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Nucleus: The History of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited
In the history of a controversial Crown corporation, Robert Bothwell explores Canada’s role in producing, using, and reporting nuclear technology. He chronicles the growth of the nuclear industry from its original military connections to current applications of nuclear energy as a power resource. As the industry's focus changed, so did public attitudes. Nucleus explores the shift from popular support for the technology in the post-war era, when enthusiasm for science and scientific marvels was widespread, to the 1970s and 1980s, when environmental and peace activism eroded public endorsement of nuclear development.
Bothwell takes the reader to the Chalk River laboratory, a hundred miles northwest of Ottawa, where most of Canada's atomic activity was concentrated. To house the staff, the National Research Council built a suburb in the wilderness and poured money into the creation of a model village, Deep River, a place that staff members either loved or left. The existence of the community fostered a strong esprit de corps among the scientists, which contributed significantly to the laboratory's achievements. It may also, Bothwell suggests, have engendered a sense of elitism which worked against the accomplishment of some of its objectives.
Much of the role of AECL, was determined by C.D. Howe, the federal cabinet minister responsible. Working with W.J. Bennett, then president of AECL, Howe devised a clear and comprehensive industrial strategy for the design, manufacture, and marketing of the technology. It was an industrial strategy of a kind seldom found in Canada, one which crossed delicate jurisdictional boundaries between federal and provincial governments, manifest in the key relationship between AECL and Ontario Hydro. As AECL has moved into international markets, it has had to face private-sector competitors while meeting the standards of political accountability applied to a Crown corporation.
The story of AECL is one of international scientific development, of domestic industrial and political strategies, and of ongoing public controversy. It is also the story of a generation of young men who accepted a challenge to grapple with the most advanced aspect of contemporary science.
ROBERT BOTHWELL is Professor of History at the University of Toronto. He is the author of Eldorado: Canada's National Uranium Company and, with Ian Drummond and John English, of Canada since 1945 and Canada 1900-1945.
- from the dust jacket
Bothwell takes the reader to the Chalk River laboratory, a hundred miles northwest of Ottawa, where most of Canada's atomic activity was concentrated. To house the staff, the National Research Council built a suburb in the wilderness and poured money into the creation of a model village, Deep River, a place that staff members either loved or left. The existence of the community fostered a strong esprit de corps among the scientists, which contributed significantly to the laboratory's achievements. It may also, Bothwell suggests, have engendered a sense of elitism which worked against the accomplishment of some of its objectives.
Much of the role of AECL, was determined by C.D. Howe, the federal cabinet minister responsible. Working with W.J. Bennett, then president of AECL, Howe devised a clear and comprehensive industrial strategy for the design, manufacture, and marketing of the technology. It was an industrial strategy of a kind seldom found in Canada, one which crossed delicate jurisdictional boundaries between federal and provincial governments, manifest in the key relationship between AECL and Ontario Hydro. As AECL has moved into international markets, it has had to face private-sector competitors while meeting the standards of political accountability applied to a Crown corporation.
The story of AECL is one of international scientific development, of domestic industrial and political strategies, and of ongoing public controversy. It is also the story of a generation of young men who accepted a challenge to grapple with the most advanced aspect of contemporary science.
ROBERT BOTHWELL is Professor of History at the University of Toronto. He is the author of Eldorado: Canada's National Uranium Company and, with Ian Drummond and John English, of Canada since 1945 and Canada 1900-1945.
- from the dust jacket
- GenresCanada
544 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1988
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About the author
Robert Bothwell
36 books12 followersRobert Bothwell is a professor of Canadian history, and the foremost scholar on Canadian Cold War participation, as well as a frequently published author.
Bothwell completed his BA at the University of Toronto and his PhD at Harvard University. He is currently Director of the University of Toronto's International Relations program at Trinity College, where he is a fellow, and a professor of Canadian political and diplomatic history. Bothwell holds the May Gluskin Chair in Canadian History. His research interests include modern Canadian history and political, diplomatic and military history. Bothwell is an expert on Canada-U.S. relations.
Bothwell completed his BA at the University of Toronto and his PhD at Harvard University. He is currently Director of the University of Toronto's International Relations program at Trinity College, where he is a fellow, and a professor of Canadian political and diplomatic history. Bothwell holds the May Gluskin Chair in Canadian History. His research interests include modern Canadian history and political, diplomatic and military history. Bothwell is an expert on Canada-U.S. relations.
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