MR. LINCOLN’S HIGH TECH WAR

According to the authors, Abraham Lincoln was part of the last generation of Americans who didn’t expect technology ever to change. The cabins, farm tools, guns and cooking utensils of his day were not significantly different from those of his great-great-great-great-grandfather. But the Industrial Revolution changed everyone’s lives, and since war was the defining feature of Lincoln’s presidency, technology changed the way war was waged. In its course, the Civil War was both the last ancient war and the first modern war. Each chapter of this handsome volume looks at a different technology and its role in the the war, including railroads, observation balloons and aerial telegrams, ironclad ships, rifles and early machine guns. Clear, matter-of-fact writing and an abundance of photographs, maps, magazine illustrations and political cartoons make this a fascinating read and a fine resource for Civil War collections. An older technology—the magnifying glass—will be necessary for reading the bibliography and source notes. (online resources, index) (Nonfiction. 10 & up)