The Prometheus bomb : the Manhattan Project and government in the dark / Neil J. Sullivan.

Author
Sullivan, Neil J., 1948- [Browse]
Format
Book
Language
English
Published/​Created
Lincoln : Potomac Books, an imprint of the University of Nebraska Press, [2016]
Description
xiv, 260 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Availability

Copies in the Library

Location Call Number Status Location Service Notes
Lewis Library - Stacks QC773.3.U5 S86 2016 Browse related items Request

    Details

    Subject(s)
    Library of Congress genre(s)
    Summary note
    • "The exploration of how key government officials were unaware of the implications of developing the first atomic bomb during World War II, leaving the lives of millions of Americans in the hands of a few brilliant scientists"-- Provided by publisher.
    • "During World War II, the lives of millions of Americans lay precariously in the hands of a few brilliant scientists who raced to develop the first weapon of mass destruction. Elected officials gave the scientists free rein in the Manhattan Project without understanding the complexities and dangers involved in splitting the atom. The Manhattan Project was the first example of a new type of choice for congressmen, presidents, and other government officials: life and death on a national scale. From that moment, our government began fashioning public policy for issues of scientific development, discoveries, and inventions that could secure or threaten our existence and our future. But those same men and women had no training in such fields, did not understand the ramifications of the research, and relied on incomplete information to form potentially life-changing decisions. Through the story of the Manhattan Project, Neil J. Sullivan asks by what criteria the people in charge at the time made such critical decisions. He also ponders how similar judgments are reached today with similar incomprehension from those at the top as our society dives down the potential rabbit hole of bioengineering, nanotechnology, and scientific developments yet to come"-- Provided by publisher.
    Bibliographic references
    Includes bibliographical references (pages 251-255) and index.
    Contents
    • A squash court in Chicago
    • FDR and the Einstein letter
    • A bungled start
    • The president's man and the liberal state
    • MAUD: working with the British
    • The German bomb
    • Secrets and spies
    • Congress rebounds
    • The transition to Truman
    • Hiroshima
    • Science and democracy.
    ISBN
    • 9781612348155 ((cloth ; : alkaline paper))
    • 1612348157 ((cloth ; : alkaline paper))
    LCCN
    2016020649
    OCLC
    946906418
    Other standard number
    • 40026550435
    Statement on language in description
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