
The Next World War
By James Adams
“Technology is not simply a panacea for everything.”
Through a computer revolution that has rapidly turned science fiction into fact, the face of war has changed to such a degree that technology has become the dominant aspect.
We live in the age of the cyberknight, but our increasing reliance upon technology over human is a double-edged sword, and could render us highly vulnerable.
As James Adams shows, where the military was once the cutting-edge of the civilian sector has overtaken, and not without consequences.
It is now a process of identifying and adapting to purpose, but the tools that could render a state impotent rest at the fingertips of every individual possessing a keyboard and connection.
States that fail to keep up may well fall behind.
France learnt this lesson with the railway revolution, for in not jumping aboard she found herself at a disadvantage in the Franco-Prussian War, despite superior combat technology.
Ultimately the spread of technology – not just computers, but radio, telephone and television – means that war will never be the same again.
Posing questions and dilemmas that remain relevant to this day, The Next World War is a sobering study of information warfare, its development and its place in the wider picture.
James Adams is acknowledged as one of the world’s leading experts on intelligence, covert warfare and terrorism and has written 15 bestselling books of fiction and non-fiction around those subjects. He worked at The Sunday Times as both the Defence Correspondent and Managing Editor. He then became CEO of United Press International, founded a cyber intelligence company and a virtual intelligence agency. He was on the Board of the National Security Agency where he was responsible for creating a new strategic plan for Signals Intelligence and he was also Chairman of the Technology Advisory Panel to oversee NSA’s multi-billion dollar investment in new technology.