battlefield. Captains of the Old Steam Navy deals with the professional and personal lives of selected officers whose careers included pre—Civil War and, for most of them, Civil War service. Both deal, at least in part, with the evolution of arms technology and the influence of that technology on military education and careers in the middle years of the 19th century. James L. Morrison’s work provides an in-depth analysis of the per­ sonalities involved in providing an education for army officers through...

“The Best School in the World”: West Point, The Pre—Civil War Years, 1833–1866 by James L. Morrison, Jr, and: Captains of the Old Steam Navy: Makers of the American Naval Tradition 1840–1880 ed. by James C. Bradford

TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Book Reviews 953 been studied from so many perspectives, the insights that emerge from reviewing the literature about it provide a valuable guide to the analysis of scientific and technical institutions in general. And the very richness of this literature serves to emphasize the extent to which the study of technical schools and technical education has been compar­ atively neglected elsewhere (for example in the United States). Eda Kranakis Dr. Kranakis is a member of the Department of Science Dynamics at the University of Amsterdam. “The Best School in the World”: West Point, The Pre—Civil War Years, 1833— 1866. By James L. Morrison, Jr. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1986. Pp. xii + 255; illustrations, notes, appendixes, bibliog­ raphy, index. $27.50. Captains of the Old Steam Navy: Makers of the American Naval Tradition 1840-1880. Edited by James C. Bradford. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 1986. Pp. xvi + 356; illustrations, notes, bibliography, index. $24.95. These two volumes provide essential information on developments in the profession of arms in the United States. “The Best School in the World” covers the era in which developments at West Point became critical to the success of the United States on the battlefield. Captains of the Old Steam Navy deals with the professional and personal lives of selected officers whose careers included pre—Civil War and, for most of them, Civil War service. Both deal, at least in part, with the evolution of arms technology and the influence of that technology on military education and careers in the middle years of the 19th century. James L. Morrison’s work provides an in-depth analysis of the per­ sonalities involved in providing an education for army officers through the Civil War. The book’s carefully constructed chronological format is supplemented by 100 pages of appendixes that provide in tabular form a considerable proportion of the statistical data available for the period in the USMA Archives. In addition to analysis of social, eco­ nomic, and political matters, Morrison places West Point in the context of its times with respect to education in science and technology. He also points out that not only did graduates engage in critical civil engineering projects, both as officers and as civilians, but there were also areas in which West Point mathematics, science, and engineering professors produced textbooks that were used extensively both at West Point and at other U.S. colleges, indicating that the academy’s im­ portance to developments in science and engineering is more exten­ sive than might be thought. Probably because of considerations of 954 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE length, he does not deal with graduates and professors whose careers led them to teach at other institutions, but they too made critical contributions to engineering and science. Morrison does deal in pass­ ing, however, with experiments carried out at the academy with for­ tifications and the ability of improved weaponry to destroy them. Other experiments cited involved pontoon bridges, breech-loading rifles, and cavalry saddles. James Bradford’s biographical collection has several chapters that specifically investigate 19th-century changes in science and technology. The essays on Dahlgren, Maury, and Isherwood explain the relation­ ships of these individuals to advances, respectively, in naval artillery, hydrography, and the design ofsteam machinery for naval propulsion. The remaining ten essays deal with these and other areas of advancing technology where they influenced the officers who formed the back­ bone of a professional navy, a navy that established its own academy during the period covered. Some of the details involved in the creation of the Naval Academy are provided, as are details on the personal con­ flicts between the men covered by the essays. Not all of these conflicts related to developments in maritime technology, but the stresses cre­ ated by change are made fully evident. Bradford also points out where publications by the protagonists made critical contributions to naval sci­ ence and compiles them in a thorough bibliography. The titles of both books are somewhat misleading since the years covered extend beyond those indicated. This is in part a consequence of including some treatment of the early lives of many of the indi­ viduals, coverage that...

Captains of the Old Steam Navy: Makers of the American Naval Tradition, 1840-1880.

Captains of the Old Steam Navy: Makers of the American Naval Tradition, 1840-1880.

Captains of the Old Steam Navy: Makers of the American Naval Tradition, 1840-1880 (review)

Captains of the Old Steam Navy: Makers of the American Naval Tradition, 1840-1880 (review)

Captains of the Old Steam Navy: Makers of the American Naval Tradition, 1840-1880.

Captains of the Old Steam Navy: Makers of the American Naval Tradition, 1840-1880.

Captains of the Old Steam Navy: Makers of the American Naval Tradition, 1840-1880

Captains of the Old Steam Navy: Makers of the American Naval Tradition, 1840-1880

Captains of the Old Steam Navy: Makers of the American Naval Tradition, 1840-1880

Captains of the Old Steam Navy: Makers of the American Naval Tradition, 1840-1880

Command under Sail: Makers of the American Naval Tradition, 1775-1850

Command under Sail: Makers of the American Naval Tradition, 1775-1850

Command under Sail: Makers of the American Naval Tradition, 1775-1850

Command under Sail: Makers of the American Naval Tradition, 1775-1850

"Luxury Fleet": The Imperial German Navy 1888-1918.

Introduction. 1. Modest Beginnings: The Prussian/German Naval Tradition to 1888 2. Kaiser Wilhelm ii: the Years of Hope and Misdirection, 1888-1898 3. The 'New Course': Alfred v. Tirpitz, Architect of the Battle Fleet, 1897-1905 4. The Dreadnought Challenge: The Master Plan Goes Awry, 19-05-1911 5. 'We Have Them Up Against the Wall': Denouement, 1912-1914 6. A Place in the Sun: The German Colonial Empire and the navy, 1884-1914 7. 'Men Fight, not Ships': The Personnel of the Imperial German Navy 8. August 1914: The War That Came Too Soon 9. Jutland 1916: Missed opportunity or Fortunate Escape? 10. 'Museum of Experiments': The End of the Battleship Era, 1914-1918 11. 'Between the Thames and Helgoland': German Naval Policies, 1917-1918 12. The Sun Sets: Scapa Flow, 21 June 1919.

Silver Service for the Battleship "Utah": A Naval Tradition under Governor Spry

Research Article| July 01 1978 Silver Service for the Battleship "Utah": A Naval Tradition under Governor Spry MICHAEL S. ELDREDGE MICHAEL S. ELDREDGE Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Utah Historical Quarterly (1978) 46 (3): 302–318. https://doi.org/10.2307/45060629 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Permissions Search Site Citation MICHAEL S. ELDREDGE; Silver Service for the Battleship "Utah": A Naval Tradition under Governor Spry. Utah Historical Quarterly 1 January 1978; 46 (3): 302–318. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/45060629 Download citation file: Zotero Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All Scholarly Publishing CollectiveUniversity of Illinois PressUtah Historical Quarterly Search Advanced Search The text of this article is only available as a PDF. © Copyright 1978 Utah State Historical Society1978 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

Trends in Aerial Defense

In a speech made in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1949, Sir Winston Churchill said, “For good or ill, air mastery today is the supreme expression of military power, and fleets and armies, however necessary, must accept a subordinate rank.” This statement comes from a figure of world repute whose strategic instincts are steeped in naval tradition. It has been echoed by President Eisenhower in recent speeches and Eisenhower is a General of the Army. We can therefore take it that modern air weapons are supremely important for all major aspects of contemporary strategy and politics. The big questions are these: In an age when atomic and hydrogen bombs have demonstrated that they can devastate cities and military and naval targets in a way never before experienced, would the heavy bomber and long-range rocket inevitably get through and shatter air defense? Or could prohibitive losses be inflicted again and again on the raiders so that the scale of attack dwindled? And, furthermore, could the United States or the USSR, militarily or economically, sustain a long-range atomic or hydrogen bomb and rocket air offensive? These are indeed $64 questions which are likely to be unanswerable for several years to come.

Nova Scotia and the Canadian Naval Tradition

Nova Scotia and the Canadian Naval Tradition

Naval Traditions and Modern History

Naval Traditions and Modern History

Naval Traditions

Naval Traditions

Makers of Naval Tradition

Makers of Naval Tradition