Book Review: Facing the Atomic Future
| Date | 01 September 1957 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070205701200310 |
| Author | John E. Woolston |
| Published date | 01 September 1957 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
BOOK
REVIEWS
231
UN
atomic
energy
control
plan
of
1946
and
the
Oppenheimer
case
of
1954.
On
the
important
subjects
of
international
control
and
general
disarmament,
he
is
full
of
hope
for
the
future.
One
might
deduce
that
Professor
Blackett
has
never
con-
sidered
Russia
the
bogey
that
has
been
a
common opinion
in
the
last
decade.
Events
in
the next
decade
will
show which
is
right.
This
is
a
penetrating
and
thought-provoking
review
of
a
difficult
subject
which
lies
at
the
root
of
the
future
peace
of
the
world.
Chalk
River,
Ontario
G.
0.
BAiNES
FACING
THE
AT•MiC
FuTuRE.
By
E.
W.
Titterton.
1956.
(Toronto:
Macmillan.
xi,
376pp.
$4.00.)
Atomic energy
is no
longer
the
exclusive
concern
of
the
scientist.
Diplomats
discuss problems
of
international
control.
Businessmen,
lawyers,
and
economists
are
involved
in
the
prob-
lems
of
a
nascent
industry.
Officers
of
the
armed
services
and
civil
defence
are
deeply
concerned
with
the
tactics
of
nuclear
war.
Many
of
these
people
have
no
training
in
science
but
are
finding
it
necessary
to
study
the
subject.
It
is
to
such
people
that
Professor
Titterton's
book
is
addressed.
One
of
the
greatest
problems
facing
the
modern
scientist
is
that
of
finding
means
to
communicate
the nature
and signi-
ficance
of
his
discoveries
to
those
who
do
not
understand
his
language.
This
book
shows
what
can
be
done,
but
demands
equal
co-operation
from
the reader;
Titterton
has
not taken
short
cuts.
The
early chapters
outline
the
basic
science
of
radioactivity
and
the
release
of
energy
by
fission.
They
are
not
easy reading
but,
if
studied,
do
make
more
satisfying the
later
discussions
on
industrial,
medical
and
scientific
applications
of
atomic
energy.
There
are
chapters
on
atomic
weapons
and
their
use
in
war.
The
author
concludes
by
summarizing
the
international
problems
of
the
control
of
atomic
energy
and
sketches
the
national
and
international
policies
which
could
be
adopted.
Although
Titterton
worked
in
the
United
States
on
the
pro-
duction
of
the
first
atomic
bomb,
he
has
since
the
war
been
connected
mainly
with
progress
in
Britain
and in
Australia;
thus
he gives
more
space
to developments
in
these
two
countries
than
to those
in
North
America.
The
writing
was
completed
nearly
two
years
ago
and,
because
it
is
such
a
complete
review,
the
omission
of
recent
information
is
noticeable.
Nevertheless
few
if any
of
the
conclusions
that
Titterton
reaches
would
have
to
be
modified
by
recent
events.
His is
a
balanced
review
of
the
technical
achievements, and
most experts
would
accept
his
pre-
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