Man of the hour : James B. Conant, warrior scientist / Jennet Conant.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Conant, Jennet, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Conant, James Bryant, 1893-1978.

Conant, James Bryant.

Manhattan Project (U.S.)--History.

Manhattan Project (U.S.).

Educators--United States--Biography.

Educators.

Decision making.

History.

United States.

College presidents--United States--Biography.

College presidents.

Chemists--United States--Biography.

Chemists.

Atomic bomb--United States--History.

Atomic bomb.

Cold War--Decision making--History.

Cold War.

United States--Foreign relations--20th century.

International relations.

Science and state--United States--History.

Science and state.

Technology and state--United States--History.

Technology and state.

Diplomatic relations.

Genre:

Biographies.

History.

Physical Description:

x, 587 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm

Edition:

First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Simon & Schuster, 2017.

Summary:

"The remarkable life of one of the most influential men of the greatest generation, James B. Conant--a savvy architect of the nuclear age and the Cold War--told by his granddaughter, New York Times bestselling author Jennet Conant. James Bryant Conant was a towering figure. He was at the center of the mammoth threats and challenges of the twentieth century. As a young eminent chemist, he supervised the production of poison gas in WWI. As a controversial president of Harvard University, he was a champion of meritocracy and open admissions. As an advisor to FDR, he led the interventionist cause for US entrance in WWII. During that war, Conant was the administrative director of the Manhattan Project, oversaw the development of the atomic bomb and argued that it be used against the industrial city of Hiroshima in Japan. Later, he urged the Atomic Energy Commission to reject the hydrogen bomb, and devoted the rest of his life to campaigning for international control of atomic weapons. As Eisenhower's high commissioner to Germany, he helped to plan German recovery and was an architect of the United States' Cold War policy. Now New York Times bestselling author Jennet Conant recreates the cataclysmic events of the twentieth century as her grandfather James experienced them. She describes the guilt, fears, and sometimes regret of those who invented and deployed the bombs and the personal toll it took. From the White House to Los Alamos to Harvard University, Man of the Hour is based on hundreds of documents and diaries, interviews with Manhattan Projects scientists, Harvard colleagues, and Conant's friends and family, including her father, James B. Conant's son. This is a very intimate, up-close look at some of the most argued cases of modern times--among them the use of chemical weapons, the decision to drop the bomb, Oppenheimer's fate, the politics of post-war Germany and the Cold War--the repercussions of which are still affecting our world today"-- Provided by publisher.

"The remarkable life of one of the most influential men of the greatest generation, James B. Conant--a savvy architect of the nuclear age and the Cold War--told by his granddaughter, New York Times bestselling author Jennet Conant. James Bryant Conant was a towering figure. He was at the center of the mammoth threats and challenges of the twentieth century. As a young eminent chemist, he supervised the production of poison gas in WWI. As a controversial president of Harvard University, he was a champion of meritocracy and open admissions. As an advisor to FDR, he led the interventionist cause for US entrance in WWII. During that war, Conant was the administrative director of the Manhattan Project, oversaw the development of the atomic bomb and argued that it be used against the industrial city of Hiroshima in Japan. Later, he urged the Atomic Energy Commission to reject the hydrogen bomb, and devoted the rest of his life to campaigning for international control of atomic weapons. Now New York Times bestselling author Jennet Conant recreates the cataclysmic events of the twentieth century as her grandfather James experienced them. She describes the guilt, fears, and sometimes regret of those who invented and deployed the bombs and the personal toll it took. From the White House to Los Alamos to Harvard University, Man of the Hour is based on hundreds of documents and diaries, interviews with Manhattan Projects scientists, Harvard colleagues, and Conant's friends and family, including her father, James B. Conant's son. This is a very intimate, up-close look at some of the most argued cases of modern times, the repercussions of which are still affecting our world today"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Atomic pioneer

A Dorchester boy

A Harvard man

No-man's-land

The chemists' war

Air castles

The specialist

The dark horse

Unexpected troubles

The acid test

A private citizen speaks out

Mission to London

War scientist

A colossal gamble

Uneasy alliances

One fell stroke

A changed world

Atomic chaos

First of the cold warriors

A rotten business

Man of the hour

Warrior educator.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 501-561) and index.

Local Notes:

Athenaeum copy: Hagen fund bookplate.

ISBN:

9781476730882

1476730881

OCLC:

981640008