Paperback
Bohemian physicist uses math to win WWII, a forgotten hero.

Blackett's War

The Men Who Defeated the Nazi U-Boats and Brought Science to the Art of Warfare Warfare

$44.25

  • Paperback

    352 pages

  • Release Date

    5 November 2013

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Summary

A Washington Post Notable Book

In March 1941, after a year of devastating U-boat attacks, the British War Cabinet turned to an intensely private, bohemian physicist named Patrick Blackett to turn the tide of the naval campaign. Though he is little remembered today, Blackett did as much as anyone to defeat Nazi Germany, by revolutionizing the Allied anti-submarine effort through the disciplined, systematic implementation of simple mathematics and probability t…

Book Details

ISBN-13:9780307743633
ISBN-10:0307743632
Author:Stephen Budiansky
Publisher:Random House USA Inc
Imprint:Vintage Books
Format:Paperback
Number of Pages:352
Release Date:5 November 2013
Weight:316g
Dimensions:24mm x 133mm x 202mm
Series:Vintage
A-Format
B-Format
Blackett's War by Stephen Budiansky - ISBN: 9780307743633
133 × 202 mm
C-Format
A4
mm / in
What They're Saying

Critics Review

Praise for Stephen Budiansky’s Blackett’s War

Recommended Reading, Scientific American

“A fascinating portrayal of how science contributed to winning the war in Europe.”
—The Wall Street Journal

“A terrific story, exciting, illuminating, well told.”
—Dallas Morning News

“Lively and enlightening… . Budiansky knowingly and entertainingly re-creates the almost constant struggle between hidebound military traditionalists and the clever civilians who saved them.”
—The Washington Post

“Engaging… . A finely wrought and well-sourced social history of elite science’s wartime mobilization… . A wonderful revisionist history of how intelligence derived from Bletchley Park’s breakthroughs combined with Blackett’s operational research to bypass and destroy the Nazi Wolfpacks.”
—Fortune

“Budiansky has mastered the difficulties of the story, making it very readable and compelling … an important work.”
—New York Journal of Books

“A fascinating and skilful blend of naval warfare, science, and British social history with a richly diverse cast of characters.”
—World War II Magazine

“Little-known story of the Allied scientists whose unconventional thinking helped thwart the Nazi U-boats in World War II … An excellent, well-researched account … an engrossing work rich in insights and anecdotes.”
—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“The little known history of a linchpin in the Allies’ victory over the Nazis: Patrick Blackett… . For military history and science fans alike.”
—Publishers Weekly

About The Author

Stephen Budiansky

Stephen Budiansky is the author of seventeen books about military history, intelligence and espionage, science, the natural world, and other subjects. His most recent books are Code Warriors: NSA’s Codebreakers and the Secret Intelligence War Against the Soviet Union and Mad Music: Charles Ives, the Nostalgic Rebel.

Budiansky’s writing has appeared in The Atlantic, the New York Times magazine and op-ed pages, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, The Economist, and many other publications. He is a member of the editorial board of Cryptologia, the scholarly journal of cryptology and intelligence history, and is on the American Heritage Dictionary’s Usage Panel. He lives on a small farm in Loudoun County, Virginia.

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