Jacob Darwin Hamblin's Books

The Wretched Atom

America's Global Gamble with Peaceful Nuclear Technology

By: Jacob Darwin Hamblin

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The Wretched Atom

America's Global Gamble with Peaceful Nuclear Technology

By: Jacob Darwin Hamblin

A groundbreaking narrative of how the United States offered the promise of nuclear technology to the developing world and its gamble that other nations would use it for peaceful purposes. After the Second World War, the United States offered a new kind of atom that differed from the bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This atom would cure diseases, produce new foods, make deserts bloom, and provide abundant energy for all. It was an atom destined for the formerly colonized, recently occupied, and mostly non-white parts of the world that were dubbed the "wretched of the earth" by Frantz Fanon. The "peaceful atom" had so much propaganda potential that President Dwight Eisenhower used it to distract the world from his plan to test even bigger thermonuclear weapons. His scientists said the peaceful atom would quicken the pulse of nature, speeding nations along the path of economic development and helping them to escape the clutches of disease, famine, and energy shortfalls. That promise became one of the most misunderstood political weapons of the twentieth century. It was adopted by every subsequent US president to exert leverage over other nations' weapons programs, to corner world markets of uranium and thorium, and to secure petroleum supplies. Other countries embraced it, building reactors and training experts. Atomic promises were embedded in Japan's postwar recovery, Ghana's pan-Africanism, Israel's quest for survival, Pakistan's brinksmanship with India, and Iran's pursuit of nuclear independence. As The Wretched Atom shows, promoting civilian atomic energy was an immense gamble, and it was never truly peaceful. American promises ended up exporting violence and peace in equal measure. While the United States promised peace and plenty, it planted the seeds of dependency and set in motion the creation of today's expanded nuclear club.

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Page Count

336

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0197526926

ISBN 13

9780197526927

Oceanographers and the Cold War

Disciples of Marine Science

By: Jacob Darwin Hamblin

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Oceanographers and the Cold War

Disciples of Marine Science

By: Jacob Darwin Hamblin

Oceanographers and the Cold War is about patronage, politics, and the community of scientists. It is the first book to examine the study of the oceans during the Cold War era and explore the international focus of American oceanographers, taking into account the roles of the U.S. Navy, United States foreign policy, and scientists throughout the world. Jacob Hamblin demonstrates that to understand the history of American oceanography, one must consider its role in both conflict and cooperation with other nations. Paradoxically, American oceanography after World War II was enmeshed in the military-industrial complex while characterized by close international cooperation. The military dimension of marine science--with its involvement in submarine acoustics, fleet operations, and sea-launched nuclear missiles--coexisted with data exchange programs with the Soviet Union and global operations in seas without borders. From an uneasy cooperation with the Soviet bloc in the International Geophysical Year of 1957-58, to the NATO Science Committee in the late 1960s, which excluded the Soviet Union, to the U.S. Marine Sciences Council, which served as an important national link between scientists and the government, Oceanographers and the Cold War reveals the military and foreign policy goals served by U.S. government involvement in cooperative activities between scientists, such as joint cruises and expeditions. It demonstrates as well the extent to which oceanographers used international cooperation as a vehicle to pursue patronage from military, government, and commercial sponsors during the Cold War, as they sought support for their work by creating "disciples of marine science" wherever they could.

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Page Count

368

Publisher

University of Washington Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0295801859

ISBN 13

9780295801858

Poison in the Well

Radioactive Waste in the Oceans at the Dawn of the Nuclear Age

By: Jacob Darwin Hamblin

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Poison in the Well

Radioactive Waste in the Oceans at the Dawn of the Nuclear Age

By: Jacob Darwin Hamblin

In the early 1990s, Russian President Boris Yeltsin revealed that for the previous thirty years the Soviet Union had dumped vast amounts of dangerous radioactive waste into rivers and seas in blatant violation of international agreements. The disclosure caused outrage throughout the Western world, particularly since officials from the Soviet Union had denounced environmental pollution by the United States and Britain throughout the cold war. Poison in the Well provides a balanced look at the policy decisions, scientific conflicts, public relations strategies, and the myriad mishaps and subsequent cover-ups that were born out of the dilemma of where to house deadly nuclear materials. Why did scientists and politicians choose the sea for waste disposal? How did negotiations about the uses of the sea change the way scientists, government officials, and ultimately the lay public envisioned the oceans? Jacob Darwin Hamblin traces the development of the issue in Western countries from the end of World War II to the blossoming of the environmental movement in the early 1970s. This is an important book for students and scholars in the history of science who want to explore a striking case study of the conflicts that so often occur at the intersection of science, politics, and international diplomacy.

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329

Publisher

Rutgers University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0813544238

ISBN 13

9780813544236

Arming Mother Nature

The Birth of Catastrophic Environmentalism

By: Jacob Darwin Hamblin

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Arming Mother Nature

The Birth of Catastrophic Environmentalism

By: Jacob Darwin Hamblin

Hamblin argues that military planning for World War III essentially created "catastrophic environmentalism": the idea that human activity might cause global natural disasters. This awareness, Hamblin shows, emerged out of dark ambitions, as governments poured funds into environmental science after World War II.

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Page Count

309

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0199740054

ISBN 13

9780199740055

Oceanographers and the Cold War

Disciples of Marine Science

By: Jacob Darwin Hamblin

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Oceanographers and the Cold War

Disciples of Marine Science

By: Jacob Darwin Hamblin

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368

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University of Washington Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0295801859

ISBN 13

9780295801858

Science in the Early Twentieth Century

An Encyclopedia

By: Jacob Darwin Hamblin

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Science in the Early Twentieth Century

An Encyclopedia

By: Jacob Darwin Hamblin

The first A–Z resource on the history of science from 1900 to 1950 examining the dynamic between science and the social, political, and cultural forces of the era. Though many books have highlighted the great scientific discoveries of the early 1900s, few have tackled the wider context in which these milestones were achieved. Science in the Early Twentieth Century covers everything from quantum physics to penicillin and more, including all the major scientific developments of the period, detailing not only the scientists and their work, but also the social and political forces that dominated the scientific agenda. Over 200 A–Z entries chronicle the landmark scientific discoveries and personalities of the period, including such scientific giants as Albert Einstein and Marie Curie. Placing science firmly within its cultural context, this thoroughly researched, accessible resource takes a uniquely interdisciplinary approach, making it an invaluable text for scientists, educators, students, and the general reader.

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Page Count

432

Publisher

Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

1851096701

ISBN 13

9781851096701

The Wretched Atom

America's Global Gamble with Peaceful Nuclear Technology

By: Jacob Darwin Hamblin

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The Wretched Atom

America's Global Gamble with Peaceful Nuclear Technology

By: Jacob Darwin Hamblin

The have-nots -- A thousand years into one -- Forgetting the bad dreams of the past -- Colored and white atoms -- Turf wars and green revolutions -- Water, blood, and the nuclear club -- Nuclear mosques and monuments -- The era of distrust -- Conclusion: The cornucopian illusion.

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329

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

019752690X

ISBN 13

9780197526903

Arming Mother Nature

The Birth of Catastrophic Environmentalism

By: Jacob Darwin Hamblin

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Arming Mother Nature

The Birth of Catastrophic Environmentalism

By: Jacob Darwin Hamblin

When most Americans think of environmentalism, they think of the political left, of vegans dressed in organic-hemp fabric, lofting protest signs. In reality, writes Jacob Darwin Hamblin, the movement--and its dire predictions--owe more to the Pentagon than the counterculture. In Arming Mother Nature, Hamblin argues that military planning for World War III essentially created "catastrophic environmentalism": the idea that human activity might cause global natural disasters. This awareness, Hamblin shows, emerged out of dark ambitions, as governments poured funds into environmental science after World War II, searching for ways to harness natural processes--to kill millions of people. Proposals included the use of nuclear weapons to create artificial tsunamis or melt the ice caps to drown coastal cities; setting fire to vast expanses of vegetation; and changing local climates. Oxford botanists advised British generals on how to destroy enemy crops during the war in Malaya; American scientists attempted to alter the weather in Vietnam. This work raised questions that went beyond the goal of weaponizing nature. By the 1980s, the C.I.A. was studying the likely effects of global warming on Soviet harvests. "Perhaps one of the surprises of this book is not how little was known about environmental change, but rather how much," Hamblin writes. Driven initially by strategic imperatives, Cold War scientists learned to think globally and to grasp humanity's power to alter the environment. "We know how we can modify the ionosphere," nuclear physicist Edward Teller proudly stated. "We have already done it." Teller never repented. But many of the same individuals and institutions that helped the Pentagon later warned of global warming and other potential disasters. Brilliantly argued and deeply researched, Arming Mother Nature changes our understanding of the history of the Cold War and the birth of modern environmental science.

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309

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0199908494

ISBN 13

9780199908493

Poison in the Well

Radioactive Waste in the Oceans at the Dawn of the Nuclear Age

By: Jacob Darwin Hamblin

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Poison in the Well

Radioactive Waste in the Oceans at the Dawn of the Nuclear Age

By: Jacob Darwin Hamblin

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Solve jigsaw puzzle

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Page Count

329

Publisher

Rutgers University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0813544238

ISBN 13

9780813544236

Book's by Jacob Darwin Hamblin

The Wretched Atom

The Wretched Atom

Oceanographers and the Cold War

Oceanographers and the Cold War

Poison in the Well

Poison in the Well

Arming Mother Nature

Arming Mother Nature

Oceanographers and the Cold War

Oceanographers and the Cold War

Science in the Early Twentieth Century

Science in the Early Twentieth Century

The Wretched Atom

The Wretched Atom

Arming Mother Nature

Arming Mother Nature

Poison in the Well

Poison in the Well

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