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The classic case for why government must support science-with a new
essay by physicist and former congressman Rush Holt on what
democracy needs from science today Science, the Endless Frontier is
recognized as the landmark argument for the essential role of
science in society and government's responsibility to support
scientific endeavors. First issued when Vannevar Bush was the
director of the US Office of Scientific Research and Development
during the Second World War, this classic remains vital in making
the case that scientific progress is necessary to a nation's
health, security, and prosperity. Bush's vision set the course for
US science policy for more than half a century, building the
world's most productive scientific enterprise. Today, amid a
changing funding landscape and challenges to science's very
credibility, Science, the Endless Frontier resonates as a powerful
reminder that scientific progress and public well-being alike
depend on the successful symbiosis between science and government.
This timely new edition presents this iconic text alongside a new
companion essay from scientist and former congressman Rush Holt,
who offers a brief introduction and consideration of what society
needs most from science now. Reflecting on the report's legacy and
relevance along with its limitations, Holt contends that the
public's ability to cope with today's issues-such as public health,
the changing climate and environment, and challenging technologies
in modern society-requires a more capacious understanding of what
science can contribute. Holt considers how scientists should think
of their obligation to society and what the public should demand
from science, and he calls for a renewed understanding of science's
value for democracy and society at large. A touchstone for
concerned citizens, scientists, and policymakers, Science, the
Endless Frontier endures as a passionate articulation of the power
and potential of science.
An inside account of one of the most innovative R&D ecosystems
of the 20th century, from the man who was at the center of it all.
Over a 60-year career in public affairs, Vannevar Bush—engineer,
inventor, educator, and public face of government-funded
science—sought to eliminate roadblocks to innovation in science
and technology. In Pieces of the Action, a collection of
memoir-essays, he reflects on his role in shaping the policies and
organizations that powered American research and development in the
mid-20th century. As the architect and administrator of an R&D
pipeline that efficiently coordinated the work of civilian
scientists and the military during World War II, he was central to
catalyzing the development of radar and the proximity fuze, the
mass production of penicillin, and the initiation of the Manhattan
Project. Pieces of the Action offers his hard-won lessons on how to
operate and manage effectively within complex organizations, build
bridges between people and disciplines, and drive ambitious,
unprecedented programs to fruition. With wry humor, Bush also
shares personal observations and anecdotes—pelting cows with
apples, poking fun at servicemen who tried to keep his own
invention secret from him—that offer a glimpse of the personality
behind the accolades. Originally published in 1970, this updated
edition includes 15 archival images from Bush’s life and career
and a foreword from entrepreneur and Idea Machines podcast host Ben
Reinhardt that contextualizes the lessons Pieces of the Action can
offer to contemporary readers: that change depends both on heroic
individuals and effective organizations; that a leader’s job is
one of coordination; and that the path from idea to innovation is a
long and winding one, inextricably bound to those involved—those
enduring figures who have a piece of the action.
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.
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.
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