Daniel Sarewitz worked for four years on science policy issues for the U.S. Congress, first as a Congressional
Science Fellow, and then as science consultant to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, U.S. House of
Representatives. He now directs the Institute for Environmental Education at the Geological Society of America.
Review
"This is a period of change and challenge for our science and technology enterprise. This book provides
invaluable insight into the origins of that change and examines ways to turn the challenge into opportunity. For
those seeking fresh perspectives on modern science policy, Frontiers of Illusion should be a part of your library.
For those in the science and technology community seeking to survive these tumultuous times, Frontiers of Illusion
is essential reading."
--Congressman George E. Brown, Jr.
Temple University Press Web Site, February, 2001
Summary
For the past fifty years, science and technology--supported with billions of dollars from the U.S. government--have
advanced at a rate that would once have seemed miraculous, while society's problems have grown more intractable,
complex, and diverse. Yet scientists and politicians alike continue to prescribe more science and more technology
to cure such afflictions as global climate change, natural resource depletion, overpopulation, inadequate health
care, weapons proliferation, and economic inequality.
Daniel Sarewitz scrutinizes the fundamental myths that have guided the formulation of science policy for half a
century--myths that serve the professional and political interests of the scientific community, but often fail to
advance the interests of society as a whole. His analysis ultimately demonstrates that stronger linkages between
progress in science and progress in society will require research agendas that emerge not from the intellectual
momentum of science, but from the needs and goals of society.
