Memoirs; a twentieth-century journey in science and politics.
2001SS12807Cambridge:: Perseus 2001. 2001. Thick 8vo. xii 628 pp. Photo illus. appendix index. Quarter navy-stamped gray cloth navy boards dust-jacket; spine text printed askew missing first letters on left edge jacket slightly rubbed. Very good. ISBN: 073820532X "The story of Edward Teller is the story of the twentieth century. Born in Hungary in 1908 Teller witnessed the rise of Nazism and anti-Semitism two world wars the McCarthy era and the changing face of big science. A brilliant and controversial figure Teller brings to these events a perspective that is at once surprising and insightful. Edward Teller is perhaps best known for his belief in freedom through strong defense. But this extraordinary memoir at last reveals the man behind the headlines -- passionate and humorous devoted and loyal. Never before has Teller told his story as fully as he does here. We learn Teller's true position on everything from the bombing of Japan to the pursuit of weapons research in the post-war years. In clear and compelling prose Teller chronicles the people and events that shaped him as a scientist beginning with his early love of music and math and continuing with his study of quantum physics under Werner Heisenberg. Present at many of the pivotal moments in modern science Teller also describes his relationships with some of the century's greatest minds -- Einstein Bohr Fermi Szilard von Neumann -- and offers an honest assessment of the development of the atomic and hydrogen bombs the founding of Lawrence Livermore Laboratory and his complicated relationship with J. Robert Oppenheimer. He also offers for the first time a moving portrait of his childhood his marriage and family life and his deep friendship with physicist Maria Mayer. Writing about those aspects of his life that have had important public consequences -- from his conservative politics to his relationships with scientists and presidents -- Teller reveals himself to be a man with deep beliefs about liberty security and the moral responsibility of science." – Jacket flap. "Edward Teller was a Hungarian-American theoretical physicist who is known colloquially as "the father of the hydrogen bomb . . ." CONTENTS: How many seconds in a year 1908-1913 -- Learning about war revolution and peace 1914-1919 -- The other side of the war years 1914-1919 -- Romanian interlude 1919-1920 -- My name is KoKo 1920-1925 -- How to become a physicist the hard way 1926-1928 -- Brave new world 1928-1929 -- Journeymen year in physics 1929-1930 -- The pleasures of small successes 1930-1933 -- The future becomes obvious 1933 -- Copenhagen 1933-1934 -- The joy of being a foreigner 1934-1935 -- First years in the United States 1935-1941 -- Fission 1939-1941 -- Academicians go to work 1941-1943 -- Settling in at Los Alamos March 1943-November 1943 -- On and off the Mesa November 1943-January 1945 -- An end a beginning 1945 -- Give it back to the Indians 1945-1946 -- Incomplete answers 1946 -- Among friends from home February 1946-June 1949 -- The Reactor Safeguard Committee 1947-1949 -- Twenty years too soon June 1949-January 1950 -- Our doubts have a firm foundation 1950 -- Damn the torpedoes November 1950-April 1951 -- Pleasures in the Pacific perils at Princeton -- April 1951-September 1951 -- The campaign for a second weapons laboratory -- November 1951-July 1952 -- The new wheel spins a bit 1952-1954 -- Other nuclear affairs 1949-1955 -- The Oppenheimer hearing April 12 1954-May 6 1954 -- Sequelae June 1954-February 1955 -- Three friends August 1954-August 1958 -- Down to earth 1955-1958 -- The directorship 1958-1960 -- A few lessons in political affairs 1955-1960 -- The temperature of the Cold War rises 1960-1965 -- Educating inventive engineers 1961-1975 -- Uphill 1964-1972 -- Choices critical and otherwise 1973-1979 -- Strategic defense 1980-1992 -- Other issues--public and private 1980-1990 -- Homecoming 1990-2000 -- Appendix: In the matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer. Perseus, (2001). hardcover books
