"Greene offers an intriguing argument to explain why the president failed [to negotiate a comprehensive nuclear test-ban treaty with the USSR]. His book is carefully crafted, it is methodologically sound, and it makes a genuine contribution to scholarship on the politics of science and technology in the cold war. Greene's conclusions, however, are bound to be controversial because of what they say not only about science advice but about Eisenhower's control over his own administration." - Technology and Culture "Greene's thoroughly researched and well-written book promotes a clear thesis: The scientists who advised Eisenhower played the 'pivotal role' in shaping his attitudes about the test ban and thus shaped the test-ban debate." - Journal of American History "This is a very valuable study, based on an exhaustive survey of the sources that have become available in the past four decades of what may, or may not, have been an important missed opportunity for a total ban on nuclear testing before 1961." - Parameters "Greene demonstrates thoroughly, in so doing superseding previous scholarship, that Eisenhower personally wanted a test ban." - Journal of Military History "Benjamin P. Greene's monograph is an exemplary study of the interaction of geopolitics, bureaucratic maneuvering, and scientific claims during the Dwight D. Eisenhower administration. The careful research and important arguments of Greene's monograph make it essential reading for historians interested in the Cold War, arms control, nuclear decision making, and the history of science policy." - American Historical Review "Greene's book is a valuable addition to the historical literature on US policy on nuclear weapons and on the role of presidential science advising in the early Cold War period. [Greene] succeeds in making a strong case that Eisenhower was disappointed that he did not achieve a nuclear test-ban treaty during his presidency." - ISIS "Greene provides a major and convincing new interpretation of Eisenhower's efforts, and shows that they were heavily influenced by the scientific advice he received . . . It is strongly recommended to those interested in the history of scientific-political interaction, nuclear research and diplomacy, and of the Eisenhower presidency." - The International History Review "Other scholars have written about science advice in presidential administrations, but Benjamin P. Greene's account is the most thorough on the complicated role of scientists in the ongoing development of Eisenhower's test ban policies." - The Historian
