The Stevensons: A Biography of an American Family
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • A Family Worthy of Our Attention
  • A Man For All Seasons
  • A Wonderful Saga of An American Family
The Stevensons: A Biography of an American Family
Jean H. Baker
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0393315983

Amazon.com

Jean Baker chronicles the history of the Stevenson family from its roots in Scotland to its transplantation in America. Its members would become farmers, businesspeople, and politicians--the most famous being Adlai Stevenson, the perennial also-ran in several presidential elections. Although he is widely regarded as something of an intellectual saint (Dwight Eisenhower famously derided him as an "egghead"), in Baker's view Adlai Stevenson's career was less than spotless. As governor of Illinois, he illegally paid political aides from a private slush fund. He conducted several extramarital affairs. He often behaved foolishly and arrogantly. For all that, writes Baker, he was unfairly abused as a supposed Communist fellow traveler and ultraliberal, when in fact his politics were resolutely centrist. Baker gives due attention to this important figure in recent political history.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars A Family Worthy of Our Attention.......2001-02-01

It is important to keep in mind that this is not a biography of Adlai, the most famous of Stevensons. Baker examines his family and his place within that family's development...as well as his place within the American political system. I grew up in Chicago in a family of Democrats who adored FDR and, later, Adlai Stevenson. (They really didn't know quite what to make of Truman nor, for that matter, did Truman know quite what to make of Stevenson.) I begn to follow Stevenson's career when he was governor of Illinois, delighted by his dry wit. Unlike Lincoln's, his career did not lead from Springfield to the White House. His manner was that of a patrician and his demeanor that of an intellectual. (Eisenhower once called him an "egghead.") On occasion, he seemed to lack an appetite for politics or at least for campaigning for public office. Thanks to Baker, I now have a much better understanding of his Scottish ancestry, of his youth, and of the formative years preceding his governship. Contrary to what the elders in my family firmly believed, Stevenson was no saint. For me, that makes him all-the-more interesting. Perhaps his finest moment in public life occurred when, as our ambassador to the U.N., he challenged the ambassador from the U.S.S.R. to admit that it had deployed missiles in Cuba. That took courage and eloquence which Stevenson possessed in abundance. So many fine books have been written about the Kennedys, the Rockefellers, and the Roosevelts. Another family, the Stevensons, has now received the attention it deserves.

5 out of 5 stars A Man For All Seasons.......2000-05-20

"The Stevensons" is a sweeping story of the American experience, a story of a great American family.

Jean Baker begins the story of the Stevenson saga with Adlai Stevenson II's 1948 campaign for governor in Illinois. As the popular governor is about to run for the presidency in 1952, the author takes readers back to governor's ancestors, following the family's migration to America - moving from Pennsylvania to the Carolinas, on to Kentucky and eventually to Bloomington, Illinois -- a sweeping and inspiring journey.

While the book's focus is Adlai Stevenson II, two time Democratic presidential candidate in 1952 and 1956, the family biography thoroughly recounts the life and political career of his famous grandfather, Adlai Stevenson I (1835-1914), a Democratic Party icon in 19th century Illinois politics.

Of special interest to those who remember Adlai Stevenson II's two campaigns for the presidency and his tenure as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, the book presents the complexities of the personality of probably the best known liberal of the post-World War II era.

The only missing link in the story is the period between 1956 and 1960.

Among all the tragic figures in this saga, Adlai Stevenson II, although flawed, shines with a luster that will be remembered as a liberal statesman head and shoulders above his contemporaries.

The author lists 35 interviews and has included 74 pages of bibliographic

5 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Saga of An American Family.......1998-02-22

Jean Baker's chronicle of the Stevenson family contains Baker's usual hallmarks-- thought-provoking sagacity, a remarkable ability to objectively look at all issues from all angles, and research that in its scope and accuracy is second to none. The Stevensons should be required reading for all Americans who care about postwar American politics and culture. An excellent piece of work by one of America's outstanding biographers.
Don't You Know There's a War On?
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • WWII Comes Alive for Small Children
Don't You Know There's a War On?

Manufacturer: Greenwillow
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

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ASIN: 0688113842

Book Description

"Seen through the eyes of a young boy, these [are] strikingly faithful memories of the home front during World War II....The boy wants to help win the war; he collects tin foil and tin cans, buys war stamps, and plants a victory garden....But anxious times to come, too. His father goes into the army, and the boy misses him terribly....Stevenson is adept at presenting the unsettling mixture of the humorous, the day-to-day, and the serious moments....A splendid evocation of the past; a wonderful book....for everyone to share."--Horn Book.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars WWII Comes Alive for Small Children.......1999-12-15

I am a retired first grade teacher who grew up during WWII. This book is an accurate account of all the things that young children heard, saw, thought about, and participated in during this historical event. Reading it to my classes each December 7 brought back memories and tears that I had forgotten. The children were spellbound and full of questions as I read aloud, often using war mementoes-dog tags, a silver ID bracelet, ration stamps, uniform patches, saving stamps bought in school, balls of chewing gum wrappers, etc.- to help describe this time in history. The reading of this book encouraged many children to go home and question their grandparents, often finding that their grandfathers served in WWII. The book led to map studies of countries involved. I can't begin to tell you how important this book is to children who are just beginning to learn about our country. I was invited by a fifth grade teacher to present Don't You Know There's A War On? to her class. They loved it! This book should take it's place with other children's classics in every library and become a "must read" as part of a child's education about this country and its brave and patriotic citizens.
I Meant to Tell You
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    I Meant to Tell You
    James Stevenson
    Manufacturer: Greenwillow Books
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

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    Affairs Of State Being An Account Of Certain Surprising Adventures Which Befell An American Family In The Land Of Windmills
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      Affairs Of State Being An Account Of Certain Surprising Adventures Which Befell An American Family In The Land Of Windmills
      Burton Stevenson
      Manufacturer: Kessinger Publishing
      ProductGroup: Book
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      ASIN: 1419104969
      TEXAS OILFIELD FOLKS
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        TEXAS OILFIELD FOLKS
        Ed Stevenson
        Manufacturer: Xlibris Corporation
        ProductGroup: Book
        Binding: Paperback

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        Book Description

        ¿
        The Stevensons: A Biography of an American Family.: An article from: Presidential Studies Quarterly
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          The Stevensons: A Biography of an American Family.: An article from: Presidential Studies Quarterly
          Charles H. Zwicker
          Manufacturer: Center for the Study of the Presidency
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Digital

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          ASIN: B0009882JY
          Release Date: 2005-07-28

          Book Description

          This digital document is an article from Presidential Studies Quarterly, published by Center for the Study of the Presidency on March 22, 1998. The length of the article is 743 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

          Citation Details
          Title: The Stevensons: A Biography of an American Family.
          Author: Charles H. Zwicker
          Publication: Presidential Studies Quarterly (Refereed)
          Date: March 22, 1998
          Publisher: Center for the Study of the Presidency
          Volume: v28 Issue: n2 Page: p460(3)

          Article Type: Book Review

          Distributed by Thomson Gale

          Western Civilizations: Vol. 2, Fifteenth Edition
          Average customer rating: 1 out of 5 stars
          • Worst history book I've ever read! Do not buy!
          Western Civilizations: Vol. 2, Fifteenth Edition
          Judith G. Coffin , Robert C. Stacey , and Robert E. Lerner
          Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Paperback

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          Customer Reviews:

          1 out of 5 stars Worst history book I've ever read! Do not buy!.......2007-03-08

          Do not get this book!! I guarantee you that you will get so sick of reading it after one or two pages and turn to other sources like I did. The writing style is horrible, it jumps around too much, and it is just so boring! I am transferring out of my college because their history department chose to use this book for one of my classes. Yep... It's that bad. Trust me.

          Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb
          Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
          • Not an Impressive Follow-up
          • Very disappointing; where was the story of the H-bomb?
          • THREE DIFFERENT STORIES IN ONE
          • Necessary Differences of Style
          • gripping history read
          Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb
          Richard Rhodes
          Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Paperback

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          Amazon.com

          An engrossing history of the scientific discoveries, political maneuverings, and cold-war espionage leading to the creation of mankind's most destructive weapon.

          Includes 94 archival photographs and a glossary with brief descriptions of the hundreds of people interviewed and discussed in the book. Author Richard Rhodes won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the National Book Critics Circle Award for his previous atomic tome, The Making of the Atomic Bomb.

          Book Description

          Here, for the first time, in a brilliant, panoramic portrait by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Making of the Atomic Bomb, is the definitive, often shocking story of the politics and the science behind the development of the hydrogen bomb and the birth of the Cold War. Based on secret files in the United States and the former Soviet Union, this monumental work of history discloses how and why the United States decided to create the bomb that would dominate world politics for more than forty years.

          Customer Reviews:

          2 out of 5 stars Not an Impressive Follow-up.......2007-08-07

          The Pulitzer Prize-winning treatise "The Making of the Atomic Bomb" (1987) was the well-deserved claim-to-fame for American journalist and historian Richard Rhodes. The deservedly eminent nuclear pundit's follow-up book, Dark Sun (1995), attempts to provide an accurate historical account of the hydrogen bomb's development. The book is written for a non-expert audience, yet still provides enough technical information to give the reader a basic understanding of nuclear technology without inducing a migraine headache. Dark Sun aims to elucidate the technical achievement, political chicanery, and ethical controversy surrounding the production of thermonuclear weapons.

          In the first section of the book, Rhodes uses declassified U.S. archive documents to trace the historical development of the hydrogen bomb from the discovery of fission to the first thermonuclear detonation in 1952. Rhodes does not focus on the ethical dilemmas per se; nonetheless, three of them feature prominently throughout the book. The first of those questions is probably the most obvious: given their indiscriminate and immensely destructive nature, should these weapons ever have been developed in the first place? Repeating a similar discussion from "The Making of the Atomic Bomb" (almost verbatim) he recounts the Scientists' understandably conflicted feelings. But Rhodes makes no effort to disguise his obvious disdain for both Edward Teller and his brainchild, believing the bomb's only function to be committing "omnicide".

          The second portion of Dark Sun deals with the Soviet's nuclear espionage program, whose roots extend back to World War II. Rhodes argues that Soviet technical advancement depended almost entirely on espionage; as such, he uses newly (early 1990s) declassified KGB documents to show how effective the Soviets were in assuring that virtually every American breakthrough was quickly mirrored in the Soviet Union. Rhodes argues that this seemingly fluid transfer of technology and the subsequent success of the Soviet program would only have been possible with the help of certain individuals. He argues that Klaus Fuchs, the Rosenbergs and/or "Perseus" were sending the Soviets fusion-bomb designs (mainly Teller's) as early as 1946. During the early 1990s, former NKVD agent Pavel Sudoplatov alleged that Robert Oppenheimer himself was a source of information, but Rhodes goes out of his way to convince the reader that, contrary to Teller's allegations, Oppenheimer was an innocent victim of the political brouhaha accompanying the McCarthy-driven "red scare". The espionage section culminates in the Rosenberg's execution in 1953 for treason, a sentence Rhodes finds murderously unfair. Nevertheless, it should be pointed out that the execution was in fact a political memorandum to the Soviets stating that the United States' takes its national security seriously. In hindsight, failure to exact harsh punishment would have demonstrated a lack in resolve and would have been viewed as proof-positive that the U.S. is so weak that it cannot even bring known spies to justice. This in-turn would probably have resulted in a dramatic increase in Soviet espionage activity.

          The concepts of espionage and technology transfer gives rise to the first moral quandary: horizontal proliferation. Rhodes does a brilliant job of recounting the ethical dilemmas faced by scientists and policy makers at the time. The willingness of American scientists to "betray their country" and pass on nuclear secrets to the Soviets can be understood if one pictures the geopolitical attitudes at the time (the US and Russia just fought a war as allies) and if one viewed nuclear hegemony as catastrophically destabilizing. For policy makers the primary question was (and still is) one of usage: against whom and under what conditions should these weapons be used? Rhodes does a marvelous job of describing the personal sentiments and interpersonal relationships of those involved. The political struggle between Oppenheimer and Teller regarding leadership and nuclear policy is discussed ad nauseam. Nevertheless, Rhodes makes a very convincing argument that Teller's obstinate refusal to compromise on bomb design severely jeopardized the H-bomb's development. In fact the project would have been scrapped, were it not for Marshall Holloway, Cornelius Everett, Carson Mark, and Stanislaw Ulam.

          Dark Sun's final section concerns events during the Cold War, from the blockade of Berlin to the Korean War and how these incidents set the tone for the ensuing arms-race. While it is relatively clear that neither side wished for war, many on both sides perceived the looming cataclysm as all but inevitable. Rhodes makes some controversial assertions about U.S. Cold War military doctrine, specifically, what he regards as the potentially catastrophic risks run by the Strategic Air Command. He suggests that General Curtis E. LeMay had the ability to start World War III at a whim, a notion that unrealistically marginalizes the available safety protocols and represents a fundamental misunderstanding of contingency measures.
          Contrary to the rest of his historically accurate exposition, Rhodes' hypothesis that the world teetered on the brink of nuclear holocaust during the first decade of the Cold War is both logically flawed and historically inaccurate. In point of fact, the scarcity of deliverable Soviet nuclear weapons in the ten years following WWII suggests that the only ones facing potential annihilation were the Soviets, at least until 1955 (W. Lambers - Nuclear Weapons). By Rhodes own admission, it was during that particular period of time that the United States' arsenal grew to several thousand deliverable nuclear weapons. This overwhelming advantage encouraged hawkish leaders like General LeMay to consider a preemptive strike against the Soviet's infantile nuclear capability. The possibility of a preventative strike against the budding Soviet arsenal delineates one final ethical dilemma that one might derive from Dark Sun: Would a preemptive strike against Soviet nuclear facilities in the late 1940s or early 1950s have been preferable to a Cold War that endured for half a century, risked the lives of millions (possibly billions), and left most of the Eurasian continent in economic shambles? Not to mention the number of under-developed countries around the world, formerly in one of the "spheres of influence" that still struggle with economic stagnation and relentless civil-conflict, fueled by the deluge of surplus Russian small-arms. Is all of that worth 100,000 lives? 200,000? Half a million? Opinions will vary; needless to say Dark Sun does not have the answer.

          Rhodes takes on the ambitious task of trying to show both the American and Soviet perspectives. This was a mistake because it resulted in the sacrifice of coherency in favor of inclusivity. Dark Sun's discussion of the Soviet perspective suffers from a dire lack of supporting documentation, which only serves to detract from the book's overall quality. Rhodes should have limited his coverage of the Soviet program to the American point of view. Stalin and the Bomb by David Holloway does a much better job of analyzing the Soviet experience.

          While its simultaneous coverage of American and Soviet endeavors to acquire a fusion weapon is unparalleled, Rhodes falls short of his reputed narrative brilliance evinced in "The Making of the Atomic Bomb". The primary reason for this dearth in quality is the lack of information actually pertaining to thermonuclear weapons or their technical development.

          Dark Sun has its shortcomings and does not contain much information that has not already been covered by scholars like Eric Rosenberg or Lawrence Freedman. Nevertheless, Rhodes makes excellent use of interviews and declassified documents, successfully demonstrating that the H-Bomb was not a spontaneous development, but rather the culmination of a series of technical achievements, strategic perceptions and policy directives.

          2 out of 5 stars Very disappointing; where was the story of the H-bomb?.......2006-08-18

          The title of this book is a misnomer as there is very little about the making of the hydrogen bomb in it. I can't remember the last time I was this disappointed in a book. There are hundreds of pages spent detailing the Soviet spy program during WWII while the USA was trying to build the atomic bomb. The scientists and their contacts and where they met and what they said to each other and what the Soviet scientists did with the information and on and on in mind-numbing minutiae. This information is all well and good, but that's not why I bought the book. The hydrogen bomb isn't touched on for 350 or 400 pages and then it still seems to spend more time on the Soviets and their attempts to catch up to the American program.

          The writing is fine, if not stimulating, it just seems to be off track most of the time. I wanted to read about Teller, Oppenheimer, Ulam, Feynman and all the rest and their conversations, disagreements, failures and ultimate successes in creating the hydrogen bomb. What I got was a heavy dose of Klaus Fuchs and the rest who stole every item they could and sold it to the Russians. This is an important story, but it's not the one I wanted to read about and not the story the book purported to tell.

          4 out of 5 stars THREE DIFFERENT STORIES IN ONE.......2006-04-03

          While I did not agree with many of the author's opinions and analyses, I must say 'Dark Sun' was a fairly enjoyable read. Rhodes really tells it as three different stories in one volume: a story of science, a story of espionage, and one of cold war history.

          The scientific history traces the making of the bomb itself and culminates with the sucessful test of the first bomb by the US in 1952; a blast which turned out to be far larger than expected. I am not very technical, so I can't vouch for accuracy here, but the explanations were about as clear as can be given to the non-expert.

          The espionage history begins in WWII itself and concludes with the execution of the Rosenbergs in 1953. Rhodes sides with many others in finding the executions unfair, but it seems to me that those who give secrets to foreign agents deserve what they get. The spies should not get off the hook because the Soviets were allies during the war. Stalin's Russia was committed to our destruction and so could never be considered a true ally, and the prosecuters were right that commuting the sentence would send the wrong message to the Soviets - that we were too weak to even execute known spies.

          The third part of this book covers the cold war during the period. We learn how tensions from the Berlin blockade to China and then Korea accelerated the race for a super bomb. Neither side wished for war, but felt one was perhaps inevitable.

          Rhodes does not like Teller or the hydrogen bomb and believes the project was unnecessary, as we had plenty of A-bombs. But would it have helped our image or sense of security had the Russians got the super first? Would US restraint have stopped the Soviets? I doubt it. Truman was right to approve the plan quickly and override the scientists' objections. The hydrogen bomb was inevitable.



          4 out of 5 stars Necessary Differences of Style.......2006-01-10

          Rhodes' "The Making of the Atomic Bomb" is my favorite nonfiction book. I hesitated to read this one for several years only because of reviews that slammed the book for dwelling too much on Soviet espionage and atomic bomb development and not enough on the actual physics of thermonuclear weapons design.

          The criticism is accurate inasmuch as this book is much less about physics than its predecessor. "The Making of the Atomic Bomb" took the reader through the major breakthroughs of atomic physics, the relationships between the most influential scientists of the twentieth century, and finally how all of these brilliant individuals influenced, directly or indirectly, the Manhattan Engineering Dist. and allied atomic bomb research.

          The story of Dark Sun is much different. "The Making of the Atomic Bomb" told the story of scientists and nations coming together to defeat the Axis powers. "Dark Sun" tells the story of how weapons of mass destruction polarized scientists, nations, military sects, and political mindsets (Edward Teller and E.O. Lawrences pro-thermonuclear detterence and Oppenheimer's international control camps, Soviets vs. Western powers, etc.).

          It is this polarization that is the primary concern of Rhodes. Having covered the issue of nuclear fission in his previous book, all that is left scientifically is the fusion of the light elements, the use of radiation implosion, and some other admittedly difficult engineering breakthroughs necessary to sustain a thermonuclear reaction. The result was merely to boost weapons already designed for mass industrial bombing to even more terrifying megaton proportions.

          Faced with the fact that after the war Los Alamos ceased to be a barracks of every influential scientific mind in the United States and became a sort of post-war arms race machine, Rhodes takes the emphasis off the scientists and puts it onto the socio-political mindset that leads to the idea of detterence, of keeping a peace-time nuclear arsenal of tremendous strength, of treating a former wartime ally as a deadly threat.

          So while the focus of the book is different, I feel that it was different, not so much in a way that makes "Dark Sun" more interesting than "Making the Atomic Bomb", but in a way that was necessary and makes for perhaps a more historically relevent read. Rhodes analysis is top notch and the espionage reading is actually quite interesting, particualy as it disrobes the kind of sophisticated James Bond style clandestine operative most people continue to associate with spy-work.

          I feel this book is an essential follow-up to "Making the Atomic Bomb".

          5 out of 5 stars gripping history read.......2005-10-27

          Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb is a fascinating historical work that reads almost like a novel; perhaps a particularly technical Clancy novel, but a novel nevertheless. It targets a general audience and balances the consequent need for clarity with depth and technical detail, and with great success.

          Rhodes starts by taking us through America's Manhattan Project, a subject he dealt with in depth in his earlier book, The Making of the Atomic Bomb. This time he focuses on the political elements of the project and with Soviet espionage. Klaus Fuchs is a major character in Dark Sun; in TMAB, which deals in much more depth with the scientific and technical problems behind atom bomb development, Fuchs has only a minor role. Here the scene switches back and forth between the U.S. and the USSR, where Igor Kurchatov takes charge of the Soviet nuclear program under secret police head Lavrenti Beria.

          The early focus on espionage and Soviet work is important in this book; the subtitle, The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb, refers to the political impetus behind the bomb, not the scientific and technical issues. There were formidable technical difficulties in the design of the first hydrogen bomb, but nothing that would warrant the same in-depth examination of basic science that appears in the earlier book. It becomes clear in the course of Dark Sun that the making of thermonuclear weapons was driven by politics, not military need or science (not to minimize the role of politics in atomic bomb development, but that was also the result of extravagantly brilliant scientists pursuing basic and often unexpected research in physics). And much of that political impetus was the result of American shock that the Soviets detonated an atomic bomb as soon as they did, years sooner than American scientists and policy makers believed that they could. Hence the importance of Fuchs and Beria.

          Also prominent in this book is Edward Teller. His obsession with thermonuclear weapons seems a powerful force behind American policy development. It's always seemed to me that Ulam was as much the father of the hydrogen bomb as Teller, but Rhodes convinces me that Teller deserves that sobriquet on the basis of his political efforts more than on the basis of his technical efforts. As the making of the atomic bomb was the result of extraordinary scientific and technical achievement, the making of the hydrogen bomb was the result of extraordinary political will. Much of that will was Teller's.

          That will was also destructive. The book closes with an examination of the fallout from obsession with the Soviet threat and the way that bomb research was pursued in this country. I think that Rhodes overestimates the costs of the nuclear arms race by misallocating them, and he draws too strong a link between thermonuclear research and America's fraying infrastructure. He also gives short shrift to the case that our obsession with the Soviet threat was almost inevitable and necessary given Soviet behavior and the opacity of their motives at the time. I think Rhodes' treatment of Teller betrays a certain bias. If there's a villain in this book it isn't Fuchs, but Teller. Teller's role in the destruction of Oppenheimer wasn't meaningless and it wasn't an episode of which he should be proud, but Teller wasn't the devil. He was a man motivated by fear, and it was a fear of forces and events he didn't create. Teller was even less responsible for the cold war than he was the scientific father of the hydrogen bomb. I think Rhodes could have found a better villain.

          In the context of the book I think these objections are small points; putting them aside, I think this book is very good.
          Dark Sun - the Making of the Hydrogen Bomb
          Average customer rating: Not rated
            Dark Sun - the Making of the Hydrogen Bomb

            Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
            ProductGroup: Book
            Binding: Hardcover
            ASIN: B000HKGV9W
            Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb.: An article from: American Scientist
            Average customer rating: Not rated
              Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb.: An article from: American Scientist

              Manufacturer: Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society
              ProductGroup: Book
              Binding: Digital

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              ASIN: B00096MJLS
              Release Date: 2005-07-28
              Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb.: An article from: Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
              Average customer rating: Not rated
                Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb.: An article from: Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
                Chuck Hansen
                Manufacturer: Educational Foundation for Nuclear Science, Inc.
                ProductGroup: Book
                Binding: Digital

                GeneralGeneral | Science | Subjects | Books
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                ASIN: B00093N92E
                Release Date: 2005-07-28

                Book Description

                This digital document is an article from Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, published by Educational Foundation for Nuclear Science, Inc. on September 1, 1995. The length of the article is 1524 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

                Citation Details
                Title: Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb.
                Author: Chuck Hansen
                Publication: Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (Refereed)
                Date: September 1, 1995
                Publisher: Educational Foundation for Nuclear Science, Inc.
                Volume: v51 Issue: n5 Page: p52(2)

                Article Type: Book Review

                Distributed by Thomson Gale
                Dark Sun - the Making of the Hydrogen Bomb
                Average customer rating: Not rated
                  Dark Sun - the Making of the Hydrogen Bomb

                  Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
                  ProductGroup: Book
                  Binding: Hardcover
                  ASIN: B000HKGV9M
                  Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb
                  Average customer rating: Not rated
                    Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb
                    Richard Rhodes
                    Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
                    ProductGroup: Book
                    Binding: Hardcover
                    ASIN: B000NQIK9Y
                    Dark Sun: the Making of the Hydrogen Bomb (Sloan Technology Series)
                    Average customer rating: Not rated
                      Dark Sun: the Making of the Hydrogen Bomb (Sloan Technology Series)
                      Richard Rhodes
                      Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
                      ProductGroup: Book
                      Binding: Paperback
                      ASIN: B000N7FI1G
                      DARK SUN; THE MAKING OF THE HYDROGEN BOMB.
                      Average customer rating: Not rated
                        DARK SUN; THE MAKING OF THE HYDROGEN BOMB.
                        Richard. Rhodes
                        Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster,
                        ProductGroup: Book
                        Binding: Hardcover
                        ASIN: B000QA789U

                        Giant Trees of Western America and the World
                        Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
                        • A 'must' for any who would discover the history and nature of the West's last stands of big trees.
                        Giant Trees of Western America and the World
                        Al Carder
                        Manufacturer: Harbour Publishing
                        ProductGroup: Book
                        Binding: Paperback

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                        Similar Items:
                        1. The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring

                        ASIN: 1550173634

                        Book Description

                        As a child growing up in the Fraser Valley, Al Carder was awed by the ancient Douglas fir forests and spent hours staring up at trees that commonly stood over 300 feet high. Sixty years later, after retiring from his career as a plant biologist, he set out to find the trees that had transfixed him in his youth. Discovering many of them felled by storms or loggers, he determined to document those that were left before they could vanish from our memories as well as from our landscapes. The catalogue Dr. Carder compiled is a definitive record of the West's record-sized trees of all species, including such legends as BC's 400-plus foot Lynn Valley fir and California's massive redwood, the Eureka Tree. Next, Dr. Carder set out to answer the question, how do the giant trees of the West stack up against the great trees of the world?
                        The result, Giant Trees of Western America and the World, reveals outstanding examples from each of the most noteworthy tree species Dr. Carder found--including some that are thousands of years old and over 300 feet high. Featuring more than 40 scale drawings, this collection of giant trees outlines the intriguing characteristics of each species, such as the resiliency of the English oak, which can endure lightning strikes and widespread rot for hundreds of years and still thrive; and the "grotesque" appearance of the African "upside-down tree," the baobab, whose width can exceed its height. Dr. Carder also describes the histories of famous trees, including the stump of a BC western red cedar so wide that eight men and women danced a quadrille on it in 1887, and the Sicilian Tree of 100 Horses, well-known for sheltering Joan, Queen of Aragon and 100 of her horsemen in a storm. Carder's enthusiasm and expertise informs and entertains even as he urges us to appreciate and protect what is left of these fascinating "monsters of the past."

                        Customer Reviews:

                        5 out of 5 stars A 'must' for any who would discover the history and nature of the West's last stands of big trees........2007-01-07

                        Al Carder spent sixty years as a plant biologist but never forgot the ancient Douglas fir forests which enthralled him as a child: when he retired he set out to find the trees, only to discover many had been felled by loggers or storms. GIANT TREES OF WESTERN AMERICA AND THE WORLD is his attempt to document those which remain and provides a catalog of the West's big trees of all species, from BC's 400-plus foot Lynn Valley fir to the massive redwoods of California. Some are thousands of years old and over 300 feet high: the author's scale drawings accompany discussions of observation history and plant biology. A 'must' for any who would discover the history and nature of the West's last stands of big trees.

                        Diane C. Donovan
                        California Bookwatch

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