Accessory to war : the unspoken alliance between astrophysics and the military

In this fascinating foray into the millennia-long relationship between science and military power, acclaimed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and writer Avis Lang examine how the methods and tools of astrophysics have been enlisted in the service of war. "The overlap is strong, and it's a two- way street," say the authors, because the 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.

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.

Author Notes

Neil deGrasse Tyson is an astrophysicist with the American Museum of Natural History and the New York Times best-selling author of Astrophysics for People in a Hurry . He lives in New York City.

Avis Lang is a research associate at the American Museum of Natural History's Hayden Planetarium. For half a decade, she edited Tyson's Natural History magazine column, Universe, parts of which became the basis for his Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, and later edited his anthology Space Chronicles. She lives in New York City.

Reviews (6)

Publisher's Weekly Review

In this comprehensive history of astrophysics-military collaboration, astrophysicist Tyson (Astrophysics for People in a Hurry) and researcher Lang explore how two causes use similar tools for different ends. Over the centuries, the authors write, scientists and warmakers "have more often been in sync than at odds." Sometimes they're sides of the same coin, as, for instance, "astrophotography and photoreconnaissance differ only in their choice of target." From the first telescopes to present-day satellites, the coevolution of science and war has frequently resulted in valuable inventions, like GPS, "whose value to the U.S. economy will soon be upwards of $100 billion" annually. Tyson's own experience of attending an astrophysics conference in 2003, and realizing how many of the companies present had also contributed to the Iraq invasion, further illustrates the book's point. While acknowledging how science has enabled war, as with the development of the atomic bomb, the authors argue astrophysics can also be a way to peace. Ventures such as mining asteroids for scarce resources, which could "erase a perennial rationale for war," are one possibility. But they caution that "weaponization arrives close on the heels of militarization" in space. Well paced and skillfully written, the narrative seamlessly integrates science lessons, military strategy, and world history-surely suiting military and science buffs alike. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Booklist Review

In a departure from his more spectacle-driven science books, popular astrophysicist Tyson takes a sobering look here at his profession's long-standing ties with the military. Joined by coauthor and Hayden Planetarium associate Lang, Tyson observes that as far back as WWI, when the input of airplane engineers figured heavily in sky combat outcomes, the armed forces have funneled government money into every variety and flavor of scientific research that might help build weapons of war. Tracing the military's influence on fact-finding as far back as the Greeks and the Egyptians, when stargazers helped guide warships into battle, the authors demonstrate how the invention of devices such as chronometers, astrolabes, and telescopes were motivated as much by a given country's drive to dominate another as by the search for knowledge. Although Tyson devotees might find this information-packed tome a little heavy-handed, it offers a timely message about the corrupting influence of mercenary interests on science and suggests that research dollars could be better spent on helping instead of hurting.--Carl Hays Copyright 2018 Booklist

New York Review of Books Review

This land By Dan Barry. (Black Dog & Leventhal, $29.99.) For a decade, from 2007 to 2017, Barry's column for The Times explored everyday life and everyday people in America - from a hairdresser in Vicco, Ky, to the owner of a small oil company in Dixfield, Me. This book collects nearly 100 of his columns, providing a panoramic view of the country as it passed from Bush to Obama to Trump, the fabulous bouvier sisters By Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger. (Harper, $28.99.) A book-length exploration of the complicated sister love between Jackie Kennedy Onassis and Lee Radziwill (née Bouvier) - their shared appreciation for fashion and art, as well as the intense jealousy that characterized their relationship, the art of logic in an illogical world By Eugenia Cheng. (Basic, $27.) Cheng is a mathematician who believes we need to appreciate the value of alogic - emotion, that is - if we want to understand a world filled with irrational behavior. Yet she also thinks smartly applied logic might help address some of our problems. accessory to war By Neil deGrasse Tyson and Avis Lang. (Norton, $30.) The celebrity astrophysicist and a research associate at the Hayden Planetarium examine the ways military branches have used the science of astrophysics to bolster their power. It's an alliance between science and warmaking that has been, Tyson and Lang write, "curiously complicit." the parting gift By Evan Fallenberg. (Other Press, $19.95.) An erotic, mysterious novel set in Israel that takes the form of a letter. The unnamed narrator describes a consuming love affair that threatens his own well-being and that of the man with whom he has fallen in love. "Most of my reading these days is taken up with a book project that I've been working on for more years than I like to contemplate, but on the advice of a friend, I recently read fly girls, by Keith O'Brien. It's probably the most entertaining book I've looked at this year, a slice of Americana that gives us a sideways glimpse into what life was like in the 1920s and '30s, when aviation was a popular spectator sport. O'Brien's subject is a group of pioneering women aviators who, as one of them put it, had to fight for the same right to die as the men. We all know Amelia Earhart, whom O'Brien manages to diminish somewhat as an icon while elevating her as a human being, but she was only one of many courageous, innovative, barrierbusting women who deserve to be remembered. 'Fly Girls' is feminist history of the best kind. It describes individuals who didn't submerge their identities in feminism, but employed feminism to achieve their identities as individuals." - BARRY GEWEN, AN EDITOR AT THE BOOK REVIEW, ON WHAT HE'S READING.

Choice Review

The book is advertised as an account of the "alliance between astrophysics and the military," but it is not so, except briefly in the last chapters. It details the development of observational techniques and data by one party and the use of these techniques by the other. Both develop, both use--but with different ends in mind. The beginning chapters are occasionally hard to read because of some convoluted language and errors: e.g., "tiny flashes of light" are not "charged particles" (p. 214),"bleeding edge" should be "leading edge" (p. 155), "antenna arrays" are not "interferometers" (p. 182), a dubious distinction is made between astronomy and astrophysics on p. 176. The later chapters are masterful, containing long, fairly complete discussions of the post--WW II use of nearby space, by many nations, for civil and military purposes, though discussions of how things "worked" are often incomplete. There is extensive discussion of the Iraq wars and concise stories of the demise of the Soviet Union and the growth of international space corporations engaged in both friendly cooperation and unfriendly competition. Ultimately, the authors argue that "hegemony drives science because science piggybacks on geopolitics" (p. 370). An important read for a nonscientific audience. Summing Up: Recommended. Advanced undergraduates, professionals, and general readers. --Alvin M. Saperstein, emeritus, Wayne State University

Kirkus Review

An exploration of the bonds, fiscal and intellectual, between science and the military.Every 3.6 days, write renowned astrophysicist Tyson (Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, 2017, etc.) and Lang, a research associate at the Hayden Planetarium, an unclassified research paper by a scientist affiliated with the Los Alamos National Laboratory appears, swelling the literature of astrophysics with work on supernovas, gamma ray bursts, and all such manner of future-shock science. The authors deliver a history that is broader than its subtitle suggests; though Tyson is a space scientist, the military-industrial complex leverages workers in every scientific discipline, from agronomy to zoology. This linkage has become ever tighter in the years since 9/11, when it was "a fine time to be a mercenary, a military engineering firm, or a giant aerospace company." Science and technology workers were close behind, flush with billions of dollars delivered to a wide variety of projects. Though academic scientists were a minor part of the mix, writes Tyson, "it has long been clear to me that the space research my colleagues and I conduct plugs firmly and fundamentally into the nation's military might." Thus it ever was, perhaps. Between 1903 and 1916, write the authors, only 1,000 planes were manufactured in the United States, but put on a war footing and with federal funds flowing, the aerospace industry was turning out twice that many planes every month, the product of the close relationship among industry, science, and government that has reigned ever since. The leveraging of science in the national interest goes against the basic spirit of the enterprise, since science is supposed to be universal and "in space there is no religion, culture, or politics"and yet the military is where the money is even if the funding for astrophysics, and indeed basic science, is the tiniest fraction of military spending overall.An intriguing history. Look for mines and ray guns on the final frontier, for, as the authors conclude, "what a country funds is what that country prioritizes." Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Library Journal Review

Popular astrophysicist Tyson (Astrophysics for People in a Hurry) teams up with his long-time editor Lang on this work about the close-knit relationship between the scientific community and the military. Considered an "uneasy alliance" by the authors, it has proven mutually beneficial to both sides since ancient times. Throughout history, battles and wars have been won overwhelmingly by the side possessing the scientific advantage, which has resulted in increased government funding to both fields. This has caused significant damage through horrific weapons, environmental destruction, and death; yet, it has helped advance technological innovations, including telescopes, photography, radio, and mobile phones. Tyson and Lang consider whether we can heal from the damage caused by our warlike past and use our scientific expertise for productive, peaceful means. They suggest cooperative space endeavors for the good of humankind (extracting fresh water from comets, for example) but acknowledge that we may not yet be ready for that level of cooperation. -VERDICT This detailed, well-written, and timely work on an important topic is highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, 3/12/18.]-Dave Pugl, Ela Area P.L., Lake Zurich, IL © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Prologue	p. xiii
Situational Awareness
1 A Time to Kill	p. 3
2 Star Power	p. 38
3 Sea Power	p. 64
4 Arming the Eye	p. 100
The Ultimate High Ground
5 Unseen, Undetected, Unspoken	p. 165
6 Detection Stories	p. 209
7 Making War, Seeking Peace	p. 234
8 Space Power	p. 317
9 A Time to Heal	p. 381
Acknowledgments	p. 405
Notes	p. 409
Selected Sources	p. 535
Index	p. 551

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