The relationship between war and science - as old as the wheel - entered a whole new realm with the Civil War, the first truly "technological" conflict. "Secret Gadgets and Strange Gizmos" traces this evolving connection from the deadly innovations of the Union and Confederate forces to the top secret, high-tech inventions that are making military history today. Chronicling the hits, the misses, and the important technological advances produced by the military's high-tech hubs - aviation, wireless communication, the Internet, atomic energy, satellite technology, and space travel - this richly illustrated book takes readers from the ironclads, land mines, and ship-launched hydrogen balloons of the Civil War to the world-changing bombs of the Atomic Age; from the military's first flirtation with flight to the conquest of space; from the acceleration of wireless communication during World War I to modern innovations like the mob-clearing Banshee grenade and portable medical suites outfitted for front-line surgery.