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Author Wang, Zuoyue, 1963-

Title In Sputnik's shadow : the President's Science Advisory Committee and Cold War America / Zuoyue Wang.

Publication Info. New Brunswick, N.J. : Rutgers University Press, [2008]
©2008

Item Status

Description 1 online resource (xix, 454 pages) : illustrations
Physical Medium polychrome
Description text file
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 419-441) and index.
Contents American public science, 1863-1945 -- The origins of technological skepticism, 1945-1950 -- Mobilizing science for the Korean War under Truman, 1950-1952 -- Science and the national security state under Eisenhower, 1952-1957 -- Eisenhower, Sputnik, and the creation of PSAC, 1957 -- PSAC and the launching of NASA, 1957-1960 -- Military technology, 1957-1960 -- The search for a nuclear test ban, 1957-1960 -- The politics of big science, 1957-1960 -- The control of science policy under Eisenhower, 1957-1960 -- Science at the new frontier under Kennedy, 1960-1963 -- Responding to Rachel Carson's Silent spring, 1962-1963 -- Testing the limits, 1961-1963 -- "Scientists for Johnson," 1964 -- PSAC, the Vietnam War, and the ABM debate, 1964-1968 -- The politics of technological dissent under Nixon, 1969-1973.
Summary In today's world of rapid advancements in science and technology, we need to scrutinize more than ever the historical forces that shape our perceptions of what these new possibilities can and cannot do for social progress. In Sputnik's Shadow provides a lens to do just that, by tracing the rise and fall of the President's Science Advisory Committee from its ascendance under Eisenhower in the wake of the Soviet launching of Sputnik to its demise during the Nixon years. Members of this committee shared a strong sense of technological skepticism; they were just as inclined to advise the president about what technology couldn't do-for national security, space exploration, arms control, and environmental protection-as about what it could do. Zuoyue Wang examines key turning points during the twentieth century, including the beginning of the Cold War, the debates over nuclear weapons, the Sputnik crisis in 1957, the struggle over the Vietnam War, and the eventual end of the Cold War, showing how the involvement of scientists in executive policymaking evolved over time. Bringing new insights to the intellectual, social, and cultural histories of the era, this book not only depicts the drama of Cold War American science, it gives perspective to how we think about technological advancements today.
Local Note eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - North America
Subject United States. President's Science Advisory Committee.
United States. President's Science Advisory Committee.
Cold War (1945-1989)
Science and state -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
Science and state.
United States.
History.
Chronological Term 20th century
Subject Sputnik satellites.
Sputnik satellites.
Cold War.
United States -- Politics and government -- 1953-1961.
Politics and government.
Chronological Term 1953-1961
1900 - 1999
Genre/Form Electronic books.
History.
Other Form: Print version: Wang, Zuoyue, 1963- In Sputnik's shadow. New Brunswick, N.J. : Rutgers University Press, ©2008 9780813543314 (DLC) 2007035777 (OCoLC)171049112
ISBN 9780813545141 (electronic book)
0813545145 (electronic book)
0813543312
0813543320
9780813543314
9780813543321
1281776459
9781281776457
9780813546889
0813546885
Standard No. 9786611776459