Science Goes to War by Ernest Volkman, Wiley, 拢18.50, ISBN 0471410071 Reviewed by Jonathan Beard
AT THE battle of Agincourt in 1415, English archers armed with longbows 鈥渉umbled the world鈥檚 greatest military force鈥�, And because 鈥渙rdinary men had slaughtered the feudal upper class鈥hat class would never rise again鈥� 鈥� all thanks to 鈥渁n extensive research and development process鈥� in 12th-century Wales. Unfortunately, this mix of wild overstatement and plain nonsense is typical of Ernest Volkman鈥檚 Science Goes to War.
He does have a couple of useful points to make. Governments have been sponsoring weapons research since the days of ancient Mesopotamia; lavishly funded military labs did not begin with the Second World War. And scientists and engineers have, with a few exceptions such as Einstein, been eager to sign on to create better ways of killing their fellow humans 鈥� out of patriotism or simple ambition. But overall, this book is full of half-truths. Readers will be left more ignorant, rather than less.
Advertisement