The Physicists: The History of a Scientific Community in Modern America

Kevles, Daniel J.

ISBN 10: 0394726693 / ISBN 13: 9780394726694

Published by Vintage, NY, 1979

About this Item

tiny sig by prev owner in front end page.

Seller Inventory # 151054

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Physicists: The History of a Scientific Community in Modern America
• Publisher: Vintage, NY
• Publication Date: 1979
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0394726693
• ISBN 13: 9780394726694
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket

About this title

Synopsis

This text provides an account of the coming of age of physics in America, portraying the scientists who became a powerful force in bringing the world into a revolutionary era. The book ranges widely as it links these developments to the social, cultural and political changes that occurred from the post-Civil War years to the present. Throughout, Kevles keeps his eye on the central question of how an avowedly elitist enterprise grew and prospered in a democratic culture. In this new edition, the author has brought the story up to date by providing an account of the Superconducting Super Collider, from its origins in the international competition and intellectual needs of high-energy particle physics, through its establishment as a multibillion-dollar project, to its termination, in 1993, as a result of angry opposition within the American physics community and the Congress.

Review

A colorful, thoughtful and accessible survey.

ƯAn¨ uncommonly good book. -- John Leonard "New York Times"

[An] uncommonly good book. -- John Leonard "New York Times"

[An] uncommonly good book.--John Leonard "New York Times "

One of the most interesting, readable, well-researched, and informative books yet addressed to the institutional history of science in America.--David Hollinger "Chronicle of Higher Education "

A well-documented, beautifully written study of the scientific work of American physicists and of the intellectual and political milieu in which all the sciences--especially the physical sciences in the United States--subsisted in the 150 -year period from 1830 to 1980...An outstanding example of dedicated scholarship that readers of many different backgrounds and interests will find both authoritative and fascinating.--Joseph F. Mulligan "Science Book and Films "