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Title:  The Invention That Changed The World - How a Small Group of Radar Pioneers Won the Second World War and Launched a Technological Revolution

Author: Robert Buderi
Edition:
ISBN: 0-684-81021-2
Date: 1996
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Binding: Hard Cover
Size approximately (inches): 6-1/2 x 9-1/2
Pages: 575

Book Condition: Good. Previously owned.  Former library copy with the usual stamps, pockets, writing, etc

Special Notes: NA

About the book*

The Invention That Changed the World: How a Small Group of Radar Pioneers Won the Second World War and Launched a Technological Revolution by Robert Buderi is a sweeping historical and scientific account of how the development of radar during World War II profoundly altered the course of the war—and the trajectory of postwar science and technology.

20 chapters

At the heart of the book is the story of radar, a groundbreaking technology that allowed Allied forces to detect enemy aircraft and ships before they could be seen. Radar’s development was led by a coalition of brilliant physicists, engineers, and military strategists, many working at the Radiation Laboratory ("Rad Lab") at MIT, one of the largest wartime research centers.

Buderi follows key figures such as Ernest Lawrence, Alfred Loomis, and Lee DuBridge, as well as British innovators like Robert Watson-Watt, detailing how scientific collaboration across nations helped perfect radar in time to shift the balance in the air war over Europe and the Pacific.

Radar's role in defeating Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan was crucial: it enabled better aircraft defense, improved naval targeting, and laid the foundation for postwar advances in electronics, computers, aerospace, and even medical imaging.

But the book goes far beyond just wartime applications. Buderi shows how the radar effort transformed American science, government, and industry. Veterans of the Rad Lab went on to spearhead innovations in semiconductors, telecommunications, and computing, helping launch the postwar tech boom and institutions like Bell Labs, NASA, and Silicon Valley.

🧠 Themes and Focus

• The intersection of science, war, and government policy

• The role of interdisciplinary collaboration

• The transformation of research culture during and after WWII

• The technological legacy of wartime innovations

📚 Ideal For:

• Readers interested in WWII history, science policy, or technological innovation

• Fans of David McCullough, Richard Rhodes, or Walter Isaacson

• Those looking to understand how radar and wartime research shaped the modern world

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From W5SWL

*AI is used to present some modern description content. Subject to review and possible inaccuracy.