Tuxedo Park: A Wall Street Tycoon and the Secret Palace of Science That Changed the Course of World War II
, subject: Alfred Lee Loomis, his private science laboratory at Tuxedo Park, and his leading role organizing WWII radar research, 2002
Alfred Lee Loomis, a financier turned scientist, ran a private research lab of his own during the World War II era.
About the book
The biography follows Loomis from finance and his laboratory at Tuxedo Park into the wartime mobilization of civilian science. Working with figures such as Ernest Lawrence and Vannevar Bush, Loomis used money, relationships, and intense focus to accelerate radar and nuclear research while operating far outside a conventional academic career.
Why read it
Best if you want a World War II science and technology story about a financier turned scientist, his private lab, and the choice of which single problem deserves full concentration.
Key themes
- From finance to a private lab
- The single most important problem
Evidence and original sources
Sources: official Founders episodes — #143, #165, #214, #227, #243, #263, #270
David calls it one of the most surprising, almost-unbelievable books he's covered on the podcast.
- Alfred Lee Loomis (the most interesting man you've never heard of) — This entire episode is built around Jennet Conant's Tuxedo Park, the story of financier-turned-scientist Alfred Lee Loomis and his private WWII-era research lab.
- William Shockley (Creator of the Electronic Age) — David points listeners back to his earlier Founders coverage (~#140) of Tuxedo Park for more on wartime scientists.
- Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography — David references reading this book for episode 143.
- The Essays of Warren Buffett — David calls Tuxedo Park a fantastic book and identifies its central lesson as focusing on the single most important problem.
- Francis Greenburger (Real Estate Billionaire) — David says he read Alfred Lee Loomis's biography, identifies it as Founders Episode 143, and recalls the palace of science at the center of the book.
- Land's Polaroid: A Company and the Man Who Invented It — David says he covered Alfred Lee Loomis from Tuxedo Park on Founders number 143.