Solar System Astronomy in America: Communities, Patronage, and Interdisciplinary Science, 1920-1960 [Hardcover]

Ronald E. Doel (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 052141573X | ISBN-13: 978-0521415736 | Publication Date: April 26, 1996

Between 1920 and 1960 astronomers began working with scientists in other fields in order to better understand the nature of the solar system. Researchers made wide-ranging attempts to solve such problems as the nature of lunar and terrestrial craters, the origin of comets and meteors, and the birth of the solar system. While often tinged with controversy, this work provided the foundation for planetary science in the space age. Exploiting previously unused archival material, Ronald Doel investigates this emerging interdisciplinary scientific community and its influence on astronomy, meteorology, geology, and geophysics. He examines how studies in planetary science were influenced by shifts in institutional mandates, new research techniques, and Cold War government-military funding. Above all, the book explores an important branch of what is now called the environmental sciences. This book will interest historians of science as well as astronomers.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Doel has relied not only on wide reading in published primary and secondary sources, but also on extensive archival research and numerous oral history interviews. This book is a model historical study that needs to be seriously studied by anyone interested in the profound changes that affected the earth as well as the planetary sciences in the post-World War II era." Carl-Henry Geschwind

"Ronald Doel's superb book challenges the thesis that American scientists neglected the solar system in the four decades preceding NASA's founding....Besides offering a carefully crafted and unusually original history of solar system research between 1920 and 1960, Doel reflects on its broader significance for our understanding of the transformation of American science during the mid-20th century." Karl Hufbauer, Science

"...an interesting history of science, well worth reading by astronomers, physicists and planetary scientists." Donald E. Osterbrock, Physics Today

"...Solar System Astronomy in America is an interesting history of science, well worth reading by astronomers, physicists and palnetary scienctists to broaden their perspective to the whole Solar System, so much the better." Donald E. Osterbrock, Physics Today

Book Description

Ronald Doel examines how interdisciplinary scientists, from 1920-1960, collaborated to better understand the solar system, recounting such episodes as Jan Oort's "comet cloud," Eugene Shoemaker's use of atomic weapons test results to study celestial impacts, and the Gerard Kuiper-Harold Urey dispute over the moon's evolution. Employing abundant archival research, the book explores the social, institutional, and intellectual history of an emerging field, simultaneously illuminating the maturation of earth and environmental sciences.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 302 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (April 26, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 052141573X
• ISBN-13: 978-0521415736
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,353,052 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Packed with detail, August 7, 2001

By 

Chandra K. Clarke (Chatham, ON Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Solar System Astronomy in America: Communities, Patronage, and Interdisciplinary Science, 1920-1960 (Hardcover)

This is a densely written account of the development of solar system science in the US in the early 20th century. If you're a science historian, this is an excellent reference, as it is stuffed full of names, dates and detailed references. For example, it provides a blow-by-blow (almost literally!) account of the bitter dispute between Urey and Kuiper over hot vs cold moon theories. It also provides some information on the rift between US and UK scientists.

If you're looking for a book on solar system astronomy that explains what we think we know about our celestial backyard however, look elsewhere. This is a book of record, placing people, theories and dates down on paper for posterity. It can be a bit frustrating to read if you're not already intimately familiar with the players, as there are dozens of names to remember and lots of academic minutia.

Bottom line: a good book for academics and students, not recommended for the layman or general interest reader.