"Oceanographers and the Cold War is about patronage, politics, and the community of scientists. It is the first book to examine the study of the oceans during the Cold War era and explore the international focus of American oceanographers, taking into account the roles of the U.S. Navy, United States foreign policy, and scientists throughout the world. Jacob Hamblin demonstrates that to understand the history of American oceanography, one must consider its role in both conflict and cooperation with other nations. Paradoxically, American oceanography after World War II was enmeshed in the military-industrial complex while characterized by close international cooperation. The military dimension of marine science--with its involvement in submarine acoustics, fleet operations, and sea-launched nuclear missiles--coexisted with data exchange programs with the Soviet Union and global operations in seas without borders. From an uneasy cooperation with the Soviet bloc in the International Geophysical Year of 1957-58, to the NATO Science Committee in the late 1960s, which excluded the Soviet Union, to the U.S.
Marine Sciences Council, which served as an important national link between scientists and the government, Oceanographers and the Cold War reveals the military and foreign policy goals served by U. S. government involvement in cooperative activities between scientists, such as joint cruises and expeditions. It demonstrates as well the extent to which oceanographers used international cooperation as a vehicle to pursue patronage from military, government, and commercial sponsors during the Cold War, as they sought support for their work by creating ""disciples of marine science"" wherever they could."
By:
Jacob Darwin Hamblin
Imprint: University of Washington Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 152mm,
Spine: 28mm
Weight: 653g
ISBN: 9780295984827
ISBN 10: 0295984821
Pages: 368
Publication Date: 01 March 2005
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
PrefaceList of AbbreviationsIntroduction1. Beginnings of Postwar Marine Science and Cooperation2. Oceanography's Greatest Patron3. The International Geophysical Year, 1957-19584. The New Face of International Oceanography5. Competition and Cooperation in the 1960s6. Oceanography, East and West7. Marine Science and Marine Affairs8. ConclusionNotesBibliographyIndex
Jacob Darwin Hamblin is professor of history at Oregon State University. He is the author of several books, including The Wretched Atom: America's Global Gamble with Peaceful Nuclear Technology and Poison in the Well: Radioactive Waste in the Oceans at the Dawn of the Nuclear Age.
Reviews for Oceanographers and the Cold War: Disciples of Marine Science
"""Oceanographers and the Cold War knits together scholarship in the history of science, diplomatic history, naval/military history, and political history, and will appeal to several audiences, including anyone interested in Cold War history. Indeed, as Hamblin points out, many people don't realize that Sputnik--that Cold War icon--emerged from the context of international marine science."" Helen M. Rozwadowski, author of The Sea Knows No Boundaries and Fathoming the Ocean"
