WIRED FOR WAR The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century

Singer’s book briefly covers the history of robots in popular culture and present-day commerce. Primarily, it examines the use of robotic and unmanned equipment in warfare and speculates on its future. William Hughes’s slightly hoarse voice is unremarkable but likable, and he uses it well, matching his inflections to the sense of the text and keeping to a quick, but not too quick, pace. Without overdoing it, he brings to the book a sense of excitement and wonder appropriate to the subject matter. However, his discomfort with foreign words and unfamiliar terms is clear, and he gets most wrong, sometimes confusing the listener. Still, the book is inherently interesting, and Hughes’s tone, inflections, and manner help maintain that interest. W.M. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2011]