This impressively researched and controversial book presents an alternative account of the development of one of the greatest states of the twentieth-century. It represents the culmination of David Edgerton's long-standing research on the relationship between science, technology, the military and the British state. Edgerton seeks to put the warfare state back into the history of twentieth-century Britain by restoring militarism, science and technology to that history and by challenging conventional accounts that centre on the notion of the welfare state and the narrative of British decline.

This impressively researched and controversial book presents an alternative account of the development of one of the greatest states of the twentieth-century. It represents the culmination of David Edgerton's long-standing research on the relationship between science, technology, the military and the British state. Edgerton seeks to put the warfare state back into the history of twentieth-century Britain by restoring militarism, science and technology to that history and by challenging conventional accounts that centre on the notion of the welfare state and the narrative of British decline.

This book is the first comprehensive treatment of the history of British science and technology in relation to economic performance. Using a wealth of previously unknown statistical data, David Edgerton draws new and controversial conclusions about British innovation and technical training since 1870, and provides a unique guide to the debates around the subject. This book will be of interest to economic historians and political scientists, as well as scientists and engineers, and will be invaluable to students approaching the subject for the first time.

The familiar image of the British in the Second World War is that of the plucky underdog taking on German might. David Edgerton's bold, compelling new history shows the conflict in a new light, with Britain as a very wealthy country, formidable in arms, ruthless in pursuit of its interests, and in command of a global production system. Rather than belittled by a Nazi behemoth, Britain arguably had the world's most advanced mechanized forces. It had not only a great empire, but allies large and small.

Edgerton shows that Britain fought on many fronts and its many home fronts kept it...

From the books of H.G. Wells to the press releases of NASA, we are awash in cliched claims about high technology's ability to change the course of history. Now, in The Shock of the Old, David Edgerton offers a startling new and fresh way of thinking about the history of technology, radically revising our ideas about the interaction of technology and society in the past and in the present. He challenges us to view the history of technology in terms of what everyday people have actually used-and continue to use-rather than just sophisticated inventions. Indeed, many highly touted...