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  • Mr. Lincoln’s High-Tech War

  • How the North Used the Telegraph, Railroads, Surveillance Balloons, Ironclads, High-Powered Weapons, and More to Win the Civil War
  • By: Thomas B. Allen, Roger MacBride Allen
  • Narrated by: Fred Sullivan
  • Length: 4 hrs and 9 mins
  • 3.0 out of 5 stars (1 rating)

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Mr. Lincoln’s High-Tech War

By: Thomas B. Allen, Roger MacBride Allen
Narrated by: Fred Sullivan
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Summary

Thomas B. Allen’s expertise in military history and strategy is combined with Roger MacBride Allen’s knowledge of technology to reveal a lesser-known yet fascinating side of the 16th president of the United States. Their authoritative narrative reveals Lincoln as our nation’s first hands-on commander in chief, whose appreciation for the power of technology plays a critical role in the North’s Civil War victory over the less-developed South.

We meet Lincoln as he exchanges vital telegraph messages with his generals in the field; we witness his inspection of new ship models at the navy yard; we view the president target shooting with the designer of a new kind of rifle; and we follow Lincoln, the man of action, as he leads a daring raid to recapture Norfolk, Virginia. The book’s historic sweep also sets Abraham Lincoln in the context of his military era: We learn about the North’s Anaconda Plan and the South’s counter strategies and how the concept of total war replaced the old Napoleonic way of fighting. Listeners will come away with a rich sense of a leader who lived through one of the most exciting ages of technological and social change in America. Mr. Lincoln’s High-Tech War brings alive a time when the railroad brought soldiers to and from the battlefields, when hot-air balloons were used for surveillance, and when ironclad warships revolutionized naval warfare.

©2009 Thomas B. Allen and Roger MacBride Allen (P)2013 AudioGO

Critic reviews

“The lively, well-researched text makes it clear that Lincoln grasped the concept of ‘total war’ and did not hesitate to exploit the latest know-how to ensure victory…this book is a vital addition to the Lincoln shelf and an exceptional and novel approach for students investigating the Civil War.” ( School Library Journal)
“Well researched and clearly written, the book discusses the course of the Civil War in terms of the development of new technology, from the ironclad and the submarine to the rapid-fire, repeating rifle and the use of railroads to carry troops and supplies…readers whose knowledge of the Civil War comes from historical novels and battle-by-battle historical accounts will gain a fascinating perspective on why the war progressed as it did and how it was ultimately won.” ( Booklist)
“It is difficult to imagine a reader not finding something worth learning from this book.” ( VOYA)

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Not quite what is promised on the cover

The technical analysis is a little fleeting, repetative and rarely in detail. There are some well done summaries of major events in the American Civil War and the analysis on the use of balloons was genuinely illuminating.

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