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Title: The Angry Genie: One Man's Walk Through the Nuclear Age by Karl Ziegler Morgan, Ken M. Peterson, Karl Z. Morang ISBN: 0-8061-3122-5 Publisher: Univ of Oklahoma Pr (Trd) Pub. Date: June, 1999 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (8 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: The worst of all possible worlds
Comment: This book is not for the recreational reader, indeed it is one of the most depressing and distressing documents I have ever read. Nevertheless, I urge all readers concerned with issues that impact on the survival of humanity to read it thoroughly and absorb the lessons which it so graphically presents. In terms of an indictment of our government and various vested interests, it compares favorably with J'accuse written in 1898 by Emile Zola in response to the corrupt behaivor of the French nation, government and army during the Dreyfus affair. The most horrifying event in the book, and there are many to choice from, is the description of how the Health Physics Division was subdivided after Dr. Morgan's retirement in 1972 and distributed among "other laboratory divisions where radiation protection is not a primary objective". When I read this my immediate thought was of the dismemberment of Lemuel Pitkin so brilliantly described by Nathanael West. One can only be appaled by the many destructive acts which occurred when the Angry Genie left the bottle. It is frightening that those responsible for them have, to my knowledge, never been cited for criminal irresponsibility.
Rating: 5
Summary: A charming and important book.
Comment: This charming memoir starts in 1943, when Dr. Morgan was recruited away from his happy research on cosmic-ray physics to join the atomic-bomb project. He was one of the four or five persons assigned to figure out how to prevent bomb-workers from irradiating themselves to death. In 1943, it was barely known how to measure doses from the various types of radiation, so Dr. Morgan had to invent many a metering device. Additionally, no one knew how to store the radioactive waste which would accumulate at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where Dr. Morgan detected its escape-routes and tried to plug them. He became an internationally honored expert and author on radiation health-effects and protection measures. This is the story of a man of great integrity, who made enormous contributions to protecting health, and yet by his own standards, failed to succeed well enough. His "walk" through the nuclear age helps to illuminate the suppression of scientific dissent in the nuclear enterprises --- and presents an interesting contrast to books by Dr. Glenn Seaborg (Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission) covering many of the same years. The ninth chapter covers Dr. Morgan's expert testimony for the plaintiffs in two landmark trials (the Karen Silkwood Case 1979, and the Utah Bomb-Fallout Case 1982). The memoir provides not only an important record of moral, legal, public health, environmental, and scientific history --- but it also provides a highly engaging personal story of coping with the unexpected.
Rating: 5
Summary: The Angrt Genie is a must read.
Comment: It is commonly understood that only the best books are made into audio tapes. On a whim my family and I put the Angry Genie to the test. We read the book aloud on our annual cross country car trip without one complaint from any family member. The surprize attraction of the Angry Genie is its real appeal to the non scientific person. By just glancing through the book one might assume that he or she could be overwhelmed with scientific material, however, by no means is that the case. In the 180 pages of story, from the amazing experiments under Chicago University Stadium to the many photos of actual players in our history, I was drawn to the personalities and inside details of the developments of a powerful scientific discovery. In fact I most recommend this book because if the surprizing revelations on several fronts. First, the power and importance of science and scientists in this centuary is no more dramatically illustrated than in this story of nuclear power. Not even the terror of 'Outbreak" or the suspence of 'Apallo 13" are equal to the reawakening we get in the Angry Genie. Second, Dr. Morgan was able to input all of the required technical information and formulas in the book without interupting the book's flow. Third, the historical, medical and sociological impact is compelling. There is the letter from Einstein to FDR about the potential of the bomb and the fascinating information about the effects of all the different types of rays on humans. I plan on telling my book club about this wonderful book as well as all my friends who love historical books.
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Title: Undue Risk: Secret State Experiments on Humans by Jonathan D. Moreno, Azzedine Haddour, Steve Brewe, Terence McWilliams ISBN: 0415928354 Publisher: Routledge Pub. Date: 15 December, 2000 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: The Plutonium Files : America's Secret Medical Experiments in the Cold War by Eileen Welsome ISBN: 0385319541 Publisher: Delta Pub. Date: 10 October, 2000 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Clouds of Secrecy by Leonard A. Cole ISBN: 082263001X Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishing (via NBN) Pub. Date: 28 June, 1988 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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