Making Science History

Arnold Thackray's many roles in the public life of scholarship include founding and building both the Science History Institute and the University of Pennsylvania's Department of History and Sociology of Science. Earlier, he was central to the creation of what would become the Churchill Archives Centre (the largest repository of Winston Churchill's papers) at Churchill College, University of Cambridge. He also served as treasurer of the American Council of Learned Societies for over a decade. Thackray has written or edited many books on the modern technosciences, from Atoms and Powers: An Essay on Newtonian Matter-Theory and the Development of Chemistry to Moore's Law: The Life of Gordon Moore, Silicon Valley's Quiet Revolutionary.

"Arnold Thackray narrates the rise of history of science within American academia with verve and an insider's insight. His memoir is an homage not only to his field but to his longtime home of Philadelphia, where institutions, ideas, and (not inconsequentially) money enabled him-and history of science-to flourish." - Angela N. H. Creager, Thomas M. Siebel Professor in the History of Science, Princeton University "Arnold Thackray has carved out a long, very distinguished career building institutions at the intersection of science and history. In his wonderful memoir he reveals many of his secrets to working successfully at this difficult but worthwhile endeavor. Thackray has filled this book with insight, wisdom, humor, and often disarming candor. Making Science History should be required reading for CEOs, historians, board directors, and fundraisers everywhere. It's a treasure of personal, thoughtful reflection at its best." - John C. Hollar, Former CEO, Computer History Museum "In Making Science History, Arnold Thackray recounts a fascinating life building institutions and helping launch the new field of social studies of science. Raised by a mother whose own intellectual aspirations were frustrated by a lack of opportunities for career advancement, and educated during the rise of meritocratic ideology in the UK, he became a leading entrepreneur in higher education during the American Century. A wonderful read for anyone interested in the history of science." - Babak Ashrafi, Consortium for History of Science, Technology and Medicine "How did the contemporary techno- and medical sciences become crucial subjects for historians of modernity? Arnold Thackray's Making Science History is an original answer, presented in a clear and vivid prose style, by a scholar and entrepreneur who had a knack for being where the historical action is. His eyewitness stories of the varied people who conceived of scientific modernity are both insightful and entertaining. You don't have to be a professional historian to love this book: it's a really good read." - Robert Kohler, Professor Emeritus, History and Sociology of Science, University of Pennsylvania "In Making Science History, the superb storyteller Arnold Thackray presents a vivid account of his life as one of the great institution-builders in the field of science history. He captures the clash of academic egos, the rules of donor courtship rituals, and the pettiness that can sometimes prevail in scholarly worlds, all with an insider's understanding and high enthusiasm for his subject matter. Surprisingly open about both his successes and his challenges, Thackray illuminates the rise of a new discipline and the culture of twentieth-century academic life." - M. Susan Lindee, Professor, History and Sociology of Science, University of Pennsylvania "Making Science History combines a compelling memoir with a perceptive history of our evolving understanding of the cultural meanings of natural knowledge in the postwar world. Tracing his own pioneering career as an historian of science and successful academic entrepreneur from mid-century Manchester through institution-building in Philadelphia in the 1970s and 1980s to new opportunities in Silicon Valley in this century, Arnold Thackray helps make sense of the world in which we live, learn, work, and play. Written in his characteristically lively style, Professor Thackray's thoughtful and provocative narrative is highly recommended." - Jeffrey Sturchio, Chairman, Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, TB, and Malaria