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Bestseller
BestsellerE-book
Author Sullivan, Neil J., 1948- author.

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

Publication Info. Lincoln : Potomac Books, an imprint of the University of Nebraska Press, 2016.

Item Status

Description 1 online resource
Physical Medium polychrome
Description text file
Summary "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.
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents Cover; Title Page; Copyright Page; Contents; List of Illustrations; Acknowledgments; Introduction; 1. A Squash Court in Chicago; 2. FDR and the Einstein Letter; 3. A Bungled Start; 4. The President's Man and the Liberal State; 5. MAUD- Working with the British; 6. The German Bomb; 7. Secrets and Spies; 8. Congress Rebounds; 9. The Transition to Truman; 10. Hiroshima; 11. Science and Democracy; Notes; Bibliography; Index.
Local Note eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - North America
Subject Manhattan Project (U.S.) -- History.
Manhattan Project (U.S.)
History.
Atomic bomb -- United States -- History.
Atomic bomb.
United States.
Atomic bomb -- Government policy -- United States -- History.
Atomic bomb -- Government policy.
United States -- Military policy.
Military policy.
Science and state -- United States.
Science and state.
Genre/Form Electronic books.
History.
Other Form: Print version: Sullivan, Neil J., 1948- Prometheus bomb. Lincoln : Potomac Books, aAn imprint of the University of Nebraska Press, 2016 9781612348155 (DLC) 2016020649 (OCoLC)946906418
ISBN 9781612348902 (electronic book)
1612348904 (electronic book)
9781612348926 (electronic book)
1612348920 (electronic book)
9781612348155
1612348157
9781612348919 (MOBI)
1612348920
1612348912