Fall 2008 - The Johns Hopkins University Press

Scientists and SwindlersConsulting on Coal and Oil in America, 1820–1890Paul LucierIn this impressively researched and highly original work,Paul Lucier provides an authoritative account of how sciencebecame an integral part of American technology andindustry in the nineteenth century. Scientists and Swindlersintroduces us to a new service of professionals: the consultingscientists. Lucier follows these entrepreneurial men ofscience on their wide-ranging commercial engagementsfrom the shores of Nova Scotia to the coast of California andshows how their innovative work fueled the rapid growth ofthe American coal and oil industries and the rise of Americangeology and chemistry. Along the way, he explores thedecisive battles over expertise and authority, the high-stakescourt cases over patenting research, the intriguing and oftenhumorous exploits of swindlers, and the profound ethicalchallenges of doing science for money.Starting with the small surveying businesses of the 1830sand reaching to the origins of applied science in the 1880s,Lucier recounts the complex and curious relations thatevolved as geologists, chemists, capitalists, and politiciansworked to establish scientific research as a legitimate, regularlycompensated, and respected enterprise. This sweepingnarrative enriches our understanding of how the rocksbeneath our feet became invaluable resources for science,technology, and industry.Paul LucIER is a historian of science and technology specializingin the earth and environmental sciences and themining industries. Trained as a geophysicist, he holds aPh.D. in history from Princeton University. His work hasreceived numerous prizes and been funded by the NationalEndowment for the Humanities and the National ScienceFoundation.Johns Hopkins Studies in the History of TechnologyMerritt Roe Smith, Series EditorAtmospheric Science at NASAA HistoryErik M. ConwayThis book offers an informed and revealing account ofNASA’s involvement in the scientific understanding of theEarth’s atmosphere.Since the nineteenth century, scientists have attempted tounderstand the complex processes of the Earth’s atmosphereand the weather created within it. This effort has evolvedwith the development of new technologies—from the firstinstrument-equipped weather balloons to multibillion-dollarmeteorological satellite and planetary science programs.Erik M. Conway chronicles the history of atmospheric scienceat NASA, tracing the story from its beginnings in 1958,the International Geophysical Year, through to the present,focusing on NASA’s programs and research in meteorology,stratospheric ozone depletion, and planetary climates andglobal warming. But the story is not only a scientific one.NASA’s researchers operated within an often politicallycontentious environment. Although environmental issuesgarnered strong public and political support in the 1970s,the following decades saw increased opposition to environmentalismas a threat to free market capitalism.Atmospheric Science at NASA critically examines this politicallycontroversial science, dissecting the often convolutedroles, motives, and relationships of the various institutionalactors involved.“The author does an excellent job of telling this story—translatingthe science into prose, characterizing the various personalities andinstitutions, organizing the convoluted tale into a narrative, and assessinginteractions of multifarious factors.”—Joseph N. Tatarewicz, University of Maryland, Baltimore CountyErik M. cONWAY is a historian at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory,California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California,and author of High-Speed Dreams: NASA and the Technopoliticsof Supersonic Transportation, 1945–1999 and Blind Landings:Low-Visibility Operations in American Aviation, 1918–1958,also published by Johns Hopkins.New Series in NASA HistorySteven J. Dick, Series EditorNovember 424 pages 6 x 9November 384 pages 7 x 10 40 halftones, 6 line drawings978-0-8018-9003-1 0-8018-9003-9 $65.00(s) / £34.00 hcHistory of Science and Technology8 color illustrations, 19 halftones, 3 line drawings978-0-8018-8984-4 0-8018-8984-7 $55.00(s) / £29.00 hcHistory of ScienceTHE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY PRESS 1-800-537-5487 37