دانلود کتاب تاریخچه جهانی جنگ و فناوری از اسلینگ تا ربات

It would not be an overstatement to assert that warfare is intrinsic to humanity. Fighting, hunting/eating and mating are probably the three characteristics that define a human. Initially, humans fought with stones. The passage of time saw the continuous evolution of tools and technique for making warfare. While sling was the weapon of choice in the Stone Age, drones and robots are the state-of-the-art weapons in the Digital Age. The evolution of military technologies and the concurrent changing contours of warfare through the ages are the central themes of From Slings to Drones. The term warfare, and not war, is used in this volume. While war refers to inter-state conflicts, this monograph also concerns itself with intrastate conflicts like civil wars, insurgencies, etc. Rather than merely concentrating on battles, I also take into account sieges, skirmishes, ambushes and raids. Hence, the term warfare which is a more expansive and inclusive one, is being used. However, individual and family feuds, and homicides do not come under the purview of warfare. Basically, warfare is organised violence between two or more territorial groups/communities, and the principal motivation behind combat is collective impersonal material elements, and not any individual/personal factors. Technology, in this book, is defined as the appli-cation of scientific knowledge in practical affairs. This volume is concerned with the application of scientific ideas in matters related to warfare.