The World of Andrei Sakharov

A Russian Physicist's Path to Freedom

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Science, Physics, General Physics, History, Asian, Russia, Other Sciences
Cover of the book The World of Andrei Sakharov by Gennady Gorelik, Antonina W. Bouis, Oxford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Gennady Gorelik, Antonina W. Bouis ISBN: 9780190288778
Publisher: Oxford University Press Publication: April 14, 2005
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: Gennady Gorelik, Antonina W. Bouis
ISBN: 9780190288778
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication: April 14, 2005
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

How did Andrei Sakharov, a theoretical physicist and the acknowledged father of the Soviet hydrogen bomb, become a human rights activist and the first Russian to win the Nobel Peace Prize? In his later years, Sakharov noted in his diary that he was "simply a man with an unusual fate." To understand this deceptively straightforward statement by an extraordinary man, The World of Andrei Sakharov, the first authoritative study of Andrei Sakharov as a scientist as well as a public figure, relies on previously inaccessible documents, recently declassified archives, and personal accounts by Sakharov's friends and colleagues to examine the real context of Sakharov's life. In the course of doing so, Gennady Gorelik answers a fascinating question, whether the Soviet hydrogen bomb was really fathered by Sakharov, or whether it was based on stolen American secrets. Gorelik concludes that while espionage did initiate the Soviet effort, the Russian hydrogen bomb was invented independently. Gorelik also elucidates the reasons that brought about the seemingly sudden transformation of the top-secret physicist into a public figure in 1968, when Sakharov's famous essay "Progress, Peaceful Coexistence, and Intellectual Freedom" was distributed in samizdat in the USSR and smuggled out to the West. Recently declassified documents show that Sakharov's metamorphosis was caused by professional concerns, particularly regarding the development of an anti-ballistic missile defense. An insider's view of how the upper echelons of the Soviet regime functioned had led Sakharov to the conclusion that the goals of peace, progress, and human rights were inextricably linked. His free thinking and free feeling were manifested in his hope that scientific thought and religious perception would find a profound synthesis in the future.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

How did Andrei Sakharov, a theoretical physicist and the acknowledged father of the Soviet hydrogen bomb, become a human rights activist and the first Russian to win the Nobel Peace Prize? In his later years, Sakharov noted in his diary that he was "simply a man with an unusual fate." To understand this deceptively straightforward statement by an extraordinary man, The World of Andrei Sakharov, the first authoritative study of Andrei Sakharov as a scientist as well as a public figure, relies on previously inaccessible documents, recently declassified archives, and personal accounts by Sakharov's friends and colleagues to examine the real context of Sakharov's life. In the course of doing so, Gennady Gorelik answers a fascinating question, whether the Soviet hydrogen bomb was really fathered by Sakharov, or whether it was based on stolen American secrets. Gorelik concludes that while espionage did initiate the Soviet effort, the Russian hydrogen bomb was invented independently. Gorelik also elucidates the reasons that brought about the seemingly sudden transformation of the top-secret physicist into a public figure in 1968, when Sakharov's famous essay "Progress, Peaceful Coexistence, and Intellectual Freedom" was distributed in samizdat in the USSR and smuggled out to the West. Recently declassified documents show that Sakharov's metamorphosis was caused by professional concerns, particularly regarding the development of an anti-ballistic missile defense. An insider's view of how the upper echelons of the Soviet regime functioned had led Sakharov to the conclusion that the goals of peace, progress, and human rights were inextricably linked. His free thinking and free feeling were manifested in his hope that scientific thought and religious perception would find a profound synthesis in the future.

More books from Oxford University Press

Cover of the book Practicing What the Doctor Preached by Gennady Gorelik, Antonina W. Bouis
Cover of the book Friendly Fire : American Images of the Vietnam War by Gennady Gorelik, Antonina W. Bouis
Cover of the book The Oxford Handbook of Behavioral Economics and the Law by Gennady Gorelik, Antonina W. Bouis
Cover of the book Empire of Ruin by Gennady Gorelik, Antonina W. Bouis
Cover of the book Explaining Research by Gennady Gorelik, Antonina W. Bouis
Cover of the book The Power of God by Gennady Gorelik, Antonina W. Bouis
Cover of the book From Christian Science to Jewish Science by Gennady Gorelik, Antonina W. Bouis
Cover of the book Wetlands Explained by Gennady Gorelik, Antonina W. Bouis
Cover of the book Personality Assessment in Treatment Planning by Gennady Gorelik, Antonina W. Bouis
Cover of the book At This Time and In This Place by Gennady Gorelik, Antonina W. Bouis
Cover of the book Confederate Emancipation by Gennady Gorelik, Antonina W. Bouis
Cover of the book Ethics in Psychology and the Mental Health Professions : Standards and Cases by Gennady Gorelik, Antonina W. Bouis
Cover of the book Tonal Pitch Space by Gennady Gorelik, Antonina W. Bouis
Cover of the book Diversity in the Neuronal Machine by Gennady Gorelik, Antonina W. Bouis
Cover of the book Terrorism: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide by Gennady Gorelik, Antonina W. Bouis
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy