American Arsenal: A Century of Waging War

Over the course of American history, the American military has produced many new and revolutionary weapons from Agent Orange and napalm to the atomic bomb. In this compelling book, author Patrick Coffey shows the inception, development, and use of these weapons. The book also goes into detail about many aspects of the United States military and why the prevailing culture at the time was such a great influence on the weapons’ development. For example, the chapter about the development of the revolutionary gas known as ‘Lewisite’, that would be used to combat the Axis powers during World War I, showed the woeful ignorance of the US military regarding gas. At the beginning of the war, the military had no defense against the Axis’ gas weapons, but the US military was quickly able to develop its own gas defenses. My favorite chapter was the one about napalm; it explained why napalm was such a deadly and effective weapon against Japanese cities during US firebombing campaigns. It also went into great detail about bats, the napalm deployment program where napalm was strapped to the bodies of bats and sent into cities. There were many problems, but even though this strategy never saw combat, it was proved that it could be an extremely effective tactic. This book will prove fascinating to anyone interested in military history and the development of modern American weaponry.