Memoirs — A Twentieth-Century Journey in Science and Politics

Edward Teller is perhaps best known for his belief in freedom through strong defense. But this extraordinary memoir at last reveals the man behind the headlines--passionate and humorous, devoted and loyal. Never before has Teller told his story as fully as he does here. We learn his true position on everything from the bombing of Japan to the pursuit of weapons research in the post-war years. In clear and compelling prose, Teller chronicles the people and events that shaped him as a scientist, beginning with his early love of music and math, and continuing with his study of quantum physics under Werner Heisenberg. He also describes his relationships with some of the century's greatest minds--Einstein, Bohr, Fermi, Szilard, von Neumann--and offers an honest assessment of the development of the atomic and hydrogen bombs, the founding of Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, and his complicated relationship with J. Robert Oppenheimer.Rich and humanizing, this candid memoir describes the events that led Edward Teller to be honored or abhorred, and provides a fascinating perspective on the ability of a single individual to affect the course of history.

Edward Teller is one of the most celebrated and controversial physicists alive today. Through his work at Los Alamos and his development of the hydrogen bomb, he helped usher in the atomic age. He is currently Director Emeritus of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and continues as a Senior Research Fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. Wendy Teller is a computer scientist, specializing in software for telecommunications. Wilson Talley is currently a professor in the Department of Applied Sciences, University of California Davis/ Livermore, and is president of the Fannie and John Hertz Foundation. Edward Teller was born in Hungary in 1908 and educated in Germany. He came to the United States in 1935. A theoretical physicist, he worked on nuclear weapons during and after World War II, and was instrumental in the development of the hydrogen bomb. A staunch advocate of national military preparedness, Teller has been involved in several controversies, most recently the debate regarding national missile defense. He helped found Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where he is now Director Emeritus, and continues as a Senior Research Fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution.Judith Shoolery is a former science teacher who has worked as a writer and editor on a variety of publications, most recently as a book editor at the Hoover Institution. Now retired, she and her husband live in Half Moon Bay, California.