Adventures in the Atomic Age: From Watts to Washington (Hardcover)

by Glenn T. Seaborg (Author), Eric Seaborg (Author) "Congressional hearing rooms are arranged to mimic a courtroom, with the members of Congress looking down like judges from high wooden benches..." (more)
Key Phrases: bismuth phosphate process, actinide concept, transuranium elements, United States, Soviet Union, Met Lab (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
This unpretentious memoir, published after its author's death in 1999, opens windows into both the development of nuclear science in America and the mentality of the mainstream nuclear community. Seaborg began as a smalltown boy from the Midwest. He entered the "graduate school wonderland" of nuclear chemistry at the University of California in 1934 and was doing cutting-edge research in a new element when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. The element was plutonium, and that brought Seaborg in on the ground floor of the Manhattan Project. His account of the atom bomb's development indicates that he must have been a formidable classroom teacher; even readers with minimal understanding of physics will be able to follow his descriptions of the science. That the bomb was eventually used on Japan generates no serious questions or regrets, then or in hindsight. The bomb ended the war, Seaborg argues, and it saved lives on both sides. After the war, Seaborg remained part of a developing nuclear-security community, won the Nobel Prize (in 1951), served for almost a decade as chair of the Atomic Energy Commission after being appointed by Kennedy in 1961 and never abandoned his belief that science is neutral, though he became a firm and effective advocate for peaceful applications of nuclear energy and of nuclear arms limitation. On balance, he declares himself satisfied with the uses made of his particular contributions. Cancers cured with isotopes he discovered, and electricity generated with nuclear power, outweigh the negatives. It is a simple ethic, but in no way simpleminded. Yet it would seem to merit systematic analysis at levels deeper than Seaborg chose to go. The book was completed by Seaborg fils, a freelance writer, after his father's death. 24 photos not seen by PW. (Sept.)Forecast: This book should captivate thinking people drawn to the Pearl Harbor movie and 50th anniversary remembrance. Browsers may be put off by the sight of multiple acronyms in the text, but they can be assured that the book is engaging and readable throughout.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
"Page-turner" is a term not usually applied to a science memoir, but this compelling portrait of a major scientist is an exception. Completed by the author's son, Eric, after his death in 2001, the book contains no mathematics or detailed technical discussion to bore the reader. Glenn Seaborg's life and career are as interesting as they are distinguished. The son of poor Swedish immigrants, he barely scraped enough money together to attend the University of California, Berkeley, during the Depression. He knew little of the academic world, but his love of science and discovery carried him to a Ph.D. and a Nobel Prize before he was 40. Seaborg led the research team that created nine new elements, including plutonium (used in nuclear reactions), americium (used in smoke detectors), and curium (used in medicine). He also did extensive work with such isotopes such as Cobalt 60, used to treat cancer. Seaborg was honored as the only living person to have an element named after him Element 106, Seaborgium. While chair of the Atomic Energy Commission, he also helped negotiate the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. In brief, as demonstrated by this work, Seaborg's life is synonymous with the beginning of the Nuclear Age. Highly recommended for public and academic libraries. James Olson, Northeastern Illinois Univ. Lib., Chicago
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 356 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 1st edition (September 8, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374299919
• ISBN-13: 978-0374299910
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #70,439 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Find Out Why Element 106 Became Seaborgium And Other Stories, November 18, 2001

By	Bruce Crocker "agnostictrickster" (Whittier, California United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

To have an element named for you while you are still alive is the rarest of honors and Adventures In The Atomic Age: From Watts To Washington by Glenn T. Seaborg is the story of a life worthy of that honor. Glenn T. Seaborg takes you on a trip through his life, starting with his boyhood in Michigan and his teen years in South Gate, California. Hard work gets Seaborg to UCLA and continued hard work gets him to UC Berkeley, the place where most of his academic life will take place. Seaborg was student, teacher, researcher, the Golden Bear's biggest fan, and chancellor. Seaborg quietly affected all of our lives as the head of the AEC, and, for the most part, we are better off for his rational leadership of that organization. He served on the committee that wrote the educational report 'A Nation At Risk' and served on the committee that recently reformed California's science curriculum. He is proof that a public education can be excellent and that you get out of your education what you put into it. The people who have heard of Professor Seaborg usually know him as one of the co-discoverers of the element plutonium, but this book should give anyone who reads it a wider view of a rich life. Glenn T. Seaborg is not the household name like J. Robert Oppenheimer or Edward Teller, but hopefully this excellent autobiography will be a step towards making this wonderful scientist and human being more widely known.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Adventures in the Mind, February 8, 2002

By	Marian Powell (Silver City, New Mexico United States) - See all my reviews

Adventures in the Atomic Age is a remarkably friendly book. It is Glenn Seaborg's autobiography (completed after his death by his son). He helped develop the atom bomb, won the Nobel Prize and had an element named after him and those are only a few of his many achievements. He also chaired the Atomic Energy Commission, was chancellor of the University of California at Berkeley and was a professor whenever there was a lull in his career. He worked to make science interesting and accessible to the public, especially to students. An idea of how well he succeeded is shown by the fact that this book actually makes the science of the atom bomb intelligible. This is a book that can be read on many levels. It can be simply a history of the atomic age for he was there at the very beginning. It can be a history of the changing political scene during his life. It can also be read simply as the history of a thoroughly decent person. Glenn Seaborg comes across as a nice guy, the sort of person you would want as a next door neighbor, and would definitely want as a teacher.

5.0 out of 5 stars A very human and humanizing book about Seaborg, September 23, 2003

By A Customer

I liked this book a lot. It reminded me so much of some projects I have worked on in terms of the happenstance and there you are. Seaborg was a kind, sane and good person, and it really comes across in this book.

Such a contrast to so many today, and the politics have become so impenetrable these days. The UC system was nearly new then, it made me really feel how California was bubbling with new and great possibilities 70-50 years ago.

I wish I had met the man. I hope I can be somewhere near as good a man as he was.