William Thomas – författare

The evolution of a set of fields—including operations research and systems analysis—intended to improve policymaking and explore the nature of rational decision-making.

During World War II, the Allied military forces faced severe problems integrating equipment, tactics, and logistics into successful combat operations. To help confront these problems, scientists and engineers developed new means of studying which equipment designs would best meet the military''s requirements and how the military could best use the equipment it had on hand. By 1941 they had also begun to gather and analyze data from combat operations to improve military leaders'' ordinary planning activities. In Rational Action, William Thomas details these developments, and how they gave rise during the 1950s to a constellation of influential new fields—which he terms the “sciences of policy”—that included operations research, management science, systems analysis, and decision theory.

Proponents of these new sciences embraced a variety of agendas. Some aimed to improve policymaking directly, while others theorized about how one decision could be considered more rational than another. Their work spanned systems engineering, applied mathematics, nuclear strategy, and the philosophy of science, and it found new niches in universities, in businesses, and at think tanks such as the RAND Corporation. The sciences of policy also took a prominent place in epic narratives told about the relationships among science, state, and society in an intellectual culture preoccupied with how technology and reason would shape the future. Thomas follows all these threads to illuminate and make new sense of the intricate relationships among scientific analysis, policymaking procedure, and institutional legitimacy at a crucial moment in British and American history.

From acclaimed humorist William Thomas comes the funny yet poignant story of a thoroughbred racehorse that lost 100 races in a row -- but, in everyone''s eyes, became the ultimate winner.On April 20, 1991, at Capritaur Farms in Upstate New York, Zippy Chippy strolled into the world. He was born from American horse racing royalty -- Compliance (his father was Kentucky Derby-winner Northern Dancer; his great-grandfather Native Dancer, the Preakness and Belmont Stakes winner) and Listen Lady (great-granddaughter of Native Dancer). Even before his birth, the hopes (not to mention the bill for his planned production) for Zippy Chippy were high. His pedigree was horse racing gold: Northern Dancer, Man o'' War, Count Fleet, Bold Ruler, War Admiral, and Buckpasser were all ancestors. His success and glory seemed inevitable.     But moments after his birth, Zippy Chippy struggled to his feet, took two steps forward . . . and stopped dead in his tracks. He looked around, took in his surroundings, maybe indulged in a little daydream, then promptly lay down for a nap in the straw. And thus began Zippy Chippy''s storied racing career.     Vince Lombardi, one of the greatest NFL coaches of all time, famously said, "Winning isn''t everything, it''s the only thing." These words have become the battle cry of athletes, coaches, and teams everywhere, but over the years, sports have taken on a literal interpretation of Lombardi''s mantra. Match-fixing, doping, sabotage, cocky and mean sportsmanship, all in the name of winning, have infiltrated and scandalized games, teams, reputations, and newspaper headlines. Yet, since his first moments in the world, Zippy Chippy ignored Lombardi and turned his nose at the concept of winning-at-all-costs. In fact, he decided to not win at all, losing, over the course of his career, 100 consecutive races, at some of the greatest tracks in the country: Belmont Park, Aqueduct, Finger Lakes, and Suffolk Downs among them. And he did so with his owner, Felix Monserrate, by his side -- a man who refused to sell Zippy, or even retire him, simply because he couldn''t come in first. Soon, Zippy''s cheering squad grew to include people who, enchanted by his story, would travel from all over North America to watch him lose but then happily gallop back to his stable. To them, Zippy Chippy was just like them; someone who wasn''t an athlete with a million-dollar contract, or someone with movie star looks -- he was a creature who struggled, who lost, and who failed even the lowest of expectations. But, somehow, he found a way to enjoy himself and eagerly return for the next race.     Told with laugh-out-loud wit and a lot of heart, The Legend of Zippy Chippy is the story of the losing-est racehorse in North American history -- a perpetual loser who would become the winning thoroughbred in professional horse racing to steal peoples'' hearts.

Presents the candid diary of Thomas Macaulay, Victorian statesman, historian and author of "The History of England". This work shows how, spanning the period 1838 to 1859, the journal is the longest work from Macaulay''s pen. It states that these unique manuscripts held at Trinity College, Cambridge, are most revealing of all his writings. Volume 5 includes entries from 1 January 1857–23 December 1859 and an Index.

Presents the candid diary of Thomas Macaulay, Victorian statesman, historian and author of "The History of England". This work shows how, spanning the period 1838 to 1859, the journal is the longest work from Macaulay''s pen. It states that these unique manuscripts held at Trinity College, Cambridge, are most revealing of all his writings. Volume 4 includes entries from 5 December 1852–31 December 1856.

Presents the candid diary of Thomas Macaulay, Victorian statesman, historian and author of "The History of England". This work shows how, spanning the period 1838 to 1859, the journal is the longest work from Macaulay''s pen. It states that these unique manuscripts held at Trinity College, Cambridge, are most revealing of all his writings. Volume 3 includes entries for 28 July 1850–4 December 1852.

Presents the candid diary of Thomas Macaulay, Victorian statesman, historian and author of "The History of England". This work shows how, spanning the period 1838 to 1859, the journal is the longest work from Macaulay''s pen. It states that these unique manuscripts held at Trinity College, Cambridge, are most revealing of all his writings. Volume 2 includes entries for 18 November 1848–27 July 1850.

Presents the candid diary of Thomas Macaulay, Victorian statesman, historian and author of "The History of England". This work shows how, spanning the period 1838 to 1859, the journal is the longest work from Macaulay''s pen. It states that these unique manuscripts held at Trinity College, Cambridge, are most revealing of all his writings. Volume 1 includes an Introduction and entries for 20 October 1838–12 June 1840.

Presents the candid diary of Thomas Macaulay, Victorian statesman, historian and author of "The History of England". This work shows how, spanning the period 1838 to 1859, the journal is the longest work from Macaulay''s pen. It states that these unique manuscripts held at Trinity College, Cambridge, are most revealing of all his writings. Volume 5 includes entries from 1 January 1857–23 December 1859 and an Index.

Presents the candid diary of Thomas Macaulay, Victorian statesman, historian and author of "The History of England". This work shows how, spanning the period 1838 to 1859, the journal is the longest work from Macaulay''s pen. It states that these unique manuscripts held at Trinity College, Cambridge, are most revealing of all his writings. Volume 4 includes entries from 5 December 1852–31 December 1856.

Presents the candid diary of Thomas Macaulay, Victorian statesman, historian and author of "The History of England". This work shows how, spanning the period 1838 to 1859, the journal is the longest work from Macaulay''s pen. It states that these unique manuscripts held at Trinity College, Cambridge, are most revealing of all his writings. Volume 3 includes entries for 28 July 1850–4 December 1852.

Presents the candid diary of Thomas Macaulay, Victorian statesman, historian and author of "The History of England". This work shows how, spanning the period 1838 to 1859, the journal is the longest work from Macaulay''s pen. It states that these unique manuscripts held at Trinity College, Cambridge, are most revealing of all his writings. Volume 2 includes entries for 18 November 1848–27 July 1850.

Presents the candid diary of Thomas Macaulay, Victorian statesman, historian and author of "The History of England". This work shows how, spanning the period 1838 to 1859, the journal is the longest work from Macaulay''s pen. It states that these unique manuscripts held at Trinity College, Cambridge, are most revealing of all his writings. Volume 1 includes an Introduction and entries for 20 October 1838–12 June 1840.