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From the brand
Stripe Press
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New & Forthcoming
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Business & Management
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Economics & History
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Ideas & Innovation
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Science & Technology
From the Publisher
Praise for Pieces of the Action
A front-row seat to the most important R&D work of the 20th century.
“Scientific and technological progress depend crucially on leadership. Bush understood this better than anyone, and he had a front-row seat to the most important R&D work of the 20th century. This candid memoir gave me a better understanding of how research leadership works and why it’s desperately needed.”
—Jason Crawford, writer at The Roots of Progress
Great things can be built in spite of stagnation . . . through determination and foresight.
“Pieces of the Action provides a window into the way Bush saw himself: as part of a larger cultural tradition, equipping new generations with knowledge from past ones. I came away inspired by the knowledge that great things can be built in spite of stagnation, rigid norms, and conventions, through the determination and foresight of people who work to change institutions.”
—Saloni Dattani, cofounder and editor of Works in Progress and researcher at Our World in Data
At the nexus of an astounding number of people and events that shaped the modern world.
“It’s hard to deny that Vannevar Bush was at the nexus of an astounding number of people and events that shaped the modern world. In Pieces of the Action, he works hard to give us a window into his thought processes, and from them distill timeless lessons about leadership, research, institution building, and human nature.”
—Ben Reinhardt, CEO of PARPA, researcher at the Astera Institute, and host of the Idea Machines podcast
A view of scientific development that is anything but linear.
"One comes away with a view of scientific development that is anything but linear: the gravitational weight of historical contingencies, idiosyncratic personnel, and key management decisions described in Pieces of the Action continue to profoundly impact us today.”
—Caleb Watney, cofounder and co-CEO of the Institute for Progress
Catalogs the scientists and engineers who were pivotal to an Allied victory in World War II.
“Pieces of the Action catalogs the scientists and engineers who were pivotal to an Allied victory in World War II—and how the ad-hoc organizations born out of that crisis ultimately provided the blueprints for our modern scientific institutions.”
—Alec Stapp, cofounder and co-CEO of the Institute for Progress
Not just about science and innovation, but about state capacity.
“Pieces of the Action is not just about science and innovation, it’s about state capacity. Anyone who longs for renewed, effective institutions will find the wisdom of a kindred spirit reflecting on how to build them.”
—Eli Dourado, economist and senior research fellow at the Center for Growth and Opportunity at Utah State University
About the author
Vannevar Bush (1890–1974) was an engineer, inventor, and architect of public-sector funding for scientific research. As chairman of the U.S. National Defense Research Committee and director of the U.S. Office of Scientific Research and Development during World War II, he oversaw a wide-ranging R&D program that paired government funding with scientific research, resulting in the development of radar and the initiation of the Manhattan Project. He conducted foundational research in computer science, including the invention of the differential analyzer. He served as vice president of MIT and first dean of the MIT School of Engineering, president of the Carnegie Institute of Washington, and chairman of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. His 1945 essay “As We May Think” is credited with anticipating aspects of personal computing and the internet, while his government report Science, The Endless Frontier laid the groundwork for the founding of the National Science Foundation.
About the publisher
Stripe Press publishes ideas for progress in science, technology, and economics. Our collection includes new ideas from emerging and established thinkers and industry leaders, as well as reimagined editions of enduring works. We curate our titles for a global audience of builders and practitioners who are shaping the future of policy and industry.
Stripe Press is based in South San Francisco, with team members across the US and in London. We are a part of the global payments infrastructure company Stripe.
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- The Dream Machine by M. Mitchell Waldrop
- The Art of Doing Science and Engineering by Richard W. Hamming
- An Elegant Puzzle by Will Larson
- The Big Score by Michael S. Malone
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