Analog Superpowers

“A rigorous overview of tensions that emerged between militaries and defense contractors over intellectual property law in the early twentieth century. . . . Epstein peppers her catalogue of stolen inventions and legal disputes with evocative firsthand accounts.” * Publishers Weekly *
“[An] exhaustive technical and legal history of fire control systems used by navies on both sides of the Atlantic in the early 20th century. . . . Epstein explores how patent laws—granting a limited monopoly to inventors—collide with military secrecy practices that prevent disclosure to anyone outside of the government.” * Library Journal *
“Analog Superpowers is a brilliant—and surprisingly gripping—tale ripped from history but with real relevance today. Drawing deftly on the tools of economics, law, history, and international relations, Epstein rescues an important story and in doing so reminds us of the insistent tension between innovation and national security.” -- Robert M. Chesney, dean of the University of Texas School of Law
“Brilliant. So very brilliant. I can think of no other working historian today who so seamlessly mixes typically disparate fields as Epstein. Part military history, part history of technology, a story of business and also of law, and—oh yes—mathematics too, Analog Superpowers demonstrates how modern history should be done.” -- Jeffrey A. Engel, author of When the World Seemed New: George H. W. Bush and the End of the Cold War
“Analog Superpowers offers a compelling look at Anglo-American legal and material reconfigurations of state power and political economy. This deeply researched and elegantly written book explores a critical moment at which the United States sought to seize the mantle of global hegemony from Great Britain. Epstein's careful attention to intersections between knowledges, technologies, and law makes for an innovative and important contribution to historiographies of twentieth century US and British imperialisms and militarisms as well as the fraught relationships between them.” -- Mary X. Mitchell, University of Toronto
“We are in a machine learning arms race to fashion digital computers to emulate analog brainwork that can exceed human capacity. But this is not the first time that analog brain emulators have transformed warfare. In a story straight out of a cyberpunk novel, Epstein shows us how the US Navy pirated Britain’s successful ‘Argo system’ in World War I, helped airbrush out its inventors, used secret patents to control it, and then built America’s first military industrial complex. Necessary reading for anyone who wants to understand the shotgun wedding that joined technology to the military state.” * Scott Reynolds Nelson, author of Oceans of Grain: How American Wheat Remade the World *
“Analog Superpowers is an original and very welcome call to reconsider how scholars approach the relationships among warfare, capitalism, and law. It follows government contractors, legal battles, and a fascinating device very closely, illustrating how the government-sanctioned sidestepping of patent rights shaped Anglo-American national security states in the twentieth century. This book cuts across important archives in a new way and is sure to inspire further work investigating how the relationships between technology and law can help us write histories of secrecy and security.” -- Gerardo Con Diaz, author of Software Rights: How Patent Law Transformed Software Development in America