The San Francisco Nexus in World War II: Freedoms Found, Liberties Lost, and the Atomic Bomb

by Philip E. Meza

Overview

In The San Francisco Nexus in World War II: Freedoms Found, Liberties Lost, and the Atomic Bomb, Meza tells the story of important events in the San Francisco Bay Area that have consequences still felt to date. He traces the invention of the atomic bomb, from a speculative design for a nuclear weapon sketched on a chalkboard at Berkeley by theoretical physicist Robert Oppenheimer and helped made real by “Big Science” that was pioneered by his friend and colleague, experimental physicist Ernest Lawrence. During this time, Black Americans migrated to San Francisco to escape the Jim Crow South, finding new freedoms, good jobs, and a leader in a singer-turned-welder named Joseph James. Meza shows how James fought for and won an end to segregation in his union, taking a large step toward the civil rights movement. At the same time, Japanese Americans were forced from their homes by a tragically misguided presidential executive order, upheld by the US Supreme Court, illustrating the fragility of liberty in America. These events continue to shape the world today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781666941579
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	09/05/2023
Pages:	244
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.69(d)

About the Author

Philip E. Meza is strategy consultant and researcher researcher whose books have been translated into multiple languages and used in universities around the world.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Chapter 1: The Crucible by the Bay
Chapter 2: Bridging the New World
Chapter 3: Gold Comes to Berkeley
Chapter 4: Making the Desert Bloom
Chapter 5: A Hit on Treasure Island
Chapter 6: Fission from the Old World
Chapter 7: Panic in California
Chapter 8: Drumbeat to Internment
Chapter 9: Developing the Means
Chapter 10: Sketching the Atomic Bomb
Chapter 11: A National Disgrace
Chapter 12: Nearer to Free: Black Migration to San Francisco
Chapter 13: The Baritone Who Broke the Jim Crow Union
Chapter 14: Out of LeConte and Into Los Alamos
Chapter 15: The World Comes to San Francisco
Chapter 16: Jack Kennedy Present at the Creation
Chapter 17: Trinity and After
Chapter 18: Gold in Peace, Iron in War
Bibliography
About the Author

Editorial Reviews

Following in the best tradition of famed California historian Kenneth Star, The San Francisco Nexus in World War II by Philip E. Meza takes the reader on a kaleidoscopic tour of the city by the Bay at a crucial moment in world history. From the pioneering work in splitting the atom on the campus of UC Berkeley to the jazz filled streets of the Fillmore district, Meza's work connects the threads of war, prejudice, science, and the personal dramas of figures ranging from J. Robert Oppenheimer to a young John F. Kennedy in a gripping historical narrative of the San Francisco Bay Area and its connection to a larger world at the dawn of the atomic age.” —Sean Malloy, University of California, Merced

“Philip E. Meza’s beautifully written The San Francisco Nexus in World War II takes a complex story and transforms it into a compelling narrative. Meza also makes a number of important contributions to several areas of scholarly inquiry: the history of science, the development of the atomic bomb, the history of the San Francisco Bay Area during World War II, California history, and even the history of the University of California at Berkeley.” —Christopher D. O'Sullivan, University of San Francisco

From the Publisher

Philip E. Meza’s beautifully written The San Francisco Nexus in World War II takes a complex story and transforms it into a compelling narrative. Meza also makes a number of important contributions to several areas of scholarly inquiry: the history of science, the development of the atomic bomb, the history of the San Francisco Bay Area during World War II, California history, and even the history of the University of California at Berkeley.

Christopher D. O'Sullivan

Following in the best tradition of famed California historian Kenneth Star, The San Francisco Nexus in World War II by Philip E. Meza takes the reader on a kaleidoscopic tour of the city by the Bay at a crucial moment in world history. From the pioneering work in splitting the atom on the campus of UC Berkeley to the jazz filled streets of the Fillmore district, Meza#39;s work connects the threads of war, prejudice, science, and the personal dramas of figures ranging from J. Robert Oppenheimer to a young John F. Kennedy in a gripping historical narrative of the San Francisco Bay Area and its connection to a larger world at the dawn of the atomic age.

Sean Malloy