Accessory to War

The Unspoken Alliance Between Astrophysics and the Military

By: Avis Lang, Neil deGrasse Tyson

Narrated by: Courtney B. Vance, Neil deGrasse Tyson - introduction

Length: 18 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times Bestseller

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.

©2018 Neil deGrasse Tyson and Avis Lang (P)2018 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Extraordinary....A feast of history, an expert tour through thousands of years of war and conquest....Condenses multiple bodies of work into one important, comprehensive and coherent story of the symbiotic developments of astrophysics and war....The lesson is not merely a wake-up call for astrophysicists, but for all of us, for anyone with the misapprehension that science somehow marches on separate from the rest of culture."—Jennifer Carson, New York Times Book Review

"Through ample research and nimble storytelling, Tyson and [Lang] trace the long and tangled relationship between state power and astronomy....Deep and eloquent."—Joshua Sokol, Washington Post

"Fascinating....Retells the history of space exploration, and of the Cold War, excelling in bringing forth the entangled advances of science and military interests....The book’s message rings like a wake-up call."—Marcelo Gleiser, NPR

A brilliant idea, auspicious beginning, and hurried, sloppy (outsourced?) ending.

I purchased an Amazon Audible to listen to in the car, and a hardcover book from Barnes and Noble. A book on the interplay between war and “astrophysics“ (and its precursors) is a brilliant idea. The first 6 chapters of the book is an interesting (at times captivating) account of scientific discovery “piggy-backing” on war and greed, and vice versa — and Tyson at his best. Well-researched and liberally annotated, the main storyline still shines through cleverly presented but unobtrusive historic facts and references. However, things go downhill towards the end of chapter 6 (in hardcover only - the Audible chapters are shorter). The Tysonian storyline gradually dries up, substituted with a suffocating swamp of decades-old bureaucratic correspondence and long-forgotten political analysis. I understand that this research material is relevant to the story, but there must still be a story! I wonder if after reading the last chapters 7 and 8 (chapter 9 is a sloppily written, hackneyed, and unfocused conclusion entitled “Time to heal”) Professor Tyson could say “Nailed it, Neil. A litany of loosely connected insignificant, quickly remedied and forgotten bureaucratic dustups with dwarfish Russian and Chinese space agencies is a fitting end to this 10000-year story”.

And even more disappointing than the book (that Professor Tyson betrayed and wantonly abandoned when it was so close to realizing his brilliant idea) is the Audible narration. I like the narrator - Courtney Vance. He is a great artist at the top of his profession. However, instead of hiring great names I’d suggest the Publisher find someone who is 1) broadly knowledgeable about the subject and 2) willing to read the book to familiarize himself with its contents before narrating it for the entire Audible Universe. You see, the narrator isn’t simply a fellow reader who reads the book aloud but apparently is less familiar with the story than his audience is. The narrator is expected to sound like the author. Unfortunately, listening to Mr Vance’s performance is painful... he obviously hadn’t read the book in advance, and his narration sounds like he is perpetually surprised by what Professor Tyson sends his way (even the question mark at the end of a long sentence). Sudden slowdowns and micro-pauses happen as the narrator isn’t quite sure where the story is heading, and this makes for an unpleasant experience even while story is still good. And with chapter 8 “Space power”, the experience becomes unbearable as the narrator himself is probably bored silly by the dry factual presentation into which the initially beautiful story has degenerated by now.

Could have been better. It was best when teaching, worst when preaching.

Chocked full of knowledge but also very preachy, which gets grating at the very end. The story is at it’s best in the historical portions, enumerating the many complimentary and collaborative achievements of science and military. The story telling is better in the first half than the second, which becomes disjointed as the author jumps back and forth in time when switching subjects. Some subjects are provided in a linear context and others in a scientific learning context.

All told, very in formative but could have been better.

Way to politically biased. Had to return it.

I've always been a fan of Neil deGrasse Tyson. What's not to like? He's smart and he takes after Sagan. After browsing titles to read on my Kindle and for listening to via Audible, his new book Accessory to War jumped out at me as somthing interesting. it started out interesting enough until the beginning of the third chapter where the Trump bashing began. No thanks. I want my money back. I read political pundnt books for politics. Stick to Physics Neil.

needs a good editor and the narration is pedantic

while the material was interesting it went on longer than it had to. It was almost like an intro physics textbook being read by Mister Rogers

Educational But Not Boring

Well written, easy to understand and digest in small sections. The narrator, Courtney B. Vance, was perfect for this book. His voice came over as smooth but authoritative.

Whiner

The best thing the writer can do is to keep doing a great job for our country and make sure we are protected! And when great science revaluations are there too see then work with it and bring those things to everyone's attention!! But don't complain about something that has made you a lot of money! And all your knowledge that you have so far! If you don't like your work then find something else to do that makes sense for you to do!!!

H.

I can make a new Metal Gear Solid after this.

His great courses and letters from and or Astrophysics for people in a hurry were appetizers , this is his magnum opus so far, he is showing you how much he is truly aware of instead of giving u a highly digestible piece of a mildly entertaining pie, a must read for any Hideo Kojima fans.

An intriguing insight into astrophysics military alliance

I'm a big fan of Neil Degrasse Tyson and was very excited to read this book. The author opens our minds to how the science and military have always worked together. The flow is excellent. How, sometimes as a reader, I did feel overwhelmed with details of dates, places and names. And some topics get revisited multiple times in different chapters which introduces a certain repetition which was probably unavoidable given the topics of discussion. Great read and great audio book. Highly recommended!

A history lesson of change.

So very detailed, data driven Great for first audiobook A journey through physical space and time.

Astrophysics and Politics

about the first half or two thirds was excellent with a focus on established history. The remainder had a strong emphasis on current geopolitics and was heavily partisan in some aspects. Overall still excellent.