Overview

By addressing the enigma of the exceptional success of Hungarian emigrant scientists and telling their life stories, Brilliance in Exile combines scholarly analysis with fascinating portrayals of uncommon personalities. István and Balazs Hargittai discuss the conditions that led to five different waves of emigration of scientists from the early twentieth century to the present. Although these exodes were driven by a broad variety of personal motivations, the attraction of an open society with inclusiveness, tolerance, and – needless to say – better circumstances for working and living, was the chief force drawing them abroad. While emigration from East to West is a general phenomenon, this book explains why and how the emigration of Hungarian scientists is distinctive. The high number of Nobel Prizes among this group is only one indicator. Multicultural tolerance, a quickly emerging, considerably Jewish, urban middle class, and a very effective secondary school system were positive legacies of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. Multiple generations, shaped by these conditions, suffered from the increasingly exclusionist, intolerant, antisemitic, and economically stagnating environment, and chose to go elsewhere. “I would rather have roots than wings, but if I cannot have roots, I shall use wings,"" explained Leo Szilard, one of the fathers of the Atom Bomb.

Full Product Details

Author:   István Hargittai ,  Balazs Hargittai ,  Ivan T. Berend
Publisher:   Central European University Press
Imprint:   Central European University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.80cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.462kg
ISBN:  

9789633866061

ISBN 10:   9633866065
Pages:   342
Publication Date:   15 March 2023
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  General/trade ,  Professional & Vocational ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Out of stock  
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Table of Contents

Foreword Ivan T. Berend Introduction Preface Joseph A. Galamb Philipp Lenard PART I. Early 1920s Introduction: Fleeing Ervin Bauer Stephen Brunauer Ladislaus Farkas Dennis Gabor George de Hevesy Theodore von Kármán Arthur Koestler Stephen W. Kuffler Nicholas Kurti Cornelius Lanczos John von Neumann Egon Orowan Michael Polanyi George Pólya Elizabeth Rona Leo Szilard Maria Telkes Edward Teller Eugene P. Wigner “Control” – Imre Bródy PART II. Late 1930s – Early 1940s Introduction: Before It Is Too Late Michael and Alice Balint Ladislao José Biro Paul Erdos John G. Kemeny Olga Kennard Peter D. Lax George J. Popjak Valentine L. Telegdi Laszlo Tisza Part III. Immediate Post-World War II Introduction: Post-War and Pre-Soviet Trauma, Endre A. Balazs Zoltan Bay Georg von Békésy Lars Ernster John C. Harsanyi Avram Hershko Georg and Eva Klein Albert Szent-Györgyi Part IV. 1956 Introduction: In the Wake of Suppressed Revolution Laszlo Z. Bito Andy Grove Peter Lengyel Joseph Nagyvary George A. Olah Gabor A. Somorjai Part V. 1957‒1989 Introduction: Escape from “Paradise” Gyorgy Buzsaki Gabor Fodor Katalin Karikó Charles Simonyi Agnes Ullmann “Control”—Árpád Furka Conclusion Thirty Years Later, and Continuing Acknowledgments Bibliography Index of Names

Reviews

""Countless books have been written about Hungarian émigrés, and not just about the Martians but also about individual figures, generations, and the general climate of the country. What makes this volume special is its systematicity, treating all these waves in one volume and making it accessible to many readers. The book also provides few clues about the most important questions. Why have Hungarian scientists been so successful? And how was such a small country able to produce such a vast number of intellectuals and scholars that revolutionized physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and technological innovations?"" http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php -- Ádám Tamás Tuboly * H-Net Reviews *

[The authors] have documented a history of Hungary's intellectual legacy that is both fascinating and tragic - and, it must sadly be said, one that remains poignantly relevant today. --Philip Ball The contributions of Hungarians to world science and mathematics almost defy belief. --Kenneth W. Ford, author of Building the H bomb Reading like a collection of fifty one-act plays, the brilliance of its characters leaves one at a loss for words at the unknown talent that was extinguished, and the danger of repeating the mistake. -- Reading like a collection of fifty one-act plays, the brilliance of its characters leaves one at a loss for words at the unknown talent that was extinguished, and the danger of repeating the mistake.

Author Information

Istvan Hargittai, PhD, DSc, is a physical chemist, Professor Emeritus (active) of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics. Balazs Hargittai, PhD (University of Minnesota), is an organic chemist, Professor of Chemistry of Saint Francis University, Loretto, Pennsylvania. Ivan T. Berend is Distinguished Research Professor at the History Department of the University of California Los Angeles.

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