A Companion to the History of American Science - (Wiley Blackwell Companions to American History) by Georgina M Montgomery & Mark A Largent

Book Synopsis

• Covers topics including astronomy, agriculture, chemistry, eugenics, Big Science, military technology, and more
• Features contributions by the most accomplished scholars in the field of science history
• Covers pivotal events in U.S. history that shaped the development of science and science policy such as WWII, the Cold War, and the Women's Rights movement

From the Back Cover

A COMPANION TO THE
HISTORY OF AMERICAN SCIENCE

"A Companion to the History of American Science is a fresh and much welcomed sourcebook presenting new interpretations of scientific disciplines and key topics that influenced American culture. It is a seminal contribution that will interest historians of science, Americanists, and scientists."
Marsha L. Richmond, Wayne State University

"A collaborative effort of established scholars and rising stars, this Companion brings together a wide-ranging array of entries to highlight the culture-bearing nature of science in the American context.Covering established themes such as the rise of disciplinary knowledge and the professionalization of science, to emerging trends like environmental studies and biotechnology, it is at once summative and forward-looking, both an accumulation of past approaches and a guide to the future of scholarship. It represents an unparalleled compendium of the most significant sub-discipline in the history of science."
Michael Reidy, Montana State University

A Companion to the History of American Science presents an authoritative overview of the most recent scholarship on the history of American science - from the intellectual curiosity of the Founding Fathers to the country's cutting-edge technological achievements in the 21st century. Featuring contributions from a wide range of established and emerging scholars in related scientific fields, essays explore specific sciences, the intersections of modern science and American society, and techno-science issues in American science historiography. Essays are written with an eye toward accessibility for students, scholars, and non-specialists alike, and cover topics ranging from astronomy, agriculture, biology, chemistry, ecology, and eugenics to relativity, military technology, Big Science, and many more. A key theme is the fundamental question of how the United States - with so few scientific resources and lagging far behind its European counterparts at the beginning of the 19th century - so rapidly developed into an influential and productive scientific community. A Companion to the History of American Science offers illuminating insights into the histories of various disciplines and important topics in the two-and-a half century narrative of scientific minds, policies, and events that transpired in the United States.

About the Author

Georgina M. Montgomery is Associate Professor of Science History at Michigan State University. She is co-editor of Making Animal Meaning (2011) and author of Primates in the Real World: Escaping Primate Folklore and Creating Primate Science (2015).

Mark A. Largent is Professor and Associate Dean of Lyman Briggs College at Michigan State University. He is the author of Vaccine: The Debate in Modern America (2012) and Breeding Contempt: The History of Coerced Sterilization in the United States (2007).