One need not always agree, but one cannot come away without a better education....I found the parts on scientific administration and on the interaction of science and society excellent and provocative reading, and the parts on energy and nuclear energy very much to the point."

Alvin Weinberg is one of the most influential nuclear engineers & physicists in the U.S., having participated in many high profile projects from the early days of nuclear research on into the 1980s. This book is his autobiography and it's peppered with first-hand accounts of major historical events. He writes about the events of December 2, 1942, when Fermi set into motion the first chain reaction in a uranium pile and goes on to describe what happened during the "First Nuclear Era" a period he admits that has now largely run its course. A proponent of nuclear power, Weinberg also exposed its down- side risks and for years remained in the forefront of strong science administration.

Eugene Wigner is one of the very few scientists that maysafely be describedas creators of 20th-century physics.This volume of his Collected Works is devoted to hiscontributions to nuclear energy. In his Introduction andAnnotations A.M. Weinberg surveys Wigner''s contributions tonuclear-reaction physics and nuclear engineering, at thesame time giving a glimpse of the early history ofnuclear-reactor technology. Wigner himself gave a lively andcritical account, which is published in this volume for thefirst time. Furthermore the book contains forty-two reportsand memoranda from 1941 to 1945 and twelve of Wigner''s manypatents relating to nuclear energy.

One need not always agree, but one cannot come away without a better education....I found the parts on scientific administration and on the interaction of science and society excellent and provocative reading, and the parts on energy and nuclear energy very much to the point."

Alvin Weinberg is one of the most influential nuclear engineers & physicists in the U.S., having participated in many high profile projects from the early days of nuclear research on into the 1980s. This book is his autobiography and it's peppered with first-hand accounts of major historical events. He writes about the events of December 2, 1942, when Fermi set into motion the first chain reaction in a uranium pile and goes on to describe what happened during the "First Nuclear Era" a period he admits that has now largely run its course. A proponent of nuclear power, Weinberg also exposed its down- side risks and for years remained in the forefront of strong science administration.

Eugene Wigner is one of the very few scientists that maysafely be describedas creators of 20th-century physics.This volume of his Collected Works is devoted to hiscontributions to nuclear energy. In his Introduction andAnnotations A.M. Weinberg surveys Wigner''s contributions tonuclear-reaction physics and nuclear engineering, at thesame time giving a glimpse of the early history ofnuclear-reactor technology. Wigner himself gave a lively andcritical account, which is published in this volume for thefirst time. Furthermore the book contains forty-two reportsand memoranda from 1941 to 1945 and twelve of Wigner''s manypatents relating to nuclear energy.