Collection context
Summary
- Abstract:
- Papers relating to writer and public policy analyst William Lanouette's research for Genius in the Shadows: A Biography of Leo Szilard, the Man Behind the Bomb, published in 1994 with Szilard's brother Bela Silard as co-author. Research materials are mostly photocopies of correspondence, clippings, patent documents, and other materials related to Szilard's life and work. The collection also contains 180 audio cassette tapes of interviews with friends, colleagues, and coworkers of Szilard.
- Extent:
- 5 Linear feet (7 archives boxes, 11 card file boxes)
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
-
Lanouette/Szilard Papers, MSS 659. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The Lanouette/Szilard Papers document Lanouette's research for the book Genius in the Shadows, a biography on physicist Leo Szilard's life and works. The collection is arranged in three series: 1) SUBJECT FILES, 2) WRITINGS BY LANOUETTE, and 3) INTERVIEWS ON CASSETTE TAPE.
Series 1: SUBJECT FILES
The SUBJECT FILES series holds the majority of Lanouette's research materials and dates from 1920 to 2006. It is arranged in four subseries: A) Leo Szilard, B) Translations of Leo Szilard Letters to Gertrude Weiss Szilard, C) Patents, and D) Other Subjects.
A) The Leo Szilard subseries contains materials relating directly to Szilard including biographical information, writings, speeches, and clippings collected by Lanouette.
B) The Translations of Leo Szilard Letters to Gertrud Weiss Szilard subseries contains Josef Ernst's English translations of Szilard's German letters dated 1937-1959 to his wife, Gertrud Weiss Szilard. Collection MSS 650, Leo Szilard Letters to Gertrud Weiss Szilard, at the UCSD Mandeville Special Collections Library, contains some, though not all, of the original letters in German.
C) The Patents subseries contains applications, agreements, and correspondence on patents sought by Szilard and Einstein.
D) The Other Subjects subseries is arranged alphabetically by subject name. Materials were used in Lanouette's research and include newspaper clippings, interview transcripts, Lanouette's notes, and some correspondence. Research topics include Albert Einstein, Enrico Fermi, Henry Kissinger, and Robert Oppenheimer.
Series 2: WRITINGS BY LANOUETTE
The WRITINGS BY LANOUETTE series contains photocopies, some annotated, of Lanouette's articles relating to Szilard and the Manhattan Project. The articles date 1992-2006 and are arranged alphabetically by title in one folder.
Series 3: INTERVIEWS ON CASSETTE TAPE
The INTERVIEWS ON CASSETTE TAPE series comprises 180 audio cassette tapes of interviews with 117 friends, colleagues, and coworkers of Szilard. The interviews were conducted by Lanouette between 1982 and 1988, with the majority dating after 1985. The series is arranged alphabetically by the last name of the interviewee. In the cases where there was more than one person interviewed on a single tape, the tape was filed under the name Lanouette listed first.
- Biographical / historical:
-
William Lanouette is a writer and public policy analyst whose main focus has been nuclear energy and nuclear weapons. He has written for The Atlantic, The Economist, and The Washinton Post, and has served as the Washington correspondent for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. From 1991-2006 he served as a senior analyst for energy and science issues at the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
Published in 1994, Genius in the Shadows was Lanouette's first book.
- Acquisition information:
- Acquired 2004-2012.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Audiocassette recordings in boxes 8 through 18 in the INTERVIEWS ON CASSETTE TAPE series are restricted. Researchers must request user copies be produced. Also, the collection contains some photocopies of originals held by other institutions. Should users want reproductions of these documents, they must contact the owning institution.
- Terms of access:
-
Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection.
- Preferred citation:
-
Lanouette/Szilard Papers, MSS 659. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego.
- Location of this collection:
-
9500 Gilman Drive, Dept. 0175La Jolla, CA 92093-0175, US
- Contact:
- (858) 534-2533