Oceanographers and the Cold War: Disciples of Marine Science

"Oceanographers and the Cold War is of tremendous value, as it challenges readers, and other historians, to take into account not just the national background of various marine scientific enterprises, but international issues and the overarching political themes of an era, which affect how science is done."History of Philosophical and Life Sciences"This book is the first to provide a deeply researched, historically sound, insightful and provocative view of how military goals, scientific motivations and global political forces interacted in the growth of oceanography between the end of World War II and the 1970s."The Journal of Military History

Marine Sciences Council, which served as an important national link between scientists and the government, Oceanographers and the Cold War reveals the military and foreign policy goals served by U.S. Jacob Hamblin demonstrates that to understand the history of American oceanography, one must consider its role in both conflict and cooperation with other nations.Paradoxically, American oceanography after World War II was enmeshed in the military-industrial complex while characterized by close international cooperation. It demonstrates as well the extent to which oceanographers used international cooperation as a vehicle to pursue patronage from military, government, and commercial sponsors

Jacob Darwin Hamblin is a lecturer in history at California State University in Long Beach.