PIECES OF THE ACTION

by Vannevar Bush ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 24, 1970

The contemporary feel of the title seems out of keeping with Bush's formal stature as one of the grand administrators of science and technology. Yet he himself chose it for this collection of eight essay-memoirs as a pungent way to describe on the one hand the intense periods of his life when he was dealing with generals, legislators, or heads of state here and abroad, on the other hand the more serene student and teaching days, his life-long pursuits of hobbies and inventions and his several careers in industry. Most vivid are the accounts of his work as head of the Office of Scientific Research and Development during World War II when he became involved in the development of the proximity fuse, the atomic bomb project, and many phases of anti-submarine warfare. Here his decision-making encounters with Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Churchill or Marshall, his fast learning of how to deal with Congressional committees or with massive stupidity on the parts of some admirals and generals (although generally admiring the military mind) are good reading of the now-it-can-be-told kind. Several chapters are cautionary tales of the dangers of bumbling fools or stumbling blocks in the paths of organization and progress. Others deal with Bush's concepts of the ideal teacher, of inventors and inventions, patents and monopolies. His ideas on the virtue of the profit motive, his anti-Russian sentiments and general belief in the rightness of America will not make him a hero of our times but will endear him to the enlightened conservatives everywhere.

Pub Date: Aug. 24, 1970

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Morrow

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1970

Categories: FICTION