The American Lab: An Insider's History of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

by C. Bruce Tarter

Overview

Behind the scenes of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the quintessential American lab.

Nobel laureate Ernest O. Lawrence and renowned physicist Edward Teller founded the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 1952. A new ideas incubator, the Lab was at the heart of nuclear testing and the development of supercomputers, lasers, and other major technological innovations of the second half of the twentieth century. Many of its leaders became prominent figures in the technical and defense establishments, and by the end of the 1960s, Livermore was the peer of Los Alamos National Lab, a relationship that continues today.

In The American Lab, former Livermore director C. Bruce Tarter offers unparalleled access to the inner workings of the Lab. Touching on Cold War nuclear science and the technological shift that occurred after the fall of the Berlin Wall, he traces the Lab’s evolution from its founding under University of California management through its transfer to private oversight. Along the way, he highlights important episodes in that journey, from the invention of Polaris, the first submarine-launched ballistic missile, to the Lab’s controversial role in the Star Wars program. He also describes Livermore’s significant responsibilities in stockpile stewardship, the program that ensures the safety and reliability of the US nuclear arsenal.

The book portrays the lab’s extensive work on thermonuclear fusion, a potential source of unlimited energy; describes the development of the world’s largest laser fusion installation, the National Ignition Facility; and examines a number of smaller projects, such as the Lab’s participation in founding the Human Genome Project. Finally, it traces the relationship of the Lab to its federal sponsor, the Department of Energy, as it evolved from partnership to compliance with orders, a shift that affected all of the national laboratories. Drawing on oral histories, internal laboratory documents, and the author’s personal experiences from more than fifty years as a Lab employee, The American Lab is an illuminating history of the Lab and its revolutionary work.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781421425320
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	08/01/2018
Series:	Johns Hopkins Nuclear History and Contemporary Affairs
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	472
File size:	34 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

C. Bruce Tarter is a theoretical physicist who began work at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory as a researcher in 1967. Presently director emeritus, he served as the Lab’s director from 1994 to 2002.

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
Part I. Making the Cold War Cold, 1952-1971
Chapter 1. Origins
Chapter 2. Getting Started
Chapter 3. The Foundation of Deterrence
Chapter 4. Arms Control, Atoms for Peace, and the Test Ban
Chapter 5. Organization and Evolution of the Laboratory
Chapter 6. Development of the Stockpile
Chapter 7. Nuclear Excursions
Chapter 8. Transition
Part II. Lasers, Lasers, Nothing but Lasers, 1971-1988
Chapter 9. Changing of the Guard
Chapter 10. The Nuclear Weapons Program
Chapter 11. Lasers
Chapter 12. The Energy Crisis and New Programs
Chapter 13. Evolution of the Broader Lab
Chapter 14. Star Wars
Chapter 15. End of the Era Part III. Renaissance, Repression, and Reorganization, 1988-2008
Chapter 16. End of the Cold War
Chapter 17. Post-Cold War Changes
Chapter 18. Early Days with the New Administration
Chapter 19. Stockpile Stewardship and the Presidential Decision
Chapter 20. Growth of the Lab
Chapter 21. The Troubles and Their Weathering
Chapter 22. Summing Up
Chapter 23. Transitional Years
Epilogue
Acronyms and Abbreviations
Bibliography
Index

What People are Saying About This

George H. Miller

While chronicling the history, culture, and people that created Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, The American Lab provides important insights into the external events and underlying principles that have made the Lab one of the foremost science and technology institutions in the world. A great read!

John C. Browne

This is a fascinating history of an iconic laboratory that created new directions for US nuclear weapons during the height of the Cold War. Tarter presents an insider’s view of a diverse array of scientific endeavors and the captivating stories of the events and the people behind these efforts.

John C. Hopkins

There are few books by authors who have had front row seats to the history of Cold War nuclear weapons laboratories. Tarter, who had firsthand contact with many of the key players, gives readers the feeling of actually being a member of the Livermore weapons design teams. He draws interesting comparisons with Los Alamos and describes the trials and tribulations of the fledgling program from the perspective of the scientists and engineers who were there.

Peter J. Westwick

Nuclear weapons were a defining characteristic of the Cold War era and after, and the Livermore Lab is one of the most important but least understood of the places that made them. C. Bruce Tarter, a former Livermore director, provides the Lab’s first detailed history with insight and candor.

From the Publisher

There are few books by authors who have had front row seats to the history of Cold War nuclear weapons laboratories. Tarter, who had firsthand contact with many of the key players, gives readers the feeling of actually being a member of the Livermore weapons design teams. He draws interesting comparisons with Los Alamos and describes the trials and tribulations of the fledgling program from the perspective of the scientists and engineers who were there.
—John C. Hopkins, retired nuclear physicist, Los Alamos National Laboratory

This is a fascinating history of an iconic laboratory that created new directions for US nuclear weapons during the height of the Cold War. Tarter presents an insider’s view of a diverse array of scientific endeavors and the captivating stories of the events and the people behind these efforts.
—John C. Browne, retired physicist, Los Alamos National Laboratory

While chronicling the history, culture, and people that created Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, The American Lab provides important insights into the external events and underlying principles that have made the Lab one of the foremost science and technology institutions in the world. A great read!
—George H. Miller, Director Emeritus, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

The American Lab is a personal, clear-eyed, and readable account of the Lawrence Livermore story—a mix of science, patriotism, politics, engineering, and ego. Tarter makes an important contribution to understanding of the role of ‘big science’ in American life, and sets the stage for understanding the role of Lawrence Livermore and other national laboratories in shaping the future.
—Victor H. Reis, former Assistant Secretary of Energy for Defense Programs

Tarter’s book is a fascinating look at the role of the University of California and the groundbreaking physicist E. O. Lawrence in the history of the US nuclear weapons program. Tarter gives the reader insight into some of the most important decisions and choices made at the Lab.
—Ellen O. Tauscher, fomer Member of Congress (D-CA) and former Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs

Nuclear weapons were a defining characteristic of the Cold War era and after, and the Livermore Lab is one of the most important but least understood of the places that made them. C. Bruce Tarter, a former Livermore director, provides the Lab’s first detailed history with insight and candor.
—Peter J. Westwick, Director, Aerospace History Project, author of The National Labs: Science in an American System, 1947–1974

Victor H. Reis

The American Lab is a personal, clear-eyed, and readable account of the Lawrence Livermore story—a mix of science, patriotism, politics, engineering, and ego. Tarter makes an important contribution to understanding of the role of ‘big science’ in American life, and sets the stage for understanding the role of Lawrence Livermore and other national laboratories in shaping the future.

Ellen O. Tauscher

Tarter’s book is a fascinating look at the role of the University of California and the groundbreaking physicist E. O. Lawrence in the history of the US nuclear weapons program. Tarter gives the reader insight into some of the most important decisions and choices made at the Lab.

Editorial Reviews

The American Lab is highly recommended reading not just for science collections; but for anyone who would better understand the intersection of and connections between political, scientific, educational, and military communities.
—Donovan's Literary Services

Up to now, the growing lexicon of scholarship on the U.S. national laboratories has lacked work on the history of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, aside from one dissertation and a classified document. This book by a former laboratory director, which covers the defense laboratory's history from its beginnings to 2008, provides the first comprehensive, easily accessible account . . . Given the enormous national investment in this complex, the work and devices it produces, and its impact on research and development, Tarter's book offers crucial, previously missing information.
—Catherine Westfall, Michigan State University, Isis

Today we know Silicon Valley as a veritable field of dreams for startups, but in The American Lab, the former director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, C. Bruce Tarter, recounts how a culture that valued debate, questioning, and passion made Livermore not only the first successful startup in the San Francisco Bay Area but a uniquely American lab.
—Sarah Wells, MIT Technology Review

From the Publisher

Today we know Silicon Valley as a veritable field of dreams for startups, but in The American Lab, the former director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, C. Bruce Tarter, recounts how a culture that valued debate, questioning, and passion made Livermore not only the first successful startup in the San Francisco Bay Area but a uniquely American lab.

MIT Technology Review - Sarah Wells

Up to now, the growing lexicon of scholarship on the U.S. national laboratories has lacked work on the history of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, aside from one dissertation and a classified document. This book by a former laboratory director, which covers the defense laboratory's history from its beginnings to 2008, provides the first comprehensive, easily accessible account . . . Given the enormous national investment in this complex, the work and devices it produces, and its impact on research and development, Tarter's book offers crucial, previously missing information.

Isis - Catherine Westfall

The American Lab is highly recommended reading not just for science collections; but for anyone who would better understand the intersection of and connections between political, scientific, educational, and military communities.

Donovan's Literary Services