For Better or for Worse

by Alfred K. Mann

The development of an American science establishment―today an amalgam of scientists, engineers, universities, industrial laboratories, and federal science agencies―began early in the twentieth century when the federal government began to invest in a national scientific infrastructure. During World War II this investment swelled to colossal proportions. At present, the yearly federal investment in basic science and technology amounts to about thirty-five billion dollars. How did this complex marriage between science and government occur? How will increasing economic pressures affect its future?

In this engaging overview of the science establishment and its relationship with the federal government, renowned physicist Alfred K. Mann details the reasons behind the creation of the four nonmilitary federal science agencies that are responsible for the bulk of this budget and are the principal supporters of scientific research and technology in American universities. Looking into each agency, he elucidates the ways in which decisions were made, whose interests were at stake, and the resulting discoveries, mishaps, and bureaucratic mazes that were constructed in the name of research.

Mann interweaves fascinating stories that grew out of the scientific

• the allies' invention during World War II of the proximity fuse and its tremendous battlefield success,

• the first use of blood plasma in World War II field hospitals,

• the invention of radar,

• strategic policies of the Cold War,

• the double helix of DNA,

• space explorations and the space missions,

• modern global positioning systems (GPS),

• satellite surveillance, and

• recent declassification of covert operations.

Charting the origins and operations of a remarkable collaboration, For Better or for Worse encompasses many of the key scientific discoveries of our time and offers a renewed vision of the future direction of the United States science establishment.

272 pages, Hardcover

First published November 16, 2000

Reviews

[Michael Faulkner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pleasantly easy read, as such books go, for anyone interested in the history of the relationship between the US government and the science establishment from 1939 to nearly 2000.
It was written by A.K. Mann, a major figure in sub-atomic physics in the second half of the 20th century, who was well-versed in the interaction of these two groups and indeed with international co-operation in what has come to be called ‘big physics’.
His style is formal but pleasant and he provides a clear account of how the relationship between science and government evolved from the likes of the Manhattan Project into today’s larger, messier and somewhat more contentious one. Clarity is helped by his conciseness (the book is only 216 pages long).
Mann foresees quite clearly the strains emerging from greater bureaucracy, greater centralisation (driven by political desires for more control) and the minimal scope for scientists to question or argue with agencies whose decision-making has become more and more opaque.
Although the book ends during the Clinton presidency, Mann warns of the dangers of scientists being effectively gagged by the absence of transparent public discussion between themselves and government regarding the pros and cons of the ramifications of some research. This warning has become increasingly pertinent and clear since the book was published: one has only to think of mass surveillance (which Mann mentions explicitly), AI and gene manipulation.