A military expert reveals how science fiction is fast becoming reality on the battlefield, changing not just how wars are fought, but also the politics, economics, laws, and ethics that surround war itself.Singer's previous books foretold the rise of private military contractors and the advent of child soldiers--predictions that have proved all too accurate. Now he explores the greatest revolution in military affairs since the atom bomb: robotic warfare.We are now seeing a massive shift in military technology that threatens to make the stuff of I, Robot and The Terminator a reality. Over seven thousand robotic systems are now in Iraq; pilots in Nevada are remotely killing terrorists in Afghanistan; scientists are debating just how smart--and lethal--to make their current prototypes; and many renowned science fiction authors are secretly consulting for the Pentagon.Blending historic evidence with interviews from the field, Singer vividly shows that as these technologies multiply, they will have profound effects on both the front lines and the politics back home. Replacing men with machines may save some lives but will lower morale and psychological barriers to killing. The "warrior ethos," which has long defined soldiers' identity, will erode, as will the laws of war that have governed military conflict for generations.Paradoxically, the new technology will also bring war to our doorstep. As other nations and terrorist organizations obtain their own robotic weapons, the robot revolution could undermine America's military preeminence. While his analysis is unnerving, there's an irresistible gee-whiz quality to the innovations Singer uncovers. Wired for War travels from Iraq and Afghanistan, where these machines are now fighting, to modern-day "skunk works" in the midst of suburbia, where tomorrow's technologies of war are quietly being designed. In Singer's hands, the future of war is as fascinating as it is frightening.
About the Author :
P. W. Singer, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, has worked in the Pentagon and consulted for the departments of Defense and State, the CIA, and Congress. The author of several books, he has also written for such publications as the New York Times and Foreign Affairs.
William Hughes is a professor of political science, jazz guitarist, and an actor and narrator. Books he has narrated include FDR: The First Hundred Days by Anthony J. Badger, Brothers, Rivals, Victors by Jonathan W. Jordan, and Lincoln's Spymaster by David Hepburn Milton.
Review :
"A definitive text on the future of war around the subject of robots. In no previous book have I gotten such an intrinsic sense of what the military future will be like."
-- "Robert D. Kaplan, author of Imperial Grunts"
"A fascinating account of new technology...[and] a challenging appraisal of the strategic, political, and ethical questions that we must now face."
-- "Anthony Lake, former US National Security advisor and professor of diplomacy, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University"
"A glimpse of things to come...addresses some ominous and little-discussed questions about the military, technology, and machinery."
-- "Harper's"
"A vivid picture of the current controversies and dazzling possibilities of war in the digital age."
-- "Kirkus Reviews"
"A warmly human (even humorous) account of robotics and other military technologies that focuses where it should: on us."
-- "Richard Danzig, former Secretary of the Navy and director, National Semiconductor Corporation"
"Drawing from sources spanning popular culture and hard science, Singer reveals how the relationship between man and robot is changing the very nature of war...I found this book fascinating, deep, entertaining, and frightening."
-- "Howard Gordon, writer and executive producer of 24, The X-Files, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
"Exhaustively documents the Pentagon's penchant for robotics. Think of it as the next step in the mechanization of war: swords and arrows, guns, artillery, rockets, bombers, robots."
-- "New Scientist"
"Riveting and comprehensive, encompassing every aspect of the rise of military robotics, from the historical to the ethical."
-- "Financial Times (London)"
"Robotics promises to be the most comprehensive instrument of change in war since the introduction of gunpowder."
-- "Publishers Weekly"
"Some of the new ideas are just downright mind-blowing."
-- "Armchair General"
"Superb...If you read Wired for War you'll actually get a sense for the complexities that we are creating. We're not making a simpler world with these robots I don't think at all, I think we're making a more complex world."
-- "James Mattis, General (Ret.), USMC, and 26th US Secretary of Defense"
"William Hughes's slightly hoarse voice is unremarkable but likable, and he uses it well...He brings to the book a sense of excitement and wonder appropriate to the subject matter."
-- "AudioFile"
