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Robert Buderi

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The Invention That Changed the World: How a Small Group of Radar Pioneers Won the Second World War and Launched a Technical Revolution Paperback – March 23, 1998

by Robert Buderi (Author)

4.5 60 ratings

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From Simon & Schuster, The Invention That Changed the World explores how a small group of radar pioneers won the second World War and launched a technical revolution.

The technology that was created to win World War II—radar—has revolutionized the modern world. This is the fascinating story of the inventors and their inventions.

Print length

576 pages
Language

English
Publication date

March 23, 1998
Dimensions

6 x 1.4 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

0684835290
ISBN-13

978-0684835297
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Tuxedo Park : A Wall Street Tycoon and the Secret Palace of Science That Changed the Course of World War II

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Editorial Reviews

Review

[W]ith an impressive level of detail, Buderi backs up the old saw of the electronic engineers: that while the atom bomb ended the war, radar won it. -- The New York Times Book Review, Matthew L. Wald

About the Author

Robert Buderi, a Fellow in MIT's Center for International Studies, is the author of two acclaimed books, Engines of Tomorrow, about corporate innovation, and The Invention That Changed the World, about a secret lab at MIT in World War II. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Touchstone; Touchstone ed. edition (March 23, 1998)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 576 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0684835290
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0684835297
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.55 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.4 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #915,641 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #57 in Radar Technology
- #354 in Scientific Research
- #22,382 in Military History (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.5 60 ratings

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Customer reviews

60 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the story interesting, engaging, and exciting. They also say the book is worth buying and reading, and it's truly worthwhile. Opinions are mixed on the encyclopedia content, with some finding it wonderful and well-written for laypeople, while others say it describes difficult concepts very briefly and gets lost in small details.

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Story quality Value for money Encyclopedia content

6 customers mention "Story quality"6 positive0 negative

Customers find the story interesting, engaging, and exciting. They say it's an excellent history and the subject is complex.

"...An exciting story of science at war, because the war enters into the picture too. Great book...." Read more

"...The subject is complex and includes several scientific fields...." Read more

"A really engaging. I'm a history buff and have read a lot about World War II, but had never heard of this part of the war...." Read more

"Very interesting story, even if told in a slightly tendentious vein...." Read more

6 customers mention "Value for money"6 positive0 negative

Customers find the book worth buying and reading. They say it's heavy but a good read.

"...Great book. I'm reading it through a second time, hoping to remember more." Read more

"...It is truly worth your time, and the "technical detail" is not beyond any interest reader willing to go beyond the book itself...." Read more

"...little historical and technological gems that make it really worthy to buy and read. It could have been a 5 stars masterpiece...." Read more

"Excellent book; it takes a techie to fully appreciate and understand but well worth it." Read more

5 customers mention "Encyclopedia content"3 positive2 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the encyclopedia content. Some mention it's a wonderful reference and well-written history for laypeople. Others say the author gets lost in small details and too little technical information is discussed.

"This book is a wonderful reference for me for several reasons:..." Read more

"...the author just takes to much for granted and describes difficult concepts very briefly, hiding them in long descriptions and focusing more on his..." Read more

"...A well written history for laypeople like myself." Read more

"As stated in the title, it’s not a bad book but too little technical information is discussed and it focuses more on the history side of things." Read more

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JAthey

radar saved the Allies

Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2021

Verified Purchase

Radar is much more than just "We got radar" and that's it. There were many many steps, improvements, problems, etc. to go from bare radar to workable and then superior radar. Plus the enemy's countermeasures. The top scientists -- and when you get to America, all those Nobelists -- worked furiously to develop the different radar types for ground-to-airplane, airplane-to-surface, airplane-to-water (Uboats), airplane-to-airplane: they all had different requirements. For example, they needed to invent/develop the magnetron for enough power. Another example, the tremendous American industry leaped ahead of the Brits except didn't get better results, what was the problem? It turned out our crystals were at fault, not pure enough. It took a while to solve, but finally Aha! It's a technical book that a smart person like me can more or less understand what they're doing and get excited about it even though a short time later I can give only a vague outline of what the problems and solutions were. So you don't have to be a scientist to follow along, but it's intense enough to make you wish you were. An exciting story of science at war, because the war enters into the picture too. Great book. I'm reading it through a second time, hoping to remember more.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

JayArr

A great book filling in a large gap in WWII history

Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2024

Verified Purchase

Yes, it is true that this book gets into technical detail. However, when you're dealing with a topic like radar, if you avoid the technical detail, it's like eating a rice cake - great fiber, no flavor whatever! This book covers a great gap in WWII history; instead of dealing with the "flash-bang" of popular aircraft or warships, it deals with truly foundational matter like "weapons SYSTEMS", systems like radar aimed anti-aircraft cannon and periscope-finding airborne radar systems in long-range depth-charge-equipped bombers. It is truly worth your time, and the "technical detail" is not beyond any interest reader willing to go beyond the book itself. This is one of the truly worthwhile books on WWII.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Stfn

Great effort but not easy to read

Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2009

Verified Purchase

The effort put in researching the material for this book must have been huge. Furthermore, since several of the events described were happening in parallel in separate and distant countries it was not easy to provide a clear chronology.
The book is quite big and dense and contains little historical and technological gems that make it really worthy to buy and read. It could have been a 5 stars masterpiece.

There are however 3 points in my opinion that prevents this book to really be perfect:

- The history of radar development spans several countries and lab and events should be presented in an easy way. Instead a lot of times the author get lost in small details so it is very difficult to get the whole picture. I had the impression the Mr Buderi was more concerned about showing a fluent writing style ( in several occasion i got lost in complicated sentences and had to go back and read paragraphs again to understand them correctly ) instead of presenting a more simple path.

- The subject is complex and includes several scientific fields. In several occasion the author just takes to much for granted and describes difficult concepts very briefly, hiding them in long descriptions and focusing more on his writing style and shady military acronyms . This really doesn't help if you're not an expert on electromagnetism and quantum mechanics.

- Simple drawings could have been of terrific help in understanding how equipments described were working. This was not a big effort to include for someone like Mr Buderi who had the will to collect such a huge amount of datas and interviews for his book.

5 people found this helpful

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David Shores

Awesome Story!

Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2012

Verified Purchase

This book is a wonderful reference for me for several reasons:

1.The development of the magnetron was a major achievement by scientists in my field of expertise. I spent 15 years of my life designing other microwave devices. Two of these, called IMPATT oscillators, are now sitting on the surface of Mars (part of the Viking Project).
2.My second career, lasting 30 years, involved describing technical achievements by others. Isadore Isaac Rabi led the development of the magneton. He also encouraged others to write a series of books called the Rad Lab series. These were references I used during my early career. They were a key part of the huge advances in electronics after WWII.
3.At this stage in my career I want to understand more about the ways that engineers and entrepreneurs relate to each other.

Other books that provide different insights are:
1."Crystal Fire", by Michael Riordan
2."The Man Behind the Microchip", by Leslie Berlin
3."The Idea Factory", by Jon Gertner

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Retroreader

A comprehensive of all the uses of radar, beginning and not ending with WWII

Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2022

Verified Purchase

There were many kinds of radar used in WWII, both by the Allies and by Germany--not just locating aircraft during the blitz. The development of many other radar usages is covered in the book with sufficient depth and in mostly understandable language for the non-technical reader. The most fascinating use of radar, in my opinion, was the proximity fuse that "told" the anti-aircraft shells when to detonate. Imagine putting a battery powered radar in the nose of a shell in 1942 technology.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Ed B

Radar and Microwaves ... so common today, but unimaginable in the 1930s

Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2022

Verified Purchase

This book is a replacement copy for me. It's about the discovery and growth of radar and microwaves.
The early part of radar history took place at the Mitre corporation's laboratories in the Boston area.
That's where I worked as an electrical engineer. So, I'm biased about it's history.
Anyone who's interested in history, especially WWII will enjoy this book.
As the author says, "The atomic bomb ended WWII. Radar won it"

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Tim Burr

Fills in what happened after the Tizard mission to the US and the US radar effort.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 8, 2023

Verified Purchase

I had read many books on radar from this period but there were always loose ends. After reading books by Watson-Watt, Wilkins, Bowen, Rowe, Lovell, Chisolm, Rawnsley and Price, it was good to have a book that covered the beginnings in the US during the war and what was really interesting after, in the application of the technology in so many other areas leading to many Nobel Prizes. In reading the other books it was not clear what happened after the Tizard mission and the characters involved for instance Taffy Bowen. I also liked the level of detail on the technical side that gave enough information on the science behind what was going on without going too far. The book gives a good bookend to the story and the many personalities involved with their continuing careers as they are no longer with us. As the book was written in the mid 90s the author was able to interview surviving members from that time. You will also see the foundations of the world today with digital computing, programming, signal processing, radio astronomy and radio frequency code modulation. The technology behind MRI scanners, masers and lasers came after the war ended. There is even a chapter on the Magellan mission to Venus where it's surface was scanned by radar. All controlled millions of miles away from Earth with the considerable amount of data returned. The other thing with the Magellan mission was the recovery when things went wrong, which they did from the start.

robert hill

A really well written, interesting book a must for ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 31, 2015

Verified Purchase

A really well written, interesting book a must for anyone that wishes to find the source of many of today's technologies
Copy well used, delivered promptly thanks

Steven Bennett

Great item, quick delivery, no problems

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 27, 2017

Verified Purchase

Great item, quick delivery, no problems

Roger Allton

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 31, 2015

Verified Purchase

The American view of the relationship with British scientists.

Amazon Customer

Excellent.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 27, 2016

Verified Purchase

Excellent.. Highly recommend..

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