The Physicists: The History of a Scientific Community in Modern America, with a New Preface by the Author

Kevles account of the participation of American Physicists in the practice of fundamental research most genuinely begins with Willard Gibbs as a primary contributor to the field of Thermodynamics. Early on, he also cites the contributions of Henry to the field of Electrodynamcis. Kevles goes on to describe the motivation behind the creation of various American scientific societies and government organizations. A particular point of interest is the creation of the National Bureau of Standards as a regulatory agency responding to the vast proliferation of medical "miracles" commonly refered to as "snake oil". Clearly, Kevles lays the fundamental ground work for further academic research concerning the creation of modern government regulatory agencies. Later chapters of Kevles book present more familiar material relating to military research, but this seminal work is of greatest academic value when viewed from the perspective of dynamic cultural change within an emerging scientific community of American Physicsts.

This is a very good and well written book about a truly remarkable community that flourished first in Europe and then emigrated en masse to the US around the time of WWII. The ideas of these men - and a few women - are evoked briefly as are vivid portriats of their personalites. There is, for example, Robert Oppenheimer and the ups and downs of his tumultuous career. While this is fun to read, it is very broad and general. If you want more on anyone or any subject from a scholarly point of view, you will need to go to a more detailed source. That doesn't change the fact that this is a great overview and can serve as the beginning of a lifetime of study on these creative and influential people. Afterall, the 20C may well be remembered as the century of the physicists. Warmly recommended.

The physicists is a well researched, scholarly work that sums up the history of american physics. Its a good read for those who are highly interested in the field, or those who can handle books of a more scholarly bent. For the casual reader you might find this book a bit dry. It lacks a cohesive story or character to make it come alive.