Why read The Word and the Sword?

Book cover of The Word and the Sword: How Techniques of Information and Violence Have Shaped Our World

Book description

Dudley attempts to impose a pattern on the entire history of human civilization. He shows how the major transformations in the character of social life have been determined by eight significant innovations: four new ways of dealing with information - writing, printing, mass media and integrated circuits; and four new…

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International relations

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History

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Word and the Sword as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Richard G. Lipsey

Author

The author provides a fascinating and readable account of how eight technologies transformed social and political-military structures. His four military technologies are: metal weapons, first bronze, then iron; heavy cavalry, whose introduction had much to do with the declining ability of the Roman empire to defeat the barbarians; artillery, that ended the Medieval use of castles as fortresses; steam transport that facilitated spatial movement in a way that foot and horse travel could not. The four informational technologies are writing, that created the first efficient bureaucracies; printing, that spread literacy to the masses; mass media that allowed information (and misinformation)…

From Richard's list on The best books on how technologies have transformed our societies, international relations, and economies.