These extraordinary personal reflections reveal both the public and private Edward Teller, one of the most eminent and controversial scientists of the twentieth century. The result is a portrait of a man more subtle, passionate, and visionary than even his admirers may have imagined. Writing about aspects of his life that have had important public consequences, Teller gives us a dramatic first-person history of our times that stretches from the rise of the Nazi party through the origins and current status of the most hotly debated technical issue in recent American history-the Strategic Defense Initiative.
Teller, born in Hungary in 1908, vividly portrays the people and events that helped shape him as a scientist. Here is a fascinating account of his work on quantum physics in Germany during the 1920s, and his lifelong obsession with peace–having experienced, firsthand, the devastation of war. The sources and evolution of his most deeply felt passions for education, democratic freedom, sharing scientific and technological information even with the Soviets are conveyed with clarity and precision.
As the intimate friend of some of our century's most famous scientists, the embattled opponent of many others, Teller provides fascinatingly detailed portraits of such men as Bohr, Fermi, Szilard, and Oppenheimer. And in each telling vignette, their genius, whimsy, wit, or eccentricities come alive with an immediacy only a contemporary's observations can achieve.
Outspoken and dynamic, Teller offers his frank appraisal of the development of the atomic and hydrogen bombs, his role in the Oppenheimer controversy, and his stance on arms control, defense, and nuclear policy. What emerges is a comprehensive picture of Teller's views on essential issues that range from the aftereffects of nuclear war to the fate of Soviet dissidents. He offers, too, his candid assessment of our political leaders–from President Truman and the building of the hydrogen bomb to Ronald Reagan and the Strategic Defense Initiative.
Intense in his advocacy of American military strength, Teller reiterates with force and brilliance his views on ethics in the nuclear age. He ends with a bold recitation of his own credo–a carefully defined set of beliefs that has guided him throughout his scientific and personal life.
Often misrepresented by the media, Teller emerges from this highly readable, eye-opening account as a man with profound convictions about the defense of America's civic virtues and the moral responsibilities of scientists. This is an important book, one which will surprise both Teller's supporters and opponents.