The tragedy of American science is that its direction is determined by private profit rather than by the desire to improve the human condition.  As a result, Connor argues, Big Science has been irredeemably corrupted by Big Money.  This corruption threatens the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, and the medicines we take.The Tragedy of American Science explores how the U.S. economy’s addiction to military spending distorts and deforms science by making it ov