ACCESSORY TO WAR: The Unspoken Alliance Between Astrophysics and the Military
By Neil deGrasse Tyson and Avis Lang Narrated by Courtney B. Vance
“Indispensable and mind-blowing. . . . This book deserves not only to be read, but to become a guide for those who hope for a better, survivable near future.”
—Walter LaFeber, Tisch Distinguished University Professor Emeritus, Cornell University
“Astronomers and physicists have, since ancient times, benefited from an uneasy alliance with the military. This enlightening book explores the history and current implications of this partnership between space science and national security.”
—Walter Isaacson, author of Steve Jobs and professor of history, Tulane University
“Accessory to War is a phenomenal work that should be required reading for policymakers everywhere.”
—William E. Burrows, author of This New Ocean: The Story of the First Space Age
“[Tyson] may be the country’s most frequently quoted and interviewed authority on astronomy in the popular media.”
—NPR’s Fresh Air
Powerful leaders since the dawn of history have commonly amassed arms to intimidate adversaries. Indeed, shortly before moving into the White House, President-elect Trump tweeted, “The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes.” There’s one group these leaders must have on their side to achieve these goals: scientists. From access to space and knowledge of orbits to nuclear fusion, the worlds of astrophysicists and military planners coincide more often than not. New York Times best-selling author of Astrophysics for People in a Hurry Neil deGrasse Tyson returns to explore the inner workings of this “curiously complicit” alliance, revealing yet another dimension of how the universe has shaped our lives and our world.
In ACCESSORY TO WAR: The Unspoken Alliance Between Astrophysics and the Military [on sale September 11, 2018 from Random House Audio; also available in print from W. W. Norton & Company], America’s most trusted astrophysicist and his longtime researcher-collaborator Avis Lang take readers behind the veil of the abiding alliance between science and war. In language at once conversational and urgent, Tyson and Lang explain how both basic research and the aerospace industry have served as trusted allies of the war machine in times of conflict. From Galileo to Nazi rocket scientists to Cold War space racers to Donald Rumsfeld’s missile defense experts, sky scientists have long served as loyal companions to warmakers.
This marriage of astrophysics, engineering, and military force has resulted in some of civilization’s most important advancements: “Star charts, calendars, chronometers, telescopes, maps, compasses, rockets, satellites, drones—these were not inspirational civilian endeavors. Dominance was their goal,” write the authors. “Increase of knowledge was incidental.” But, Tyson and Lang insist, in an age of doomsday devices and power-drunk dictators, it’s time to rethink how science aligns itself with warfare.
ACCESSORY TO WAR has already garnered praise from some of the most important and influential minds in astronomy and politics. Joan Johnson-Freese, professor of national security affairs at Naval War College, writes that “astrophysics is too often perceived as ‘not touching me or my life,’ but this book artfully explains otherwise.” James Clay Moltz, author of Crowded Orbits and The Politics of Space Security, calls the book “a fascinating read with a worthy message for today,” while John M. Logsdon, professor emeritus at the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University, says ACCESSORY TO WAR is “a wide-ranging and provocative set of observations on the two-way relationship between science-based knowledge and national power, replete with trenchant insights.”
Whether you are conservative or liberal, a warmonger or a peacenik, a hawk or a dove, here is a work of compelling gravity and vast intelligence that will inform and enlighten your views. At once a work of penetrating scientific inquiry and a pointed political analysis, ACCESSORY TO WAR is poised to become the go-to work on astrophysics and warfare for generations to come.
About the Authors:
Neil deGrasse Tyson is an astrophysicist with the American Museum of Natural History, director of its world-famous Hayden Planetarium, host of the hit radio and four-time Emmy-nominated TV show StarTalk, and the New York Times best-selling author ofAstrophysics 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,” some of which later found its way into his Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, and also edited his anthology Space Chronicles. She lives in New York City.
About the Narrator:
Courtney B. Vance is an award-winning actor of film, television and stage. Vance won a Tony Award for his performance in Broadway’s Lucky Guy. He won an Emmy Award, Critics Choice Award, and an NAACP Image Award, as well as earned Golden Globe and SAG award nominations, for his critically acclaimed portrayal of Johnnie Cochran in The People vs. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story.