Free Delivery Over $100
|
|
|||
|
||||
OverviewIn Atomic Bill, Vincent Kiernan examines the fraught career of New York Times science journalist, William L. Laurence and shows his professional and personal lives to be a cautionary tale of dangerous proximity to power. Laurence was fascinated with atomic science and its militarization. When the Manhattan Project drew near to perfecting the atomic bomb, he was recruited to write much of the government's press materials that were distributed on the day that Hiroshima was obliterated. That instantly crowned Laurence as one of the leading journalistic experts on the atomic bomb. As the Cold War dawned, some assessed Laurence as a propagandist defending the militarization of atomic energy. For others, he was a skilled science communicator who provided the public with a deep understanding of the atomic bomb. Laurence leveraged his perch at the Times to engage in paid speechmaking, book writing, filmmaking, and radio broadcasting. His work for the Times declined in quality even as his relationships with people in power grew closer and more lucrative. Atomic Bill reveals extraordinary ethical lapses by Laurence such as a cheating scandal at Harvard University and plagiarizing from press releases about atomic bomb tests in the Pacific. In 1963 a conflict of interest related to the 1964 World's Fair in New York City led to his forced retirement from the Times. Kiernan shows Laurence to have set the trend, common among today's journalists of science and technology, to prioritize gee-whiz coverage of discoveries. That approach, in which Laurence served the interests of governmental official and scientists, recommends a full revision of our understanding of the dawn of the atomic era. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Vincent KiernanPublisher: Cornell University Press Imprint: Three Hills Dimensions: Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 22.90cm Weight: 0.907kg ISBN: 9781501765636ISBN 10: 1501765639 Pages: 312 Publication Date: 15 November 2022 Audience: General/trade , General Format: Hardback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: Not yet available  This item is yet to be released. You can pre-order this item and we will dispatch it to you upon its release. Table of ContentsIntroduction: A Moth to the Flame 1. The Second Coming of Prometheus 2. On the Army's Payroll 3. Magnetic Current 4. Atomland-on-Mars 5. Trinity, Hiroshima and Nagasaki 6. Aftermath 7. Atomic Plagiarism in the South Pacific 8. Reporter Grade 8 9. The Elixir of Life 10. The Hell Bomb 11. Atomic Dialogue 12. The U-Bomb 13. King Laurence 14. Peace Through UnderstandingReviewsAuthor InformationVincent Kiernan is the Dean of the Metropolitan School of Professional Studies at the Catholic University of America in Washington DC. He is the author of several books, including Embargoed Science. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
||||
