Chain Reaction seeks to explain how and why America came to depend so heavily on its experts after World War II, how those experts translated that authority into political clout, and why that authority and political discretion declined in the 1970s. Brian Balogh's pathbreaking research into the internal memoranda of the Atomic Energy Commission substantiates his arguments in impressive historical detail.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"Chain Reaction by Brian Balogh is both a creative examination of post-World War II bureaucratic politics and a penetrating account of the development of commercial nuclear power in the United States...Balogh makes a real contribution to our understanding of the role of science and scientists in the formulation of public policy." The Journal of American History
"A signicant work, and one that deserves to have a major influence on subsequent attempts to write the history of administrative politics in the United States since World War II." Science
"It is a truly original book, providing a deep view of the American government that evolved after World War II. It breaks a path toward a new type of twentieth-century political history -- one that includes bureaucrats and lobbyists as well as politicians and officials." Ernest R. May, Harvard University
"Brian Balogh's study of the Atomic Energy Commission is a chapter of the greatest importance in the extension of the history of administrative politics to the second half of the 20th century. Balogh is especially adept at identifying the way in which administrative politics become more open and pluralistic. In this process he stresses not the role of citizen groups but of scientists who brought new twists to the debate over atomic energy from outside the AEC and thereby forced it to take part in a public debate that it had long kept behind its own doors. Specialization within science served not to unify public decisions but to fracture them as different disciplines competed to make their own knowledge relevant to public affairs. An excellent and pioneering study of a pervasive problem in the historical relationship between science and public policy." |c Samuel P. Hays, Distingushed Service Professor of History, University of Pittsburgh
"Balogh has produced a useful, insightful and independent analysis of the formation and implementation of nuclear policy-making. This well-documented study adds much to our understanding of how and why professional and bureaucratic agencies have formed public opinion and public policy." Choice
"Chain Reaction will be at the center of stimulating discussion over the nature of modern American politics for many years to come. It is, indeed, an exciting book to read." Martin V. Melosi, Reviews in American History
"Balogh's study effectively combines political science and discussion of public policy issues with careful historical analysis. His research is superb; the notes are extensive and informative....Balogh has produced a book of value to students of public policy and historians who grapple with the institutions of the second half of the twentieth century." Virginia P. Dawson, Journal of Interdisciplinary History
"A signicant work, and one that deserves to have a major influence on subsequent attempts to write the history of administrative politics in the United States since World War II." Science
"It is a truly original book, providing a deep view of the American government that evolved after World War II. It breaks a path toward a new type of twentieth-century political history -- one that includes bureaucrats and lobbyists as well as politicians and officials." Ernest R. May, Harvard University
"Brian Balogh's study of the Atomic Energy Commission is a chapter of the greatest importance in the extension of the history of administrative politics to the second half of the 20th century. Balogh is especially adept at identifying the way in which administrative politics become more open and pluralistic. In this process he stresses not the role of citizen groups but of scientists who brought new twists to the debate over atomic energy from outside the AEC and thereby forced it to take part in a public debate that it had long kept behind its own doors. Specialization within science served not to unify public decisions but to fracture them as different disciplines competed to make their own knowledge relevant to public affairs. An excellent and pioneering study of a pervasive problem in the historical relationship between science and public policy." |c Samuel P. Hays, Distingushed Service Professor of History, University of Pittsburgh
"Balogh has produced a useful, insightful and independent analysis of the formation and implementation of nuclear policy-making. This well-documented study adds much to our understanding of how and why professional and bureaucratic agencies have formed public opinion and public policy." Choice
"Chain Reaction will be at the center of stimulating discussion over the nature of modern American politics for many years to come. It is, indeed, an exciting book to read." Martin V. Melosi, Reviews in American History
"Balogh's study effectively combines political science and discussion of public policy issues with careful historical analysis. His research is superb; the notes are extensive and informative....Balogh has produced a book of value to students of public policy and historians who grapple with the institutions of the second half of the twentieth century." Virginia P. Dawson, Journal of Interdisciplinary History
Book Description
Path-breaking research into the Atomic Energy Commission's internal memoranda files supports this text's explanation of how and why America came to depend so heavily on its experts after World War II and why their authority and political clout declined in the 1970s.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
Expertise has played an increasingly important role in modern American politics. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
proministrative state, insulated forums, nuclear manufacturers, competitive nuclear power, nuclear community, reactor controversy, reactor proposals, reactor development program, safety gap, regulatory staff, safety expertise, developing nuclear power, executive hearings, commercial nuclear power, nuclear reactor safety, authorization hearings, coal boys, organizational synthesis, scientific estate, reactor program, licensing hearings, civilian nuclear power, larger reactors, industrial participation, antitrust review Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Atomic Energy Commission, New York, World War, United States, Boston Globe, Reactor Safeguards, Oak Ridge, Reactor Safeguard Committee, Bodega Head, Controlling the Atom, Bodega Bay, Union of Concerned Scientists, White House, Holifield Papers, May Johnson, Public Health Service, Alvin Weinberg, New Deal, Oyster Creek, San Onofre, Chet Holifield, David Lilienthal, New England, Progressive Era, General Electric New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Expertise has played an increasingly important role in modern American politics. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
proministrative state, insulated forums, nuclear manufacturers, competitive nuclear power, nuclear community, reactor controversy, reactor proposals, reactor development program, safety gap, regulatory staff, safety expertise, developing nuclear power, executive hearings, commercial nuclear power, nuclear reactor safety, authorization hearings, coal boys, organizational synthesis, scientific estate, reactor program, licensing hearings, civilian nuclear power, larger reactors, industrial participation, antitrust review Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Atomic Energy Commission, New York, World War, United States, Boston Globe, Reactor Safeguards, Oak Ridge, Reactor Safeguard Committee, Bodega Head, Controlling the Atom, Bodega Bay, Union of Concerned Scientists, White House, Holifield Papers, May Johnson, Public Health Service, Alvin Weinberg, New Deal, Oyster Creek, San Onofre, Chet Holifield, David Lilienthal, New England, Progressive Era, General Electric New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 86
books:
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- Nuclear Reactor Safety: On the History of the Regulatory Process by David Okrent on 5 pages
- The New American State: Bureaucracies and Policies since World War (Johns Hopkins Symposia in Comparative History) by Professor Louis Galambos on page 1, page 26, and page 199
- James B. Conant: Harvard to Hiroshima and the Making of the Nuclear Age by James Hershberg on page 25, page 172, and page 174
- Controlling the Atom: The Beginnings of Nuclear Regulation, 1946-1962 by George T. Mazuzan on page 15, page 132, and page 269
- Conservation and the Gospel of Efficiency: The Progressive Conservation Movement, 1890-1920 (Harvard Historical Monographs) by Samuel P. Hays on page 2, page 3, and page 258
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