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to indexJennet Conant
Summary
Great book on leadership, telling the story of a single man that worked behind the scenes to get America into the production of wartime technology. The technologies he helped develop included artillery fire, microwave radar, and the atomic bomb. The story is proported to be historically accurate, and illuminates a life of a man that changed history by force of will.
Alfred Loomis began as a banker, amassing a fortune by displacing prominant members of a law firm and directing the company onto more profitable pursuits like electricity farming. With his wealth, he moves to Tuxedo Park with his wife, and generally lays below the media headlines. He builds a lab and recruits brilliant physists, funded by the proceeds from his Wall Street adventures. The lab turns into the most advanced in the country, and influences the programs of MIT, Berkeley, and several large corporations. In the meantime, Loomis becomes an accomplished physist himself, taking an interest and developing fields such as quartz time accuracy, astronomical measurements, and microwave radar. Great stories are told of his exploits at the lab.
Loomis sees how technology could change the course of the second world war, and takes steps even before the war began, during the cold war, to develop wartime programs. The lab moves to MIT, where a full scale radar facility is developed. The war begins, and Loomis is ready with the newly developed radar to detect the submarines and planes attacking England. As America is drawn into the war, Loomis shifts focus to assist the development of the atomic bomb, which eventually ends the war. Supposedly, this man influenced the outcome of the centuary.
The personality of Loomis himself is describes as charismatic and driven. He has an easy going manner, guiding people toward his ideas with his energy. However, his treatment of women is derogatory and he is described as "inhuman" to his family, since he doesn't seem to have emotional bonds with them.
I think this book changed me. I need to take a step in guiding the software development of this project, and the book's timing was right on target. It was recommended to me by Jim Falasco, who has worked extensively in DARPA research. While I don't intend to run out and develop bombs, the core principles of foresight, dedication, intelligent application of ideas, and how influence implies power are lessons I hope I don't forget.
Rating
8
Bibtex Entry
@article{ conant02tuxedo,
author = "Jennet Conant",
title = "Tuxedo Park",
journal = "Computer Networks and ISDN Systems",
year = "2002",
}