Name: Accessory to War
ISBN: 9780393357462

Accessory to War

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.

What Hacker News says

richardreezeApr 2022

I'm fascinated by the role a technological advantage plays in military victories.

In other words, I could defeat the best strategists in history (Napoleon, Caesar, Alexander) and their armies if I have a big technological advantage (e.g. atom bomb).

There are thousands of strategy books out there, but I haven't found a single book that talks about how important (and decisive) a technological advantage is.

The closest I've seen is Neil deGrasse Tyson's "Accessory to War" (which I loved!), but it was primarily about the relationship between the astrophysics community and the military community.

Is there a book that talks exclusively about technology being the decisive factor in victories throughout history? (and ideally gives several examples) This can go all the way back to bronze weapons losing to iron weapons, to more recently WWII being won by the first country who developed nuclear weapons.

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fatalissSep 2021

The space race was a wild time. "Accessory to War" by Neil DeGrasse Tyson is a fun and easy read that talks about some pretty sketchy things. And it's nothing new either, the whole WW2 showed in full display that leaving the military leverage science is a dangerous pandora box.

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antonvsSep 2025

To add to your examples, Neil Tyson wrote a book entitled “Accessory to War: The Unspoken Alliance Between Astrophysics and the Military” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessory_to_War)

> The book chronicles war and the use of space as a weapon going as far back as before the Ancient Greeks. [It] includes examples such as Christopher Columbus' use of his knowledge of a lunar eclipse, and the use of satellite intelligence by the United States during the Gulf War.

Much more science than people tend to realize is military-funded.

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teachrdanAug 2024

This is the whole conceit behind Neil deGrasse Tyson's book "Accessory to War":

"Accessory to War: The Unspoken Alliance Between Astrophysics and the Military is the fifteenth book by American astrophysicist and science communicator Neil deGrasse Tyson which he co-wrote with researcher and writer Avis Lang. It was released on September 11, 2018 by W. W. Norton & Company. The book chronicles war and the use of space as a weapon going as far back as before the Ancient Greeks, and includes examples such as Christopher Columbus' use of his knowledge of a lunar eclipse and the use of satellite intelligence by the United States during the Gulf War. While speaking on the book, Tyson told National Geographic that he regards the collaboration between science and the military as a 'two-way street.'"

FWIW Tyson is quite critical of the application of astrophysics research to military ends.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessory_to_War

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r3012Jul 2022

If only the world was so simple. I think the connection is more direct than you might suspect.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/16/magazine/neil-degrasse-ty...

And

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44157732-accessory-to-wa...

Accessory to War: The Unspoken Alliance Between Astrophysics and the Military Neil deGrasse Tyson, Avis Lang

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