Two Lucky People: Memoirs by Milton Friedman; Rose D. FriedmanReview by: Elyce J. RotellaIsis, Vol. 91, No. 1 (Mar., 2000), pp. 208-209Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of The History of Science SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/237646 .

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BOOK REVIEWS-ISIS, 91: 1 (2000) BOOK REVIEWS-ISIS, 91: 1 (2000)

deed, at the outset, one can't help but wonder what might be missing from Hart's ambitious synopsis of U.S. science, technology, and eco- nomic policy from 1921 to 1951. This slim vol- ume divides a pivotal period in the history of the United States's science and technology policy into six segments: Hoover and the crash (1921- 1932), the first Roosevelt administration (1933- 1936), reform liberalism (1937-1940), wartime experiments (1940-1945), macro- and micro- economic policy (1945-1950), and the national security state (1945-1953). Hart believes that science and technology policy is "not very well understood" and that "scholars outside the field think it is obscure and esoteric" (p. ix). His goal is to help return science and technology policy to the rest of American politics because of its importance to public life in the United States.

Hart's first chapter begins with a disturbingly short synopsis of science and technology policy before 1920 and then dives right into "the Great Engineer's" efforts to accelerate technological innovation. He begins with Hoover's service as secretary of commerce under Coolidge, when he used the Bureau of Standards to help "sick" in- dustries. Hoover's "associative vision" failed during his presidency, giving way to Franklin Roosevelt's brand of "coercive associational- ism."

In his examination of FDR's administrations, Hart touches upon the short-lived National Re- covery Administration (NRA) and the technoc- racy movement as exemplifying unsuccessful as- sociationalist science and technology policy. The Tennessee Valley Authority is profiled briefly, but Hart offers no serious in-depth study of specific examples. At this juncture, he has yet to define what "science" and "technology" are within the context of his book. He does not, for example, explain how the NRA exemplifies technology policy as opposed to a general eco- nomic policy. In his next chapter, Hart reviews Thurman Arnold's efforts to prevent industry from suppressing patents. This chapter does in- clude an example-mass production of public housing-but abandons chronology as Hart de- parts from his 1937-1940 time frame and begins a discussion of postwar housing.

In his chapters on World War II, Hart looks briefly at Vannevar Bush's Office of Scientific Research and Development and then at the con- flict concerning the War Production Board's (WPB) Office of Production Research and De- velopment (OPRD). Here Hart states incorrectly that Bush removed rubber research from the WPB. Synthetic rubber research was adminis- tered by rubber czar William Jeffers, whose of-

deed, at the outset, one can't help but wonder what might be missing from Hart's ambitious synopsis of U.S. science, technology, and eco- nomic policy from 1921 to 1951. This slim vol- ume divides a pivotal period in the history of the United States's science and technology policy into six segments: Hoover and the crash (1921- 1932), the first Roosevelt administration (1933- 1936), reform liberalism (1937-1940), wartime experiments (1940-1945), macro- and micro- economic policy (1945-1950), and the national security state (1945-1953). Hart believes that science and technology policy is "not very well understood" and that "scholars outside the field think it is obscure and esoteric" (p. ix). His goal is to help return science and technology policy to the rest of American politics because of its importance to public life in the United States.

Hart's first chapter begins with a disturbingly short synopsis of science and technology policy before 1920 and then dives right into "the Great Engineer's" efforts to accelerate technological innovation. He begins with Hoover's service as secretary of commerce under Coolidge, when he used the Bureau of Standards to help "sick" in- dustries. Hoover's "associative vision" failed during his presidency, giving way to Franklin Roosevelt's brand of "coercive associational- ism."

In his examination of FDR's administrations, Hart touches upon the short-lived National Re- covery Administration (NRA) and the technoc- racy movement as exemplifying unsuccessful as- sociationalist science and technology policy. The Tennessee Valley Authority is profiled briefly, but Hart offers no serious in-depth study of specific examples. At this juncture, he has yet to define what "science" and "technology" are within the context of his book. He does not, for example, explain how the NRA exemplifies technology policy as opposed to a general eco- nomic policy. In his next chapter, Hart reviews Thurman Arnold's efforts to prevent industry from suppressing patents. This chapter does in- clude an example-mass production of public housing-but abandons chronology as Hart de- parts from his 1937-1940 time frame and begins a discussion of postwar housing.

In his chapters on World War II, Hart looks briefly at Vannevar Bush's Office of Scientific Research and Development and then at the con- flict concerning the War Production Board's (WPB) Office of Production Research and De- velopment (OPRD). Here Hart states incorrectly that Bush removed rubber research from the WPB. Synthetic rubber research was adminis- tered by rubber czar William Jeffers, whose of-

fice was still subject to the WPB because his agency had control over raw materials. Hart closes with chapters on postwar policy and the cold war. His discussions present his take on the oft-mentioned Bush-Kilgore conflict over post- war science policy and military control of re- search and development during the cold war.

Hart's book covers a lot of territory but pro- vides very few well-developed examples to sup- port his arguments. Hart seems to think FDR's first administration was a total wash scientifi- cally, and yet during this period the U.S. De- partment of Agriculture formed regional labo- ratories that did significant scientific research on the use of surplus agricultural goods, research that later contributed to the formation of entire industries. In his chapter on the conflict involv- ing OPRD Hart draws on data from the WPB files at the National Archives, but he did not use the papers of Maury Maverick (his chief protag- onist) at the University of Texas, Austin. As a result, his treatment of the topic, although per- ceptive, lacks depth and does not break new ground. Quoting historians and dabbling with primary sources is not enough. Hart never really defines science and technology, perhaps affirm- ing his belief that they are largely misunder- stood. Forged Consensus may be brilliant po- litical science but it falls short of qualifying as history.

PETER NEUSHUL

Milton Friedman; Rose D. Friedman. Two Lucky People: Memoirs. xii + 660 pp., illus., bibl., index. Chicago/London: University of Chi- cago Press, 1998. $35.

In this joint memoir Milton and Rose Friedman tell the story of their lives: how two children from struggling immigrant families eventually attained places of honor, influence, and contro- versy throughout the world. The book is not fun- damentally personal, although it contains many personal anecdotes and the likable personalities of both authors show through. The Friedmans' focus is on intellectual and political matters: on the development of the ideas that have been Mil- ton's highly influential contributions to eco- nomic thought and on both Friedmans' work on public policy and libertarian philosophy.

Anyone interested in the development of eco- nomic thought in the twentieth century will find this book valuable. Readers who are short of time can turn to Chapter 16, entitled "Scholarly Work," to find a brief summary of Milton's ma- jor contributions to economic thought and em-

fice was still subject to the WPB because his agency had control over raw materials. Hart closes with chapters on postwar policy and the cold war. His discussions present his take on the oft-mentioned Bush-Kilgore conflict over post- war science policy and military control of re- search and development during the cold war.

Hart's book covers a lot of territory but pro- vides very few well-developed examples to sup- port his arguments. Hart seems to think FDR's first administration was a total wash scientifi- cally, and yet during this period the U.S. De- partment of Agriculture formed regional labo- ratories that did significant scientific research on the use of surplus agricultural goods, research that later contributed to the formation of entire industries. In his chapter on the conflict involv- ing OPRD Hart draws on data from the WPB files at the National Archives, but he did not use the papers of Maury Maverick (his chief protag- onist) at the University of Texas, Austin. As a result, his treatment of the topic, although per- ceptive, lacks depth and does not break new ground. Quoting historians and dabbling with primary sources is not enough. Hart never really defines science and technology, perhaps affirm- ing his belief that they are largely misunder- stood. Forged Consensus may be brilliant po- litical science but it falls short of qualifying as history.

PETER NEUSHUL

Milton Friedman; Rose D. Friedman. Two Lucky People: Memoirs. xii + 660 pp., illus., bibl., index. Chicago/London: University of Chi- cago Press, 1998. $35.

In this joint memoir Milton and Rose Friedman tell the story of their lives: how two children from struggling immigrant families eventually attained places of honor, influence, and contro- versy throughout the world. The book is not fun- damentally personal, although it contains many personal anecdotes and the likable personalities of both authors show through. The Friedmans' focus is on intellectual and political matters: on the development of the ideas that have been Mil- ton's highly influential contributions to eco- nomic thought and on both Friedmans' work on public policy and libertarian philosophy.

Anyone interested in the development of eco- nomic thought in the twentieth century will find this book valuable. Readers who are short of time can turn to Chapter 16, entitled "Scholarly Work," to find a brief summary of Milton's ma- jor contributions to economic thought and em-

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BOOK REVIEWS-ISIS, 91: 1 (2000) BOOK REVIEWS-ISIS, 91: 1 (2000)

pirical work, the innovations for which he re- ceived the Nobel Prize in 1976. But it would be a shame to limit one's reading to this chapter alone. Many of the major figures in the devel- opment of economics in the twentieth century appear throughout the book. And one finds in- sights into the history of economic thought and education beginning with the Friedmans' ac- count of their undergraduate days, when Rose was studying at the University of Chicago and Milton at Rutgers University, where he was led to economics by Arthur Bums and Homer Jones.

In 1932 Rose and Milton entered the graduate program in economics at the University of Chi- cago; they met in their first course in price the- ory. The budding young scholars introduce us to their teachers (among them Jacob Viner, Frank Knight, Henry Schultz, Harold Hotelling, and Wesley Mitchell) and fellow students (including George Stigler and Allan Wallis). The later De- pression years took Milton and Rose to New Deal Washington for government work, and Mil- ton, like many young economists, worked for the government during the Second World War as well. A Keynesian at the time, he helped to de- velop the system of income tax withholding. He fully recognizes the irony of his role in estab- lishing an efficient system for collecting taxes to fund the big government that he and Rose now criticize so vehemently; he notes that "the road to Leviathan is paved with good intentions" (p. 123). The firsthand experience with government work laid the foundation for the Friedmans' later criticisms of bureaucracies and the inefficiencies of government.

After the war, following a brief period marred by anti-Semitism and faculty politics at Wiscon- sin, Milton was offered a position at the Univer- sity of Chicago, where he remained until his re- tirement in 1977. The very productive years in Chicago are covered in chapters on the univer- sity, the department, and teaching. These chap- ters are useful for their observations on the de- velopment of the "Chicago School" of economics, but they are far from the most lively parts of the book. Perhaps the scholarly life does not make for exciting prose.

The Friedmans' accounts of their foreign trav- els and their political involvement are more an- imated. In the United States Milton advised Barry Goldwater, Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan. Having traveled widely, he has also ad- vised many foreign leaders, to whom he has un- failingly preached the doctrine of flexible ex- change rates and the virtues of the free market. Friedman uses a considerable portion of this book to lay out his explanation for the trip to

pirical work, the innovations for which he re- ceived the Nobel Prize in 1976. But it would be a shame to limit one's reading to this chapter alone. Many of the major figures in the devel- opment of economics in the twentieth century appear throughout the book. And one finds in- sights into the history of economic thought and education beginning with the Friedmans' ac- count of their undergraduate days, when Rose was studying at the University of Chicago and Milton at Rutgers University, where he was led to economics by Arthur Bums and Homer Jones.

In 1932 Rose and Milton entered the graduate program in economics at the University of Chi- cago; they met in their first course in price the- ory. The budding young scholars introduce us to their teachers (among them Jacob Viner, Frank Knight, Henry Schultz, Harold Hotelling, and Wesley Mitchell) and fellow students (including George Stigler and Allan Wallis). The later De- pression years took Milton and Rose to New Deal Washington for government work, and Mil- ton, like many young economists, worked for the government during the Second World War as well. A Keynesian at the time, he helped to de- velop the system of income tax withholding. He fully recognizes the irony of his role in estab- lishing an efficient system for collecting taxes to fund the big government that he and Rose now criticize so vehemently; he notes that "the road to Leviathan is paved with good intentions" (p. 123). The firsthand experience with government work laid the foundation for the Friedmans' later criticisms of bureaucracies and the inefficiencies of government.

After the war, following a brief period marred by anti-Semitism and faculty politics at Wiscon- sin, Milton was offered a position at the Univer- sity of Chicago, where he remained until his re- tirement in 1977. The very productive years in Chicago are covered in chapters on the univer- sity, the department, and teaching. These chap- ters are useful for their observations on the de- velopment of the "Chicago School" of economics, but they are far from the most lively parts of the book. Perhaps the scholarly life does not make for exciting prose.

The Friedmans' accounts of their foreign trav- els and their political involvement are more an- imated. In the United States Milton advised Barry Goldwater, Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan. Having traveled widely, he has also ad- vised many foreign leaders, to whom he has un- failingly preached the doctrine of flexible ex- change rates and the virtues of the free market. Friedman uses a considerable portion of this book to lay out his explanation for the trip to

Chile that became a flashpoint for continuing controversy and ugly demonstrations, most no- tably at the Nobel ceremonies.

Although it is enjoyable to read and offers fas- cinating glimpses of the development of eco- nomics in the twentieth century, this book is for the most part quite unemotional, even dull. But, when they speak about their work to persuade policy makers and the general public of the vir- tues of unfettered markets, then the Friedmans' passion glows. Both in their books and in a tele- vision series (Free to Choose), Milton and Rose Friedman have argued for their conviction that markets are the cure for most human ills and that government action nearly always leads to evil. Even people who are not persuaded by their fer- vor will understand it better after reading this book.

ELYCE J. ROTELLA

* Reference Tools

Annelies Stockinger; Joachim Telle (Editors). Die Alchemiebibliothek des Alexander von Ber- nus in der Badischen Landesbibliothek Karls- ruhe: Katalog der Drucke und Handschriften. Foreword by Peter Michael Ehrle. viii + 370 pp., illus., bibls., indexes. Wiesbaden: Harras- sowitz Verlag, 1997. DM 198.

Alexander von Bemus was a poet and publisher who enjoyed close connections with some of the leading lights of early twentieth-century German literature. He combined his literary interests with a passion for alchemy and esoteric spirituality. His fascination with traditional alchemy bore fruit in his popular work Alchemie und Heilkunst (1936), and over the course of his life Bemus assembled an impressive yet selective alchemi- cal library including nearly six hundred printed works. Bernus was hardly a disinterested book collector: the scope of his library and his use of it reveals him to have been a true believer in traditional alchemy.

This volume is a lavish catalogue of Bernus's alchemical library, which is currently housed in the Badische Landesbibliothek in Karlsruhe, Germany. The highlight of the catalogue is the masterly essay by Joachim Telle, a leading ex- pert on Paracelsica, alchemy, and early modem poetry, which provides a historical introduction and an overview of the collection. The bulk of the text is devoted to an exhaustive catalogue of the library itself compiled by Annelies Stockin- ger. An assortment of black-and-white alchemi-

Chile that became a flashpoint for continuing controversy and ugly demonstrations, most no- tably at the Nobel ceremonies.

Although it is enjoyable to read and offers fas- cinating glimpses of the development of eco- nomics in the twentieth century, this book is for the most part quite unemotional, even dull. But, when they speak about their work to persuade policy makers and the general public of the vir- tues of unfettered markets, then the Friedmans' passion glows. Both in their books and in a tele- vision series (Free to Choose), Milton and Rose Friedman have argued for their conviction that markets are the cure for most human ills and that government action nearly always leads to evil. Even people who are not persuaded by their fer- vor will understand it better after reading this book.

ELYCE J. ROTELLA

* Reference Tools

Annelies Stockinger; Joachim Telle (Editors). Die Alchemiebibliothek des Alexander von Ber- nus in der Badischen Landesbibliothek Karls- ruhe: Katalog der Drucke und Handschriften. Foreword by Peter Michael Ehrle. viii + 370 pp., illus., bibls., indexes. Wiesbaden: Harras- sowitz Verlag, 1997. DM 198.

Alexander von Bemus was a poet and publisher who enjoyed close connections with some of the leading lights of early twentieth-century German literature. He combined his literary interests with a passion for alchemy and esoteric spirituality. His fascination with traditional alchemy bore fruit in his popular work Alchemie und Heilkunst (1936), and over the course of his life Bemus assembled an impressive yet selective alchemi- cal library including nearly six hundred printed works. Bernus was hardly a disinterested book collector: the scope of his library and his use of it reveals him to have been a true believer in traditional alchemy.

This volume is a lavish catalogue of Bernus's alchemical library, which is currently housed in the Badische Landesbibliothek in Karlsruhe, Germany. The highlight of the catalogue is the masterly essay by Joachim Telle, a leading ex- pert on Paracelsica, alchemy, and early modem poetry, which provides a historical introduction and an overview of the collection. The bulk of the text is devoted to an exhaustive catalogue of the library itself compiled by Annelies Stockin- ger. An assortment of black-and-white alchemi-

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