| Description |
1 online resource (xxxviii, 347 pages) |
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nat Americans |
| Physical Medium |
polychrome |
| Description |
text file |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Summary |
"The influence of Vannevar Bush on the history and institutions of twentieth-century American science and technology is staggeringly vast. As a leading figure in the creation of the National Science Foundation, the organizer of the Manhattan Project, and an adviser to Presidents Roosevelt and Truman during and after World War II, he played an indispensable role in the mobilization of scientific innovation for a changing world. A polymath, Bush was a cofounder of Raytheon, a pioneer of computing technology, and a visionary who foresaw the personal computer and might have coined the term "web." Edited by Bush's biographer, G. Pascal Zachary, this collection presents more than fifty of Bush's most important works across four decades. His subjects are as varied as his professional pursuits. Here are his thoughts on the management of innovation, the politics of science, research and national security, technology in public life, and the relationship of scientific advancement to human flourishing. It includes his landmark introduction to Science, the Endless Frontier, the blueprint for how government should support research and development, and much more. The works are as illuminating as they are prescient, from considerations of civil-military relations and the perils of the nuclear arms race to future encyclopedias and information overload, the Apollo program, and computing and consciousness. Together, these pieces reveal Bush as a major figure in the history of science, computerization, and technological development and a prophet of the information age"-- Provided by publisher |
| Contents |
Foreword / by Neal Lane -- Introduction / by G. Pascal Zachary -- Editor's note -- 1. Preface to Operational Circuit Analysis (1929) -- 2. Key to accomplishment (1932) -- 3. Inscrutable past (1933) -- 4. Warren Weaver letters on the future of computing machinery (1933) -- 5. Persistent fallacy of the absent-minded professor (1933) -- 6. Stimulation of new products and new industries by the Depression (1934) -- 7. Businessman in this situation (1934) -- 8. Against isolation and for applying science to war (1935) -- 9. Engineer and his relation to government (1937) -- 10. Qualities of a profession (1939) -- 11. Innovation, enterprise, and the concentration of economic power (1939) -- 12. Letter to Herbert Hoover on "the whole world situation" (1939) -- 13. Letter to Archibald Macleish on "adequate handling of large masses of photographs" (1940) -- 14. "Leave no stones unturned in research" (1940) -- 15. "To the things of the mind" : memorandum regarding Memex (1941) -- 16. Science and national defense (1941) -- 17. Edison and our tradition of opportunity (1944) -- 18. Salient points concerning the future of atomic bombs (1944) -- 19. Builders (1945) -- 20. Teamwork of technicians (1945) -- 21. As we may think (1945) -- 22. "Letter of transmittal" to President Harry Truman (1945) -- 23. "Summary" of Science, the Endless Frontier (1945) -- 24. Soldiers and scientists in partnership (1946) -- 25. Organizing scientific research for war (1946) -- 26. Danger of dictation of science by laymen (1946) -- 27. Should scientists resist military intrusion? (1947) -- 28. Science, democracy, and war (1949) -- 29. How science works, or doesn't, under totalitarianism (1949) -- 30. Essence of security (1949) -- 31. Atomic bomb and the defense of the free world (1951) -- 32. Few quick (1951) -- 33. On leadership and management (1951) -- 34. "Timing of the thermonuclear test" (1952) -- 35. "Search for understanding" (1953) -- 36. Peak wave of progress in digital machinery (1954) -- 37. "Opportunity was missed" to halt nuclear arms race (1954) -- 38. In the matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer (1954) -- 39. Some things we don't know about solar power (1954) -- 40. Future of digital information storage, retrieval, search, and the construction of knowledge (1955) -- 41. Faith and science (1955) -- 42. Why do we pursue science at all? (1955) -- 43. Pioneer (1957) -- 44. "Those who talk frequently become ignored" (1957/1959) -- 45. On Sputnik (1957) -- 46. "All-out war unthinkable to any sane individual" (1959) -- 47. Machines to free men's minds (1960) -- 48. On space exploration : the James Webb letters (1961-1963) -- 49. Other fellows' ball park (1961) -- 50. Two cultures (1962) -- 51. Automation's awkward age (1962) -- 52. What is research? (1963) -- 53. t Art of management (1967) -- 54. "On the difficulty in Vietnam" (1967) -- 55. "Do birds sing for the joy of singing?" (1970) -- 56. Revolution in machines to reduce mental drudgery (1970) -- Acknowledgements. |
| Local Note |
eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - North America |
| Subject |
Technology and state -- United States.
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Technology and state. |
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United States. |
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Science and state -- United States.
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Science and state. |
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Research.
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research (function) |
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Research. |
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SCIENCE -- Essays. |
| Added Author |
Zachary, G. Pascal, editor, author.
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| Added Title |
Works. Selections https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n2021037149
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| Other Form: |
Print version: Bush, Vannevar, 1890-1974. Works. Selections. Essential writings of Vannevar Bush. New York : Columbia University Press, [2022] 9780231116428 (DLC) 2021033291 (OCoLC)1260692166 |
| ISBN |
9780231552479 electronic book |
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0231552475 electronic book |
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9780231116428 hardcover |
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023111642X hardcover |
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9780231116435 paperback |
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0231116438 paperback |
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