The Rickover Effect: How One Man Made a Difference

More than anyone else, Adm. Hyman G. Rickover made nuclear power a reality. Building on the scientific breakthroughs of the atomic bomb project, he created the nuclear Navy almost overnight, when nearly everyone else thought it was a pipe dream, and built the world’s first commercial atomic power station. He did most of this in a single decade.

Rickover’s incredible ability to get things done won his program wide public acclaim and personal honors that included presidential citations, honora...