Cardinal Choices: Presidential Science Advising from the Atomic Bomb to SDI. Revised and Expanded Edition

A history of the complex relations between scientific advisors - primarily physicists - and US presidents in their role as decision-maker about nuclear weapons and military strategy. The story, unsurprisingly, is one of considerable tension between the ‘experts’ and the politicians, as scientists seek to influence policy and presidents alternate between accepting their advice and resisting or ignoring it. First published in 1992, the book has been brought up to date to include the experiences of science advisors to President Clinton. The texts of eleven crucial documents, from the Einstein-Sqilard letter to President Roosevelt (1939) to the announcement of the Strategic Defense Initiative (1983), have also been added as appendixes.