The Unspoken Alliance Between Astrophysics and the Military
W. W. Norton & Company
September 2018
On Sale: September 11, 2018
576 pages ISBN: 0393064441 EAN: 9780393064445 Kindle: B07BLKXV68 Hardcover / e-Book Add to Wish List
An exploration of the age-old complicity between
skywatchers and warfighters, from the best-selling author of
Astrophysics for People in a
Hurry.
In this fascinating foray into
the centuries-old relationship between science and military
power, acclaimed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and
writer-researcher Avis Lang examine how the methods and
tools of astrophysics have been enlisted in the service of
war. "The overlap is strong, and the knowledge flows in
both directions," say the authors, because astrophysicists
and military planners care about many of the same things:
multi-spectral detection, ranging, tracking, imaging, high
ground, nuclear fusion, and access to space. Tyson and Lang
call it a "curiously complicit" alliance. "The universe
is both the ultimate frontier and the highest of high
grounds," they write. "Shared by both space scientists and
space warriors, it's a laboratory for one and a battlefield
for the other. The explorer wants to understand it; the
soldier wants to dominate it. But without the right
technology—which is more or less the same technology for
both parties—nobody can get to it, operate in it, scrutinize
it, dominate it, or use it to their advantage and someone
else's disadvantage."
Spanning early celestial
navigation to satellite-enabled warfare, Accessory to
War is a richly researched and provocative examination
of the intersection of science, technology, industry, and
power that will introduce Tyson's millions of fans to yet
another dimension of how the universe has shaped our lives
and our world.
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