David C. Cassidy

Professor of Natural Sciences David C Cassidy

In the unbound spirit of Stephen King's The Green Mile, horror master David C. Cassidy takes you on an extraordinary journey into the heart of the human soul, where one man's incredible story of courage and tragedy will lift you, shock you, stir you-and leave you begging for more. I HAVE SEEN THE FACE OF EVIL. HIS NAME IS BRIKKER. A mysterious drifter, Kain Richards is the last of his kind-and a man on the run. Once a tortured prisoner and pawn in a deadly experiment, his freedom hangs in the balance against the relentless pursuit from an obsessed and brutal madman who will stop at nothing to possess him. So when Kain falls for a beautiful and sensible Iowa farmwoman, his very presence puts their lives in peril. A tragic accident forces his hand, and his astonishing secret-and godlike power-threatens not only his life and the woman he loves, but the fate of the entire world. Praise for Velvet Rain: "This story was at times so scary that I had to stop reading." "If you're one to have nightmares, this book will give you one." "Exceptional writing on a par with Stephen King." "Reveals the evils of humanity ... the demons hidden under human flesh."

Velvet Rain

Allen Esterson

Ruth Lewin Sime

Einstein`s Wife - the Real Story of Mileva Einstein-Maric

Werner Heisenberg's genius and his place at the forefront of modern physics are unquestioned. His decision to remain in Germany throughout the Third Reich and his role in Hitler's atomic bomb project are still topics of heated debate. UNCERTAINTY is David Cassidy's compelling portrait of this brilliant, ambitious, and controversial scientist. It is the definitive Heisenberg biography, as well as a striking evocation of the development of quantum physics, the rise of Nazism, and the dawn of the atomic age.

The Life and Science of Werner Heisenberg

Uncertainty

J. Robert Oppenheimer

"David Cassidy has done it again. Employing the insight and skill that made his Heisenberg biography so widely read and honored, Cassidy' s new book breaks new ground, by explaining Oppenheimer' s rise and fall as an important part of the social, cultural, and political turmoil of America' s twentieth-century." --Gerald Holton, Mallinckrodt Research Professor of Physics and Research Professor of the History of Science, Harvard University "Cassidy presents a comprehensive and engaging account of the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, a pivotal figure in twentieth-century physics. An excellent work of biography, scientific narrative, and historical perspective. This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the deep relationships between science, politics, and culture in the United States." --Fred Adams, University of Michigan, author of "Our Living Multiverse and "The Five Ages of the Universe "A most impressive achievement. Cassidy presents an informative, thoughtful, and very readable biography of this important, complex individual. In addition he has succeeded in giving an insightful, convincing account of Oppenheimer' s actions by placing his life and work in the context of the scientific militarism that was to provide the United States with some of the means to guarantee its security--a militarism that Oppenheimer helped shape and that eventually crushed him. This book is an important work that sets new standards for scientific biography." --Silvan S. Schweber, Professor of Physics and Koret Professor of the History of Ideas, Emeritus, Brandeis University, and Senior Research Associate, History of Recent Science and Technology, Dibner Institute, MIT "A ' must read' for anyone interested in the development of the modern era of ' big science.' Cassidy skillfully brings to us a deep understanding of the character of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the leader of the Manhattan Project and one of the most complex and seemingly contradictory individuals of the twentieth-century." --Gregory Tarle, Professor of Physics, University of Michigan J. Robert Oppenheimer, the man who led the Manhattan Project that built the atomic bomb and ended World War II, forged the alliance between science and government that made the American Century possible. David C. Cassidy' s much anticipated, richly detailed, magisterial biography is not merely the life story of a brilliant physicist, it tells the hidden story of the political and social forces shaping the world in our time: the rise of American science. In 1941, before Germany failed to build an atomic weapon, and the United States succeeded, "Life published Henry R. Luce' s essay "The American Century." It proclaimed that America was not at war simply to defeat the Axis powers. The United States must "exert upon the world the full impact of our influence, for such purpose as we see fit and by such means as we see fit." Cassidy reveals such confidence, and the success of the Manhattan Project itself, were essentially by products of the rise of American science driven by burgeoning industrial prosperity and a kind of national devotion to the pursuit of knowledge. While Cassidy illuminates Oppenheimer' s genius for inspiring his students and colleagues to attack and ultimately solve the hardest scientific problems of the age, he also takes thereader to the 1954 Atomic Energy Commission Security review that disgraced Oppenheimer, stripped him of his security clearance for alleged "red ties," and captured headlines across the nation. Documents that have only recently come to light regarding those ties are thoroughly and conclusively examined. Oppenheimer, the eldest son of an aristocratic Jewish family living on the Upper West Side of New York City, attended the secular, progressive, and elite Ethical Culture School. Cassidy, building his narrative on previously untapped primary documents, shows the importance and character of Oppenheimer' s early education. The liberal values he absorbed there ran counter to the culture he found at Harvard, whose president sought to foster a future managerial elite, the rulers of the new American society. These formative contrasts in values explain Oppenheimer' s many seeming contradictions. Why did the scientist who correctly theorized black holes turn his back on cutting edge research? How did a gentle liberal humanist become responsible for the creation of the first real weapon of mass destruction? How could a brilliant mind like his virtually found "scientific militarism" and then let it destroy him? Cassidy opens up a life story that is emblematic of the transformation of America over the last three generations. It offers, as the best history can, an insight into the future technological and moral progress of a nation.(c) Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

J. Robert Oppenheimer and the American Century

Examines the physicist's role in the Nazi atomic bomb project and explores the ethical issue of a scientist's personal responsibility and guilt when serving a military regime.

Heisenberg, Quantum Physics, and the Bomb

Beyond Uncertainty

A Bibliography of His Writings

Werner Heisenberg

Martha Baker

This is a fascinating account of the impact of Einstein's work and outlook upon contemporary culture and upon the scientific enterprise itself. Following a brief, nontechnical explanation of the significance of Einstein's achievements, Prof. Cassidy takes the reader on an intriguing journey through the uses and abuses of Einstein's relativity theory in such widely diverse settings as political ideology, philosophy of science, literature, art, religion, and the individual in an age of dictatorship, genocide, and weapons of mass destruction. Cassidy explores how Einstein's work spread throughout the physical sciences, leading to a new conception of the theoretical physicist as both physicist and cultural figure. While public fascination with Einstein's achievements grew, his authority as an influential spokesman for human dignity, intellectual freedom, and world peace continued to the end of his life. This new edition, besides updating and revising the content of the first edition, includes a number of important new topics that could not be included in the original edition: more on Einstein's personal life in the light of recent revelations; a new section on Einstein and peace; and an assessment of Einstein's continuing influence in the post-September 11 era.

Einstein and Our World

Was Einstein's first wife his uncredited coauthor, unpaid assistant, or his unacknowledged helpmeet? The real “Mileva Story.” Albert Einstein's first wife, Mileva Einstein-Marić, was forgotten for decades. When a trove of correspondence between them beginning in their student days was discovered in 1986, her story began to be told. Some of the tellers of the “Mileva Story” made startling claims: that she was a brilliant mathematician who surpassed her husband, and that she made uncredited contributions to his most celebrated papers in 1905, including his paper on special relativity. This book, based on extensive historical research, uncovers the real “Mileva Story.” Mileva was one of the few women of her era to pursue higher education in science; she and Einstein were students together at the Zurich Polytechnic. Mileva's ambitions for a science career, however, suffered a series of setbacks—failed diploma examinations, a disagreement with her doctoral dissertation adviser, an out-of-wedlock pregnancy by Einstein. She and Einstein married in 1903 and had two sons, but the marriage failed. Was Mileva her husband's uncredited coauthor, unpaid assistant, or his essential helpmeet? It's tempting to believe that she was her husband's secret collaborator, but the authors of Einstein's Wife look at the actual evidence, and a chapter by Ruth Lewin Sime offers important historical context. The story they tell is that of a brave and determined young woman who struggled against a variety of obstacles at a time when science was not very welcoming to women.

The Real Story of Mileva Einstein-Mari?

Einstein's Wife

Born into a wealthy, secular New York Jewish family, a student of the Ethical Culture School in New York, later educated in theoretical physics at Harvard, Cambridge (UK) and Göttingen (Germany), appointed professor at UC-Berkeley and Caltech, J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967) was on the forefront of the rise of theoretical physics in the United States to world-class status, contributing to the century-altering success of the Manhattan Project to build the atomic bomb. As the scientific leader of that project, Oppenheimer played a key advisory role in government, helping to forge the post-war military-industrial-scientific alliance that poured huge resources into post-war “big science.” Because of his position, Oppenheimer became for the public the heroic cultural icon of American science, but he also became a target and a tragic victim of the cold-war fear and nuclear war preparations underlying the McCarthy era. This biographical study focuses on Oppenheimer’s cultural and intellectual rise as a theoretical physicist as well as his role within the trajectory of the nation’s rise to scientific leadership and the post-war forces that confronted American science. This biography is nearly unique in that it includes discussions for general audiences of Oppenheimer’s work and contributions to theoretical physics, including his famous prediction of black holes sixty years before their confirmed discovery. “Now David Cassidy brings us the best account of Oppenheimer’s life in science with J. Robert Oppenheimer and the American Century.” — T. Powers, New York Review of Books “Cassidy covers this ground admirably in his thoughtful biography of Oppenheimer.” —Scientific American “Cassidy’s book...is probably the best single study of Oppenheimer to date.” — B. Bernstein, Physics World “Cassidy’s biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer is a concise, well-written book about the life of the famous 20th century scientist... A worthwhile read for anyone with an interest in the coming of age of American physics and how the weaknesses and strengths of one of its leaders shaped the relationship between science and the government for decades to come.” — Physics and Society “This biography is a detailed and beautifully written work. Cassidy expands beyond the traditional scope of a biography and expertly explores the surrounding environment that shaped Oppenheimer’s life.” — Atomic Archive “This excellent biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer places the eminent physicist in the context of twentieth century America... Cassidy... provides excellent insights into the life and times of this complex man. Unlike many other biographers of Oppenheimer, Cassidy assesses his role as a twentieth century theoretical physicist.” — Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues “A superbly researched biography... There is no doubt that Cassidy gives us a valuable perspective on Oppenheimer’s life. The author is shy neither of editorializing nor of making judgments about the personalities who appear in the story... These comments are almost unfailingly fair and justified by the evidence.” — Times Higher Education “Cassidy... has written a book that neither praises Oppenheimer nor buries his reputation but, rather, puts some tarnish upon the icon.” — G. Herken, Science

"Exhaustively detailed yet eminently readable, this is an important book."Publishers Weekly, starred review "Cassidy does not so much exculpate Heisenberg as explain him, with a transparency that makes this biography a pleasure to read."Los Angeles Times "Well crafted and readable . . . [Cassidy] provides a nuanced and compelling account of Heisenberg's life."The Harvard Book Review In 1992, David C. Cassidy’s groundbreaking biography of Werner Heisenberg, Uncertainty, was published to resounding acclaim from scholars and critics. Michael Frayn, in the Playbill of the Broadway production of Copenhagen, referred to it as one of his main sources and “the standard work in English.” Richard Rhodes (The Making of the Atom Bomb) called it “the definitive biography of a great and tragic physicist,” and the Los Angeles Times praised it as “an important book. Cassidy has sifted the record and brilliantly detailed Heisenberg’s actions.” No book that has appeared since has rivaled Uncertainty, now out of print, for its depth and rich detail of the life, times, and science of this brilliant and controversial figure of twentieth-century physics. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, long-suppressed information has emerged on Heisenberg’s role in the Nazi atomic bomb project. In Beyond Uncertainty, Cassidy interprets this and other previously unknown material within the context of his vast research and tackles the vexing questions of a scientist’s personal responsibility and guilt when serving an abhorrent military regime. David C. Cassidy is the author of J. Robert Oppenheimer and the American Century, Einstein and Our World, and Uncertainty.

Heisenberg, Quantum Physics, and The Bomb

As the twentieth century drew to a close, computers, the Internet, and nanotechnology were central to modern American life. Yet the advances in physics underlying these applications are poorly understood and widely underappreciated by U.S. citizens today. In this concise overview, David C. Cassidy sharpens our perspective on modern physics by viewing this foundational science through the lens of America's engagement with the political events of a tumultuous century. American physics first stirred in the 1890s-around the time x-rays and radioactivity were discovered in Germany-with the founding of graduate schools on the German model. Yet American research lagged behind the great European laboratories until highly effective domestic policies, together with the exodus of physicists from fascist countries, brought the nation into the first ranks of world research in the 1930s. The creation of the atomic bomb and radar during World War II ensured lavish government support for particle physics, along with computation, solid-state physics, and military communication. These advances facilitated space exploration and led to the global expansion of the Internet. Well into the 1960s, physicists bolstered the United States' international status, and the nation repaid the favor through massive outlays of federal, military, and philanthropic funding. But gradually America relinquished its postwar commitment to scientific leadership, and the nation found itself struggling to maintain a competitive edge in science education and research. Today, American physicists, relying primarily on industrial funding, must compete with smaller, scrappier nations intent on writing their own brief history of physics in the twenty-first century.

A Short History of Physics in the American Century

F. James Rutherford

Gerald Holton

A thorough grounding in contemporary physics while placing the subject into its social and historical context. Based largely on the highly respected Project Physics Course developed by two of the authors, it also integrates the results of recent pedagogical research. The text thus teaches the basic phenomena in the physical world and the concepts developed to explain them; shows that science is a rational human endeavour with a long and continuing tradition, involving many different cultures and people; develops facility in critical thinking, reasoned argumentation, evaluation of evidence, mathematical modelling, and ethical values. The treatment emphasises not only what we know but also how we know it, why we believe it, and what effects this knowledge has.

Understanding Physics

Albert Einstein's first wife, Mileva Einstein-Maric, was forgotten by history for decades, But when a trove of correspondence between them beginning in their student days at the Zurich Polytechnic was discovered in 1986, her story began to be told. Mileva was one of the few women of her era to pursue higher education in science. Her ambitions for a science career, however, suffered a series of setbacks, including an out-of-wedlock pregnancy by Einstein. Some of the tellers of the "Mileva Story" made startling claims: that she was a brilliant mathematician who surpassed her husband, and that she made uncredited contributions to his most celebrated papers in 1905, including his paper on special relativity. The authors of Einstein's Wife look at the actual evidence, and a chapter by Ruth Lewin Sime offers important historical context. The story they tell is that of a brave and determined young woman who struggled against a variety of obstacles at a time when science was not very welcoming to women. Book jacket.

David C. Cassidy

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