Why read Freedom's Laboratory?

Book cover of Freedom's Laboratory: The Cold War Struggle for the Soul of Science

Book description

The Cold War ended long ago, but the language of science and freedom continues to shape public debates over the relationship between science and politics in the United States.

Scientists like to proclaim that science knows no borders. Scientific researchers follow the evidence where it leads, their conclusions free of…

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The Cold War

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Why read it?

1 author picked Freedom's Laboratory as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

William De Jong Lambert

Author

The phrase “politics of science” has rarely been so well-described and analyzed than in the history Wolfe recounts. Her narrative of how the belief in “scientific freedom” was utilized as a weapon of ideology in the fight against communism shows how entangled the careers of politicians and scientists became during a period of intense struggle between two competing civilizations—the USA and the USSR—during the Cold War.

From William's list on The best books on the history of modern science.