Man of the Hour: James B. Conant, Warrior Scientist

Conant (Tuxedo Park: A Wall Street Tycoon and the Secret Palace of Science That Changed the Course of World War II) has written a thoughtful, complete biography of her grandfather, the influential scientist James B. Conant. An accomplished chemist, James was drafted to manage the development of poison gas for the U.S. Department of War just out of college. After World War I, he returned to teaching and research, publishing on the properties and structure of chlorophyll and hemoglobin. Later, as the president of Harvard University, he encouraged test-based admissions and scholarships to lower barriers of wealth and birth. During World War II, he oversaw the Manhattan Project and other weapons programs. Conant advised Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, and Dwight D. Eisenhower and served as the first ambassador to West Germany. Relying on full access to family papers, the author thoroughly explores her grandfather's concerns with the issues of chemical weapons, atomic energy, and education.