Abstract
THESE two books, one the story of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the Second World War and the other that of the contribution of the Westinghouse Electric Corporation to the victory over the Axis powers, reveal the enormous achievements made by civilian forces during the War. The Massachusetts record "Q.E.D."is that of the assistance given to the war effort by a single privately endowed American institution, and is typical of the war-time contribution of the academic institutions. The author rightly points out that his book is not the history of the achievements of individuals, because research and development in these days are almost always the work of teams. Indeed, throughout, one quality of the war-time activity of the Institute stands out clearly — the quality of unity and simplicity. However difficult and numerous were the problems, there was always just one criterion for their solution : "Is this the most useful thing which M.I.T. can do to help win the War?" ; and when this question had been answered, all its powers and activities were organised to this end.
Q.E.D. : M.I.T. in World War II
By John Burchard. Pp. xvi + 354 + 16 plates. (New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.: London: Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 1948.) 21s. net.
Battlefronts of Industry
Westinghouse in World War II. By David O. Wood-bury . Pp. ix + 342 + 32 plates. (New York : John Wiley and Sons, Inc. ; London: Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 1948.) 21s. net.
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FLEMING, A. War-Time Technology In The United States. Nature 164, 937 (1949). https://doi.org/10.1038/164937a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/164937a0