The Jasons: The Secret History of Science's Postwar Elite

by Ann Finkbeiner

Book Overview

A provocative inside look at the elite scientists who have worked behind the scenes to influence American science and policy for half a century They call themselves Jason. Their group is a child of the Manhattan Project by way of the cold war, and they count among their ranks scientific stars like Freeman Dyson and Murray Gell- Mann, and among their mentors Edward Teller and Hans Bethe. They?ve inherited a mission from the Manhattan Project?to counsel...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0670034894
• ISBN13: 9780670034895
• Release Date: April 2006
• Publisher: Viking Books
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.02 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.8" x 8.5"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Jasons

Fascinating book, entry into the world of high tech consulting of top scientists to government. It reports achievements, and problems, usually arising from the clash between scientists, seeking complete and correct results, and politicians, needing support to advance a cause. There are many stimulating opinions quoted from very smart people.

James rollins

I have decided that some modern authors like to stretch us beyond our comfort zone.Such an author is James Rollins auther of the Last Oracle who lists in this book, books used to flesh out his knowledge for his novel.The Jasons is one of the recommended books to read and I was not diappointed ,there will always exist clandestine and hidden workers whos reasons for being are not open to public debate.Such is the world we live in and such was the world of the past.What made me smile is the fact that many of the people involved in the work of the Jasons and other like minded organisations are often those who suffer from mental problems that cause their giftings to be highlighted in ways the rest of us could never live with.It makes you realise if not for the mad we would never have become the civilization we are today

Truth is Funnier than Fiction

I used to work in one of the New Mexico labs mentioned in her book and am familiar with many of the cast of characters in her book- especially Forrest Agee who liked to be called "Jack", Tony Tether and "Uncle" Rummy. Sharon Weinberger did a supererb job of characterizing the individuals in the book. Joe Janni from the AFRL in New Mexico was our "best man" and became head of AFOSR and personally selected Agee to head up the Physics and Electronics basic research for the Air Force. OOOH - there are so many more exciting stories to tell... Sharon Weinberger does a super job explaining how Tether likes to remind everyone "there is no sin in failing at DARPA". However, in my opinion, it is a sin for DARPA to fail the US taxpayer. "High Risk" is important to invest in - DARPA used to have top notch scientists that had a good nose for ferreting out the good stuff to invest in. Nonsense under the guise of "High Risk" is silly and has no chance of going anywhere - much worse than even winning the lottery. Sharon Weinberger does a great service educating the reader about the importance of funding good science and how our country depends on it. DARPA also points out in their program strategy that good research ideas have to have top notch people and lab facilities to do the research. Sharon does a great job of describing the "barn" where the research took place. The web sites help too - they show pictures of Collins' lab. Perhaps in the second edition of the book Sharon Weinberger can include pictures. So where did the money go? Sharon Weinberger does a good job of discussing the "renting" the Hafnium sample. Perhaps this is one area Sharon Weinberger could have done a bit better. I'm sure Tony Tether and the AFRL would just love to have another interview with Sharon on that matter. I'm sure the readers and taxpayers would love to hear more about that too. SDI is often called a "brilliant bluff" - but at least it had science theory behind it and now some of the ideas are actually able to be implemented. This "imaginary weapon" is not pure science - it is just pure nonsense - no science behind it - and it couldn't even be used to bluff. Sharon also does a nice job of explaining what others throughout the world thought of the research in addition to the JASONs. Only our high level government officials like Agee, Tether and Rumsfeld couldn't seem to tell the difference between real science and "fringe" science - even when they paid the JASONs to look into it and they shot down the idea. This is one of the things the JASONs apparently claim they are good for - according to Ann Finkbeiner's book - which is also a quite a good read. It is so sad that even a lay person like Sharon Weinberger can get to the bottom of this issue, after two years of looking into it, where the high level Government Scientists could not (would not). Although she did not go into the technical details - Sharon Weinberger left a trail of publications easy for me to obtain

Quick Guide Through One of Recent History's Mysteries

This book, by Ann Finkbeiner, sheds light on a very mysterious group in defense circles: the Jasons. The Jasons are a group of elite scientists who have offered impartial advice on a range of technical questions over the last forty-five years. From their beginnings as the inheritors of the physicists attached to the Manhattan Project, Jasons have tackled some of the most pressing defense issues in existence, including reducing the impact of North Vietnamese smuggling through Cambodia and Laos (thus helping to eliminate the option of the use of nuclear weapons from the list of options), detecting submarines, and underground nuclear weapons tests. The book does a have a few limitations: Much of the Jasons work is classified; some of them scientists did not want to have their names published in relation to Jason for various reasons. Finkbeiner is also too casual at times with her writing, frequently using the first person pronoun when this is supposed to be a serious work of history. With those limitations aside, Finkbeiner has still shined a light on what had previously been a complete mystery, providing some useful insights along the way. Chief among those is the danger of feeling superior for knowing inside secrets: "if you know inside information, you think everyone who is on the outside doesn't know what they are talking about. And the sad fact of it was, [those on the outside] knew what they were talking about and [the insiders] didn't." This lesson holds true just about wherever you are or work, but perhaps no more so than inside government.

Works on many levels

Part social history, part biography, and definitely a large part philosophy of science, this book deserves a wide audience. Ultimately the book is about the conflict between return and reward based on merit versus return and reward based on political connections. It's the story of how a small group of the country's most elite scientists have come to understand in the past 50 years that sometimes it's not about how much you know or how smart you are, but about WHO you know and who likes you. In this way, it's an examination of American culture in general. It's an examination of the Enron model applied to science and why being the smartest man or woman in the room sometimes really doesn't matter. It's about the dangers of closing yourself off from society to explore the depths of the universe and the limits of your own mind without considering the social consequences. As this book illustrates, solutions to scientific problems, particularly for the government, reach far down into the depths of pragmatism where there is little room for tidy, inflexible theories, however rational or beautiful. Government is pragmatic. Theoretical physics isn't. Anybody see a potential problem here? That said, these truly astonishing scientists have dedicated much work to improving the security of the country, and have suffered enormous moral guilt over the misuse of their most profound discoveries. We learn about how their work has changed their lives AND ours. The book itself doesn't really engage the moral issues directly. They're merely presented for your own contemplation. What the author does do is offer a history of this particular oganization as reflected through biography and discussion of their various projects. She offers an analysis of how the demand for basic scientific research for the government has evolved during and after the Cold War. And most importantly, she asks the reader to consider the question, "Are these types of institutions still necessary?" As a warning to deep thinkers, this is NOT a philosophy or scientific text, per se. It's not Stephen Hawking or Brian Greene, but more Louis Menand.