Fermilab: Physics, the Frontier, and Megascience

by Lillian Hoddeson, Adrienne W. Kolb, Catherine Westfall

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, located in the western suburbs of Chicago, has stood at the frontier of high-energy physics for forty years. Fermilab is the first history of this laboratory and of its powerful accelerators told from the point of view of the people who built and used them for scientific discovery.

Focusing on the first two decades of research at Fermilab, during the tenure of the laboratory’s charismatic first two directors, Robert R. Wilson and Leon M. Lederman, the book traces the rise of what they call “megascience,” the collaborative struggle to conduct large-scale international experiments in a climate of limited federal funding. In the midst of this new climate, Fermilab illuminates the growth of the modern research laboratory during the Cold War and captures the drama of human exploration at the cutting edge of science.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, History

520 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 15, 2008

Reviews

[Chris Bauer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very in-depth look at the creation and operation of one of the most important labs in the world, located just outside Chicago.

While the work is very dry in some parts, I found the following topics to be both fascinating and written of with incredible detail:
- challenges of construction and expansion
- the political battle required before ground was even broke
- chronology of different programs and experiments
- learning about the notable directors of the facility and their respective visions.

While this book is not for a casual reader, I found it to be a fascinating work on Fermilab.

[Pilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is for science geeks, specifically particle physics geeks. It is quite long, so it took me several years to read. I bought it because I know Adrienne Kolb, the second author. I thought it was interesting - that's why I finished it!

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I toured Fermilab with one of my physics professsors in the late 70's then lived across the street from it for 25 years, but I never new the story of how it came to be there in Batavia. I was fascinated to read about the "political science" of it all.