The Jasons: The Secret History of Science's Postwar Elite(IS
At a dinner honoring Freeman Dyson, Finkbeiner heard thephysicist allude to government advisors called "the Jasons," agroup little known except to Pentagon insiders. The first author todevote a book to the Jasons, Finkbeiner explains that they are aself-selecting cadre of scientists independent of the governmentwho evaluate military technologies at the frontier of physicalfeasibility. Intrigued, Finkbeiner sought interviews with Jasons.Some jovially consented, others refused, and two guardedly agreedif identified as "Dr. X" and "Dr. Y." The reasons for anonymity areemblematic themes in Finkbeiner's fascinating account: Dr. X didn'twant to reveal too much about the Jasons' secret work; Dr. Y didn'twant to be hassled by antimilitary zealots at her university. Sothe dilemma between the "technically sweet," as Finkbeiner aptlyquotes Robert Oppenheimer, and the morally objectionable coursesthrough her account of the Jasons' brainstorming about weaponry atannual summer retreats since their founding in 1960. Reader
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