Science, the Endless Frontier - by Vannevar Bush (Hardcover)

About the Book

"In 1945, the director of the U.S. Office of Scientific Research and Development, Vannevar Bush, issued the now-famous report entitled Science, the Endless Frontier. Commissioned by President Roosevelt in late 1944, as World War II was winding down, the report made a forceful case for the continuing importance of government support of the sciences in peacetime. Bush argued that scientific progress was essential to the health, security, and prosperity of the nation, and as such was a vital responsibility of the government to promote. Among his major recommendations were the funding of basic research at colleges and universities without expectation of immediate military or industrial application; increased access to higher education for talented students of all economic backgrounds, especially through scholarships; and the establishment of an independent science agency to administer it all. Bush's vision set the course for United States science policy over the next half century and was in large part responsible for the great boom in public funding of basic research after World War II. It remains a touchstone for many today as a passionate articulation of the power and potential of science and its essential role in society. This short volume reproduces Bush's report alongside an original companion essay by Rush D. Holt, offering some historical background and reflecting on the report's legacy and continuing relevance, as well as its limitations. Holt's argument is that today's challenges require a more capacious understanding of science's value to society than Bush articulated: as not only a source of practical benefit, but an empirically based approach to understanding the world that is ultimately fundamental to democracy. Holt's essay closes by issuing a renewed call to science-for scientists, policymakers, and citizens alike"--

Book Synopsis

The classic case for why government must support science--with a new essay by physicist and former congressman Rush Holt on what democracy needs from science today

Science, the Endless Frontier is recognized as the landmark argument for the essential role of science in society and government's responsibility to support scientific endeavors. First issued when Vannevar Bush was the director of the US Office of Scientific Research and Development during the Second World War, this classic remains vital in making the case that scientific progress is necessary to a nation's health, security, and prosperity. Bush's vision set the course for US science policy for more than half a century, building the world's most productive scientific enterprise. Today, amid a changing funding landscape and challenges to science's very credibility, Science, the Endless Frontier resonates as a powerful reminder that scientific progress and public well-being alike depend on the successful symbiosis between science and government.

This timely new edition presents this iconic text alongside a new companion essay from scientist and former congressman Rush Holt, who offers a brief introduction and consideration of what society needs most from science now. Reflecting on the report's legacy and relevance along with its limitations, Holt contends that the public's ability to cope with today's issues--such as public health, the changing climate and environment, and challenging technologies in modern society--requires a more capacious understanding of what science can contribute. Holt considers how scientists should think of their obligation to society and what the public should demand from science, and he calls for a renewed understanding of science's value for democracy and society at large.

A touchstone for concerned citizens, scientists, and policymakers, Science, the Endless Frontier endures as a passionate articulation of the power and potential of science.

Review Quotes

"Here, the draw is not so much the text of Bush's report itself, but rather an excellent critical introduction by Rush Holt. . . . Holt's introduction takes seriously the idea that the United States is a democracy, and that scientists have a specific role to play in that democracy, which is not the same thing as saying that scientists should control science policy."---Audra Wolfe, Never Just Science

"I just read the new Princeton University Press edition of Vannevar Bush's Science, The Endless Frontier, with an interesting introductory essay by Rush Holt. I don't think I'd ever read the whole of the famous Bush document before, and it was interesting to see how he made the pitch . . . . Both the Bush and the Holt essays are well worth a read."---Diane Coyle, Enlightened Economist

About the Author

Vannevar Bush (1890-1974) was director of the US Office of Scientific Research and Development during World War II. He was also president of the Carnegie Institution for Science and chairman of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. Rush D. Holt is CEO emeritus of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He served in the US House of Representatives from 1999 to 2015; was head of the Office of Strategic Forces' Nuclear and Scientific Division, US Department of State; and has been assistant director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. Twitter @RushHolt