War in 2080: The future of military technology

by David Langford

Since the beginning of recorded history war has been a blight upon our species. And looking at current military technology it seems likely that our war-making proclivities will flourish in the twenty-first century. British physicist and science writer, David Langford spells out the progressive sophistication of armaments from the slingshot to the neutron bomb, military hardware and software of future wars in space. He examines such science-fiction concepts as planet-busters, death-rays, ecological wars, climate control and even bionic people able to become part of the weapons and machines. And he considers the possibility of colonization and of encounters with aliens of a higher technological order, elsewhere in the Universe. War in 2080 presents a grim and frightening picture of a future world- which none of us can afford to ignore.

Genres: Science, Military Fiction, History, Nonfiction

229 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

British science-fiction author, editor and critic. He publishes the newsletter Ansible.

Reviews

[Kym Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the most part this book is obsolete as far as its depictions and initial relevance goes but as an entertaining read I think it will for ever be prominent in this role.

A nicely written book which is easy on the mind as it merges then modern military with the often far fetched imagine tools of killing of a sci fi future. Like all futurist writing it is often wrong but always interesting.

If you like science fiction or military technologies then please add this to your collection. I could not put this book down when I was an early teen. I hope you enjoy the same experience.

80 %

[Tim Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Out of date now, to some degree. But this got me fascinated with science, and particularly the science behind military sci fi. For me this was a seminal book.

[Tony Calder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nearly 50 years ago (1979), physicist David Langford wrote this speculatory book postulating what military technology might look like a century in the future. Sensibly he kept his speculations very general, because in the few instances where Langford does get a bit more specific, the passage of even half the period has rendered his predictions outdated.

However, Langford's writing style still make this an enjoyable read, which is probably not surprising as he is also a science-fiction author. This book does require a basic (very basic) grounding in science to be able to fully understand some of it, but most of it will be fine for non-scientific readers.