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In Sputnik's Shadow : The President's Science Advisory Committee and Cold War America / Zuoyue Wang.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New Brunswick, NJ : Rutgers University Press, [2008]Copyright date: 2009Description: 1 online resource (488 p.) : 4 illustrationsContent type:
Media type:
Carrier type:
ISBN:
  • 9780813545141
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 338.973/0609045 22/eng/20231120
Other classification:
  • online - DeGruyter
Online resources:
Contents:
Frontmatter -- Contents -- List of Illustrations -- Preface -- Note to the Reader -- Abbreviations Used in Text -- Introduction -- Part I. Prelude: Before Sputnik -- 1. American Public Science, 1863–1945 -- 2. The Origins of Technological Skepticism, 1945–1950 -- 3. Mobilizing Science for the Korean War under Truman, 1950–1952 -- 4. Science and the National Security State under Eisenhower, 1952–1957 -- Part II. Ike, Sputnik, and the Rise of PSAC -- 5. Eisenhower, Sputnik, and the Creation of PSAC, 1957 -- 6. PSAC and the Launching of NASA, 1957–1960 -- 7. Military Technology, 1957–1960 -- 8. The Search for a Nuclear Test Ban, 1957–1960 -- 9. The Politics of Big Science, 1957–1960 -- 10. The Control of Science Policy under Eisenhower, 1957–1960 -- Part III. The Politics of Technological Skepticism -- 11. Science at the New Frontier under Kennedy, 1960–1963 -- 12. Responding to Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, 1962–1963 -- 13. Testing the Limits, 1961–1963 -- 14. “Scientists for Johnson,” 1964 -- 15. PSAC, the Vietnam War, and the ABM Debate, 1964–1968 -- 16. The Politics of Technological Dissent under Nixon, 1969–1973 -- Epilogue -- Conclusion -- Appendix -- Abbreviations Used in Notes -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- About the Author
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.
Holdings
Item type Current library Call number URL Status Notes Barcode
eBook eBook Biblioteca "Angelicum" Pont. Univ. S.Tommaso d'Aquino Nuvola online online - DeGruyter (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Online access Not for loan (Accesso limitato) Accesso per gli utenti autorizzati / Access for authorized users (dgr)9780813545141

Frontmatter -- Contents -- List of Illustrations -- Preface -- Note to the Reader -- Abbreviations Used in Text -- Introduction -- Part I. Prelude: Before Sputnik -- 1. American Public Science, 1863–1945 -- 2. The Origins of Technological Skepticism, 1945–1950 -- 3. Mobilizing Science for the Korean War under Truman, 1950–1952 -- 4. Science and the National Security State under Eisenhower, 1952–1957 -- Part II. Ike, Sputnik, and the Rise of PSAC -- 5. Eisenhower, Sputnik, and the Creation of PSAC, 1957 -- 6. PSAC and the Launching of NASA, 1957–1960 -- 7. Military Technology, 1957–1960 -- 8. The Search for a Nuclear Test Ban, 1957–1960 -- 9. The Politics of Big Science, 1957–1960 -- 10. The Control of Science Policy under Eisenhower, 1957–1960 -- Part III. The Politics of Technological Skepticism -- 11. Science at the New Frontier under Kennedy, 1960–1963 -- 12. Responding to Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, 1962–1963 -- 13. Testing the Limits, 1961–1963 -- 14. “Scientists for Johnson,” 1964 -- 15. PSAC, the Vietnam War, and the ABM Debate, 1964–1968 -- 16. The Politics of Technological Dissent under Nixon, 1969–1973 -- Epilogue -- Conclusion -- Appendix -- Abbreviations Used in Notes -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- About the Author

restricted access online access with authorization star

http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_16ec

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.

Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.

In English.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 26. Aug 2024)