Description: A new perspective to some of the most enduring questions about the role of physics in American history.
Review Quotes: For more than half a century, the number of physicists focused on atomic matter in bulk have greatly outnumbered the small priesthood devoted to high-energy physics. In this richly textured and fascinating historical study, Martin charts how solid state physicists plied intellectual pluralism and institutional savvy to become the dominant branch of the American physics community.--David Kaiser