From John Gibbons, one of the world's most influential scientists, comes an insightful, multifaceted exploration of one of the central issues of our time: the impact of government policy on scientific and technological advancement.

Perhaps no one has a clearer understanding of this issue than John H. Gibbons, Science Advisor to President Clinton. With his extensive experience as a research physicist and as a government administrator and adviser, Gibbons is a uniquely perceptive observer and chronicler of the relationship between science and politics.

Comprising Gibbons's non-technical writings from the last three decades, This Gifted Age shows readers both the limiting and the liberating influences of government on technological research and development. In many of the articles, essays, and interviews collected here, Gibbons addresses the broad issue of the government's role in supporting, advocating, and directing technological advancement. Other selections focus on specific areas where science and government join forces in the service of society.

Together, these writings provide a behind-the-scenes look at national science and technology initiatives since 1972; they also chart the changing public and political attitudes that shaped those initiatives.

The partnership of science and government is a complex one: the drive to achieve common goals is often affected by conflicting priorities, economic constraints, political agendas, and the public mood. Yet, Gibbons argues, this partnership has produced, and should continue to produce, astonishing successes.