Czar of Science
Osterbrock, Donald
Czar of Science Pieces of the Action, by Vanne-var Bush. William Morrow, 347 pp. $8.95. Reviewed by Donald Osterbrock Vannevar Bush was the czar of American science during World War II. A shrewd...
...His views on the satisfactions of medical research that is geared to making a profit, but at the same time contributes to "our" health and comfort, make entertaining reading...
...he always thinks in terms of people who are pretty much like himself, and the poor who can not afford the drugs or the medical care that goes with them are hardly mentioned in his book...
...We've got to be able to fight a ship with or without radar...
...Bush had the knowledge to answer most of them correctly, and the intelligence and courage to find the answers to the others quickly and get them to the President...
...He greatly admired Herbert Hoover, and apparently never quite trusted Franklin Roosevelt, though he worked closely under him and appreciated his warmhearted leadership...
...A shrewd and resourceful engineer and educator at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before the war, he was an outstanding teacher, developed the first practical fast analog computers, and became dean of engineering and vice president in 1932...
...According to Bush, King had as rugged a case of stubbornness as he had ever seen, and resisted any departure from the old Navy ways he knew and understood...
...Oppenheimer...
...I have certainly no reason to change that opinion in the meantime...
...Through his contacts he soon became known to Harry Hopkins, and through him to President Roosevelt...
...Fleet Admiral Ernest King emerges as the principal villain of this book...
...Bush was the epitome of New England Yankeeism—friends invariably described him as shrewd or wise—and politically quite conservative...
...His book is well written and should be read by anyone who is interested in the impact of science and technology on government, and vice versa...
...Bush accepted the presidency of the Carnegie Institution of Washington in 1939 and thus established a iirm and independent base for himself in the capital...
...If you want to try that case, you can try me...
...After the war Bush became a director and eventually chairman of the board of the Merck pharmaceutical company...
...But I think this board or no board should sit on a question of whether a man should serve his country or not because he expressed strong opinions...
...American scientists mobilized into them developed radar, sonar, the proximity fuse, operational research, rockets, amphibious trucks, and many other weapons that were indeed instrumental in the final victory...
...President Roosevelt would ask him technical questions and demand immediate answers...
...They realized that the outcome of the war would depend on successful application of the techniques of science and engineering, and were determined that their country should have the best scientific advice—their own...
...Bush replied, "It is a combined military and technical question, and on the latter you are a babe in arms and not entitled to an opinion...
...Bush tells of King, shortly after the night action off Guadalcanal in which three American cruisers not using radar were sunk by Japanese ships using radar, looking over the design of a new cruiser and saying, "There's too much radar on this ship...
...Instead of blaming Bush for what he does not say, it is probably fairer to quote his testimony in favor of J. Robert Oppenheimer at the 1954 security hearing: "I had at the time of the Los Alamos appointment complete confidence in the loyalty, judgment, and integrity of Dr...
...I have expressed strong opinions many times, and I intend to do so...
...He and his friends, who included most of the top science administrators of this country, saw the war coming and believed that the United States would inevitably have to fight and defeat Hitler's Germany...
...It is not an autobiography, but rather a series of discussions arranged subject-by-subject—"Of Organizations," "Of Stumbling Blocks," "Of Tyros," and so on, in each of which he draws examples from his lifetime...
...Bush, though politically conservative, was scientifically imaginative and even radical in his organizational ideas and choice of men...
...Bush had judged his man well, and from this start he was able to convince King to adopt and support his recommendations...
...Bush emphasizes that a leader seldom has time to learn anything new, but must listen to the younger experts, understand what they are saying, and then judge...
...Bush sold them his plan for the National Defense Research Committee, which later grew into the Office of Scientific Research and Development, and headed these organizations throughout the war...
...His use of "our" in this phrase is typical...
...Bush was prepared to distrust Harry Hopkins by his prejudice against "long-haired idealists or do-gooders," but after they had worked together he was strongly attracted by Hopkins' tough-mindedness and complete loyalty and suppression of personal ambition...
...In Pieces of the Action, Bush has written an extremely interesting summary of his thinking and conclusions, based on sixty years of keen observation of men and their institutions...
...They have been unpopular opinions at times...
...I have had plenty of reason to confirm it, for I worked with him on many occasions on very difficult matters...
...It is a fascinating book, with many fresh insights, entertaining stories, and sharp judgments on the political, military, and scientific leaders with whom he worked...
...When a man is pilloried for doing that, this country is in a severe state...
...The atomic bomb project was part of the NDRC and OSRD in the early stages, but was transferred to the War Department in 1942...
...He was an excellent government science adviser because he was enough of a scientist to be credible to the politicians, and enough of a politician to be credible to the scientists...
...His warm, outgoing personality and peppery wit made him persuasive in his dealings with Presidents, Senators, generals, and scientists...
...Bush evidently decided that the only way to deal with King was from a position of strength...
...On another occasion, in a discussion of the use of the proximity fuse, he recalls that King opened by scowling and saying, "I have agreed to meet with you, but this is a military question, and it must be decided on a military basis, to which you can hardly contribute...
Vol. 35 • February 1971 • No. 2
