Читать книгу America Fallen! - John Bernard Walker - Страница 3
ОглавлениеPREFACE
By way of preface to the second edition, the author wishes to make it clear that "America Fallen" was written with the serious purpose of emphasizing the warnings which have been uttered from year to year, both by the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy. These warnings have dwelt upon the insufficiency of our naval and military forces to resist attack by a first-class power; and "America Fallen" was written to embody these facts as to our unpreparedness in the form of a connected, dramatic narrative, which would bring home to the public and its Congress the urgent peril of the present conditions.
Since the publication of the first edition, the work has received the strong endorsement of naval and military men. From the many letters received the two following have been selected for publication:
Office of
THE ADMIRAL OF THE NAVY
WASHINGTON
June 23, 1915.
My dear Mr. Walker:
I have read your excellent book, "America Fallen" with a great deal of interest, but I cannot say with pleasure, as it describes a state of affairs which might well exist if our country is not prepared to maintain itself at peace with the world.
Sincerely yours, George Dewey.
Mr. J. Bernard Walker, 233 Broadway, New York City.
Stamford, Conn. June 25, 1915.
My dear Mr. Walker:
I have read your interesting book, "America Fallen." Under your reasonable supposition of a surprise invasion of our country without a previous declaration of war, the military operations you have outlined are perfectly feasible, and the outcome might easily be as disastrous to the United States as you have so graphically pictured.
I hope your work may be read so widely and seriously that its lessons, together with the evident lessons of the day, will result in the adoption of an intelligent policy looking toward national preparedness against war.
Sincerely yours, Matthew E. Hanna.
Mr. J. Bernard Walker, Editor, Scientific American, New York City.
[Captain Matthew E. Hanna, United States Army, the writer of the above letter, is the author of "Tactical Principles and Problems," the standard text-book on the subject in use in the United States Army.]
