I love history of science books, and thought the intersection of science and the military would be an interesting lenses to explore past discoveries through. While not entirely absent from the text, this is certainly not the theme of the book. Most of the book is an anti-war / anti-military screed. I am not a republican, or a fan of war, or the military. However, the over-the-top preachiness combined with constant winging about how small a percent of the budget goes to science, compared to how much goes to the military, is straight up cringe-inducing. We get it scientist, you think more money should go to the thing you do than other things you don't even like. This polemic is sprinkled throughout with non-sequitur digs at republicans past and present, and well as heaping praise for democrats and democratic social programs, especially those that aren't related to either science or military spending. And just in case you missed the 'subtle' partisanship, there's a whole chapter near the end dedicated to the importance of the '#resistance' movement for good measure.

What history of science is covered mostly revolves around the history of navigation and in particular the quest to find longitude at sea. NdgT's treatment of the subject holds a dim candle indeed to Dava Sobel's excellent "Longitude".

This was my first NdgT book, and I have to say I was very disappointed, not sure I'm even going to bother with 'astrophysics for people in a hurry' after this.