"Creating the New World: Stories & Images from the Dawn of the Atomic Age" (AuthorHouse), won first-place in the Science category of the ninth annual Independent Publishers Book Awards. Judges’ comments included “A scientist who's a splendid storyteller -- what a treat!...I was hooked from the first page…This book is a winner!”
The competition attracted 2200 books from 1500 publishers, representing all 50 of the United States, nine Canadian provinces, and 18 foreign countries. This is the third national recognition of Dr. Rockwell’s well-received book. It was acclaimed Book of the Year (non-fiction) in the JADA Press Annual Book Award Competition, and Book of the Month by the Manhattan Project Heritage Preservation Association.
Four-star Admiral James Watkins, Chief of Naval Operations from 1982 to 1986 and Secretary of Energy from 1989 to 1993, calls Rockwell “a gifted scientist, engineer, visionary and author,” and writes that he is “eminently qualified to tell us the true story and set the images straight.”
Dr. Glenn Seaborg, Nobel Laureate, co-discoverer of plutonium, advisor to U.S. Presidents, writes in the Foreword that the book, “presents in vivid, human terms many of the young scientists and engineers who first harnessed this primal force…an enlightening and fascinating account.”
Dr. Frederick Seitz, President Emeritus, Rockefeller University and President, National Academy of Sciences (1962-69) writes, “This is a wonderful account…He relates his story with a freshness that brings back many memories…His saga makes it seem as though it had all happened yesterday.”
Dr. John Gibbons, Director, Congressional Office of Technology Assessment (1980-93) writes, “Ted Rockwell has summed up more than a half-century of personal experiences as a pioneer in the nuclear age…His book is an important gift to this and coming generations.”
Richard Rhodes, popular historian, Pulitzer-winning author, calls it “a unique contribution…I don’t know of any other book that covers the same ground…It doesn’t hurt that you’re an engaging storyteller, present at the creation.”
Rockwell was at the Manhattan Project’s secret wartime city, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, for the atomic birthing process. In 1949, he was selected by Admiral Rickover for his headquarters, became Technical Director, and remained there 15 years. He has been a key participant in nuclear energy development ever since, working both for the Navy and for the new Atomic Energy Commission and then for the engineering firm, MPR Associates that he started with two colleagues in 1964.
Rockwell’s previous book, “The Rickover Effect: How One Man Made a Difference,” was also highly acclaimed. It was nominated for a National Book Award, and its original hardcover edition (Naval Institute Press), after four printings, was followed by a John Wiley paperback, a Chinese language edition, and excerpts in the Reader’s Digest, both national and international editions. Last year, the Authors Guild published a new edition that is still in print.
The book focuses on the enigmatic, charismatic self-made admiral who almost single-handedly converted the Navy’s major vessels to nuclear propulsion and nearly simultaneously, under President Eisenhower’s Atoms for Peace Program, built the world’s first commercial atomic power station and all the technology, trained personnel and infrastructure that sustains it. Most of today’s nuclear power plants are built on that same technology, which has also transformed much of non-nuclear industry, energy production, medicine, research and many hidden aspects of our everyday life.
The competition attracted 2200 books from 1500 publishers, representing all 50 of the United States, nine Canadian provinces, and 18 foreign countries. This is the third national recognition of Dr. Rockwell’s well-received book. It was acclaimed Book of the Year (non-fiction) in the JADA Press Annual Book Award Competition, and Book of the Month by the Manhattan Project Heritage Preservation Association.
Four-star Admiral James Watkins, Chief of Naval Operations from 1982 to 1986 and Secretary of Energy from 1989 to 1993, calls Rockwell “a gifted scientist, engineer, visionary and author,” and writes that he is “eminently qualified to tell us the true story and set the images straight.”
Dr. Glenn Seaborg, Nobel Laureate, co-discoverer of plutonium, advisor to U.S. Presidents, writes in the Foreword that the book, “presents in vivid, human terms many of the young scientists and engineers who first harnessed this primal force…an enlightening and fascinating account.”
Dr. Frederick Seitz, President Emeritus, Rockefeller University and President, National Academy of Sciences (1962-69) writes, “This is a wonderful account…He relates his story with a freshness that brings back many memories…His saga makes it seem as though it had all happened yesterday.”
Dr. John Gibbons, Director, Congressional Office of Technology Assessment (1980-93) writes, “Ted Rockwell has summed up more than a half-century of personal experiences as a pioneer in the nuclear age…His book is an important gift to this and coming generations.”
Richard Rhodes, popular historian, Pulitzer-winning author, calls it “a unique contribution…I don’t know of any other book that covers the same ground…It doesn’t hurt that you’re an engaging storyteller, present at the creation.”
Rockwell was at the Manhattan Project’s secret wartime city, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, for the atomic birthing process. In 1949, he was selected by Admiral Rickover for his headquarters, became Technical Director, and remained there 15 years. He has been a key participant in nuclear energy development ever since, working both for the Navy and for the new Atomic Energy Commission and then for the engineering firm, MPR Associates that he started with two colleagues in 1964.
Rockwell’s previous book, “The Rickover Effect: How One Man Made a Difference,” was also highly acclaimed. It was nominated for a National Book Award, and its original hardcover edition (Naval Institute Press), after four printings, was followed by a John Wiley paperback, a Chinese language edition, and excerpts in the Reader’s Digest, both national and international editions. Last year, the Authors Guild published a new edition that is still in print.
"The Rickover Effect" focuses on the enigmatic, charismatic self-made admiral who almost single-handedly converted the Navy’s major vessels to nuclear propulsion and nearly simultaneously, under President Eisenhower’s Atoms for Peace Program, built the world’s first commercial atomic power station and all the technology, trained personnel and infrastructure that sustains it. Most of today’s nuclear power plants are built on that same technology, which has also transformed much of non-nuclear industry, energy production, medicine, research and many hidden aspects of our everyday life.
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