James B. Conant was a towering figure in the American establishment. This monumental biography by James G. Hershberg explores the life of the esteemed educator and scientist who played a crucial role in the U.S. government's development of weapons of mass destruction, reflecting America's shift from isolationism to global superpower during the nuclear age. Born in a working-class suburb of Boston, Conant excelled in science, earning a place at Harvard, where he later became a professor. In 1933, he left his promising research career to become Harvard's president. His life took a pivotal turn in 1941 when he became FDR's science adviser, tasked with assessing the atomic bomb's feasibility. Conant stepped into public life during a tumultuous period, becoming a key government adviser on nuclear weapons. He oversaw the Manhattan Project and witnessed the Trinity test, grappling with the implications of his involvement in unleashing nuclear power. Despite his fears, he became a Cold War advocate for military measures against Communism and faced the challenges of McCarthyism in academia. As Eisenhower's representative in Germany, he managed the rearmament of a nation that had once prompted the bomb's creation. This biography integrates previously classified information and original research, revealing the complexities of a man whose career profoundly influenced U.S. nuclear, scientific, and educational policies for decades.
