American War Machine
The US Military-Industrial Complex from Eisenhower to Trump
Mark R. Wilson(Author)
Princeton University Press
Will be published approx. on 1. June 2027
Book
Hardback
560 pages
978-0-691-26008-2 (ISBN)
Description
A sweeping history of the vast military and industrial complex behind America's unmatched power on the world stage, from the Eisenhower presidency to Trump
In January 1961, President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered his farewell address to the nation, in which he famously warned of the potential dangers of the "military-industrial complex." Eisenhower's words resonate decades later, at a time of new wars, new global rivalries, emerging technologies, and a new breed of tech-sector weapons contractors. American War Machine is the definitive history of this sprawling defense complex from the end of World War II to today.
Drawing on a wealth of new research, acclaimed historian Mark Wilson describes how the balance of government-industry relations started to shift in the early decades of the Cold War under the sway of figures like Boeing CEO Bill Allen and Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, whose efforts reduced public oversight and investment. Buoyed by bailouts under Nixon and increased defense spending under Reagan, the military-industrial complex became more profit driven as public trust eroded amid allegations of fraud and waste. Taking the story up to the present day, Wilson traces how post-Cold War retrenchment and conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan ushered in both greater consolidation and the outsourcing of everything from logistics to security. Today, Silicon Valley upstarts like SpaceX, Palantir, and Anduril pose new opportunities and risks as they compete with legacy contractors like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman.
American War Machine reveals how privatization and financialization have transformed the business and politics of war since the 1950s, and how these changes reflect shifting attitudes among the nation's leaders about the proper balance between public and private power.
In January 1961, President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered his farewell address to the nation, in which he famously warned of the potential dangers of the "military-industrial complex." Eisenhower's words resonate decades later, at a time of new wars, new global rivalries, emerging technologies, and a new breed of tech-sector weapons contractors. American War Machine is the definitive history of this sprawling defense complex from the end of World War II to today.
Drawing on a wealth of new research, acclaimed historian Mark Wilson describes how the balance of government-industry relations started to shift in the early decades of the Cold War under the sway of figures like Boeing CEO Bill Allen and Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, whose efforts reduced public oversight and investment. Buoyed by bailouts under Nixon and increased defense spending under Reagan, the military-industrial complex became more profit driven as public trust eroded amid allegations of fraud and waste. Taking the story up to the present day, Wilson traces how post-Cold War retrenchment and conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan ushered in both greater consolidation and the outsourcing of everything from logistics to security. Today, Silicon Valley upstarts like SpaceX, Palantir, and Anduril pose new opportunities and risks as they compete with legacy contractors like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman.
American War Machine reveals how privatization and financialization have transformed the business and politics of war since the 1950s, and how these changes reflect shifting attitudes among the nation's leaders about the proper balance between public and private power.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New Jersey
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Trade binding
Illustrations
35 b/w illus.
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-0-691-26008-2 (9780691260082)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Mark R. Wilson is professor of history at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. His books include Destructive Creation: American Business and the Winning of World War II and The Business of Civil War: Military Mobilization and the State, 1861-1865.