The Hungarian emigre Edward Teller spent the best part of the twentieth century at the forefront of shaping national and world defence strategies. Few have had such a profound influence on the shape of the post-war world. He was involved at every stage of the building of the atomic bomb. In the years following the Second World War he was dubbed 'the father of the H-bomb' and assailed as the mastermind of a ruinous arms race - the original Dr Strangelove, his effigy burned by students who branded him a war criminal. In the ...
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The Hungarian emigre Edward Teller spent the best part of the twentieth century at the forefront of shaping national and world defence strategies. Few have had such a profound influence on the shape of the post-war world. He was involved at every stage of the building of the atomic bomb. In the years following the Second World War he was dubbed 'the father of the H-bomb' and assailed as the mastermind of a ruinous arms race - the original Dr Strangelove, his effigy burned by students who branded him a war criminal. In the view of the Nobel laureate Eugene Wigner, he was a 'great man' of vast imagination and one of the 'most thoughtful statesmen of science'. In the view of another, Isadore Rabi, he has been 'a danger to all that's important' and 'it would have been a better world without Teller'. Throughout his life he was at the centre of controversy, pursuing causes that drew the whole world deeper into the Cold War. In the process he alienated many of his scientific colleagues while providing the intellectual lead for politicians, the military and Presidents as they shaped Western policy towards the Soviets.Yet Sakharov, the Russian dissident and father of the Soviet H-bomb, declared that Teller had been quite right in his vigorous pursuit of American military power. In his compelling biography Peter Goodchild unravels the complex web of harsh early experiences, character flaws and personal and professional frustrations that lay behind the man Ronald Reagan described as 'one of the bulwarks of American Freedom, a sterling example of what scientific knowledge, enlightened by moral sense, and a dedication to the principles of freedom and justice, can do to help all mankind.'
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Seller's Description:
This is an ex-library book and may have the usual library/used-book markings inside. This book has hardback covers. In good all round condition. No dust jacket. Please note the Image in this listing is a stock photo and may not match the covers of the actual item, 950grams, ISBN: 0297607340.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good in Very Good jacket. Hardcover in DJ with only minor reading wear; DJ has a little edge-wear at corners; book is clean, unmarked. In stock. Ships from MN, USA. International orders may require additional postage.
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Seller's Description:
New in New jacket. No Flaws or Blemishes but minimal retail handling; Still Gift Quality. Edward Teller, the 'Father of the H-bomb, ' emerges in this readable biography as a brilliant, insecure, sometimes paranoid figure with a significant--and decidedly ambiguous--historical legacy...Goodchild, a BBC television producer and author of a biography of Oppenheimer, offers a detailed, studiously balanced portrait drawn from archives and interviews with Teller himself and many who knew (and loved or loathed) him. (Publishers Weekly 2004-09-06)
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Seller's Description:
Very good in Very good jacket. xxv, [1], 469, [1] pages. List of Illustrations. Illustrations. Glossary of Characters. Appendix 1: The New Physics: the Path that Led to Quantum Mechanics. Appendix 2: Basic Information on the History of Fission. Appendix 3: The Sketch for the 'Super' that Evolved During the Berkeley Conference, Summer 1942. Notes and References. Select Bibliography. Index. DJ has slight wear and soiling. Peter Goodchild CChem FRSC (born 18 August 1939) is a former BBC television editor, who notably edited Horizon and who initiated the popular 1980s BBC science series Q.E.D. He joined the BBC's Horizon, becoming a producer from 1965-69. From 1969-76 he was Editor of Horizon, at the time the series was much in its heyday and essential viewing for many people. Under him, it won a BAFTA award (British Academy Television Awards) in 1972 and 1974 for Best Factual Series. He was executive producer of the BAFTA Award winning series Marie Curie (1977) and Oppenheimer (1980). In the story of Teller's life and career, told here in greater depth and detail than ever before, Goodchild unravels the web of harsh experiences, character flaws, and personal and professional frustrations that lay behind the paradox of Teller. Goodchild's biography draws on interviews with more than fifty of Teller's colleagues and friends. Their voices echo through the book, expressing admiration and contempt, affection and hatred, as we observe Teller's involvement in every stage of building the atomic bomb, and his subsequent pursuit of causes that drew the world deeper into the Cold War--as he provided the intellectual lead for politicians, the military, and presidents as they shaped Western policy. Goodchild interviewed Teller himself, and what emerges from this interview, is a clearer view of Teller's contradictions and controversies. Goodchild rescues Edward Teller from the caricatures that have described him. Goodchild shows us one of the most powerful scientist in all his enigmatic humanity.