The Recollections of Eugene P. Wigner [Hardcover]

Eugene Paul Wigner (Author), Andrew Szanton (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0306443260 | ISBN-13: 978-0306443268 | Publication Date: September 1992 | Edition: 1ST

One of the greatest physicists of the 20th century recounts his journey from Hungary and the Nazi invasion to the creation of the first atomic bomb.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Recollections" might seem too straightforward and too modest a word for the memoirs of a Nobel physicist who moved in the orbits of Dirac, Einstein and Teller. It is, however, the only one that can do justice to the genteel and sweet qualities in this charming, rambling book of reminiscences. Wigner's versions of key moments in the Manhattan Project and the characters of its major participants--Leslie Groves, Enrico Fermi, Edward Teller--are perhaps generous to a historical fault, especially his loyalty to Hungarian countrymen Jon von Neumann and Leo Szilard, among the period's most misunderstood and controversial scientists (at opposite ends of the atomic question). Wigner's memory is not self-serving, only loving, and some of this surprisingly durable amiability necessarily must come from his old-country, bourgeois Jewish upbringing, evoked in burnished prose with the assistance of freelance writer Szanton, also a Hungarian-American. The record of 20th-century physics is brighter and clearer for these firsthand recollections by a man whose life came close to the depths of evil and the heights of human ambition and wonder, but who can still close by remarking, "I have tried to be happy in this life. . . . I could not do better with a second chance."
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"A useful addition to the history of science and science policy in the 20th century." -- New York Times Book Review

"A wealth of observations on contemporary mathematicians and physicists, from David Hilbert to Richard Feynman." -- American Scientist --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 335 pages
• Publisher: Plenum Pr; 1ST edition (September 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306443260
• ISBN-13: 978-0306443268
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #684,485 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars History and Science brought seamlessly together -----, April 1, 2005

By 

fancyseudo (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Recollections Of Eugene P. Wigner: As Told To Andrew Szanton (Paperback)

By structuring Eugene Wigner's story in such a readable and flowing format, Andrew Szanton has provided us with a book that takes us back to the early 20th century and parallels many of the European political experiments with the scientific progress of that century. This book provides historical insight as well as traces the qualities of the prominent scientific minds of the time. One is inspired as Eugene Wigner's modest recollections show us a great scientific mind, who was delighted to give his research to the world. It is a great lesson in ethics for all of us, as well as a truly engaging read. As Wigner and Szanton carry us along through the decades, you can feel the camaraderie amongst the great minds in physics and imagine the energy that must have been exchanged during their coffee talks after colloquia presentations. This book is also a wonderful complement to the published works of Richard Feynman.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A towering figure, September 21, 2004

By 

W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Recollections of Eugene P. Wigner (Hardcover)

When Eugene Wigner died a few years ago, we lost another towering figure in twentieth century physics. His contributions are probably equally well remembered by physicists and chemists, especially in the field of spectroscopy, where he published a seminal text on using the theory of discrete groups to analyse data.

But this book of his recollections is not about his scientific papers, per se. Rather, the most interesting sections to many readers will be the times that he lived through, and the other major figures that he knew, like Dirac and Einstein. The book goes through the turbulent and terrible years of the 1930s and 40s. Thus, you can see the development of quantum mechanics and his involvement in it during the 30s. At a time when the key ideas in this subject were rapidly discovered. Then see the development of nuclear fission and the Manhattan Project through his eyes, at the University of Chicago campus during World War 2.

An excellent book for a general audience.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating scientific autobiography!, May 28, 2010

By 

DebbieL (London) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Recollections Of Eugene P. Wigner: As Told To Andrew Szanton (Paperback)

This engrossing book offers the reader a behind-the-scenes view of the Manhattan Project and the development of the Atomic Bomb. It also describes Wigner's later work refining nuclear technology and theorizing on quantum mechanics. Other notable physicists and geniuses of the era--including Albert Einstein, Robert Oppenheimer, Leo Szilard, Paul Dirac, John von Neumann, and Edward Teller (the model for Dr. Strangelove) feature in fascinating anecdotes throughout the book. Von Neumann, Teller, Szilard and Wigner were all from the same Hungarian-Jewish circle in turn-of-the-century Budapest, and Wigner's reverence for the other three was tinged with rivalry - he was the only one of the four to win a Nobel Prize, though a plausible case could be made that the other three were equally deserving. The human-interest side is well described: we hear about how Wigner developed his interest in science and mathematics while confined to a tuberculosis sanitarium as a boy and how he and other Jewish physicists got out of Nazi-controlled Europe to eventually work against Hitler. Because the autobiography is "as told to" memoirist Andrew Szanton, it explains scientific concepts so clearly in lay terms that my nuclear physicist father and I both enjoyed this book equally. I recommend it to anyone interested in science, creativity, WWII history or just looking for an interesting read.