Tuxedo Park : A Wall Street Tycoon and the Secret Palace of Science That Changed the Course of World War II

Rating:
Summary: Amazing man, decent book
Review: The story of Alfred Loomis is rather amazing. He went from succesful wall street tycoon to significant scientist. He had no degree in science just a keen interest. Of course his money helped by giving him access to some of the best scientific minds of the time. I found the first half of the book a little slow, but from the beginning of WWII and the critical role Loomis played in the MIT "rad lab" and the development of radar I was flipping pages. I also recently read Enigma, about the British code breakers. It is hard to say which is the most important technical contribution to winning WWII, but is clear that the scientists and engineers played a key role in the winning war.

Rating:
Summary: A very poorly written story
Review: The subject of Tuxedo Park, Alfred Loomis, is an absolutely fascinating individual whose life story is so unique and so amazing that, were this book fiction, the reader would likely not believe it. Loomis, who undoubtedly was a brilliant left-brained rational thinker, was educated as a lawyer, rose through the ranks of a law firm, then quit to become one of the wealthiest bankers on Wall Street. He foresaw the 1929 stock market crash and cashed out beforehand, and then gave up his finance career to educate himself so that he could work on the very leading edge of scientific research in multiple fields, including biology, physics, astronomy, and (at the very end of his life), computer science. Because he possessed immense wealth, brains, and leadership qualities, as well as patriotism and a savvy understanding of geopolitics, he became a key individual who put together the multiple scientific labs and projects that helped the Allies win World War II.

Jennet Conant succeeds admirably in the primary objective of her book: to describe the many technical and leadership contributions Loomis made to the scientific efforts, especially the development of radar systems, that ultimately produced victory for the Allies in World War II. She makes a very strong case that without Loomis's leadership, the development of both radar and the atomic bomb would have been delayed, endangering the Allies' chances of success and resulting in many more lives lost. Loomis's World War II efforts and achievements occupy half the book; the remainder covers the rest of his biography.

Besides being a fascinating, engrossing story, Tuxedo Park has much to teach the reader. The common impression is that the development of the atomic bomb was the greatest scientific achievement in the Allies' victory; however, as one of the scientists says, "radar won the war, and the atomic bomb ended it". Radar was the weapon the Allies used to defeat the Germans' submarines, superior air force, and rocketry. Tuxedo Park also shows the interconnected web of relationships at the pinnacles of the worlds of science, academia, government, and business in the mid twentieth century. Rational thought alone does not produce results; all accomplishments involve humans, and Loomis was able to navigate these worlds and relationships with remarkable aplomb. The book also shows the negative side of Loomis and genius in general: the toll it exacts on family life, and the depression and suicide that plagues certain families.

I have only minor quibbles with Tuxedo Park. Loomis's pre-World War II achievements were so impressive and interesting that I would have enjoyed more detail about those years. When Conant describes the many inventions of Loomis and others, I often had difficulty visualizing them; some line drawings would have helped. And there are a few errors in the book, such as referring to the RAF when the author means the USAF.

I would recommend Tuxedo Park to anyone interested in biographies of scientific figures, as well as anyone who would appreciate a history lesson on the role science played in winning the last major world war.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating portrait of a brilliant man of science &business
Review: The subject of Tuxedo Park, Alfred Loomis, is an absolutely fascinating individual whose life story is so unique and so amazing that, were this book fiction, the reader would likely not believe it. Loomis, who undoubtedly was a brilliant left-brained rational thinker, was educated as a lawyer, rose through the ranks of a law firm, then quit to become one of the wealthiest bankers on Wall Street. He foresaw the 1929 stock market crash and cashed out beforehand, and then gave up his finance career to educate himself so that he could work on the very leading edge of scientific research in multiple fields, including biology, physics, astronomy, and (at the very end of his life), computer science. Because he possessed immense wealth, brains, and leadership qualities, as well as patriotism and a savvy understanding of geopolitics, he became a key individual who put together the multiple scientific labs and projects that helped the Allies win World War II.

Jennet Conant succeeds admirably in the primary objective of her book: to describe the many technical and leadership contributions Loomis made to the scientific efforts, especially the development of radar systems, that ultimately produced victory for the Allies in World War II. She makes a very strong case that without Loomis's leadership, the development of both radar and the atomic bomb would have been delayed, endangering the Allies' chances of success and resulting in many more lives lost. Loomis's World War II efforts and achievements occupy half the book; the remainder covers the rest of his biography.

Besides being a fascinating, engrossing story, Tuxedo Park has much to teach the reader. The common impression is that the development of the atomic bomb was the greatest scientific achievement in the Allies' victory; however, as one of the scientists says, "radar won the war, and the atomic bomb ended it". Radar was the weapon the Allies used to defeat the Germans' submarines, superior air force, and rocketry. Tuxedo Park also shows the interconnected web of relationships at the pinnacles of the worlds of science, academia, government, and business in the mid twentieth century. Rational thought alone does not produce results; all accomplishments involve humans, and Loomis was able to navigate these worlds and relationships with remarkable aplomb. The book also shows the negative side of Loomis and genius in general: the toll it exacts on family life, and the depression and suicide that plagues certain families.

I have only minor quibbles with Tuxedo Park. Loomis's pre-World War II achievements were so impressive and interesting that I would have enjoyed more detail about those years. When Conant describes the many inventions of Loomis and others, I often had difficulty visualizing them; some line drawings would have helped. And there are a few errors in the book, such as referring to the RAF when the author means the USAF.

I would recommend Tuxedo Park to anyone interested in biographies of scientific figures, as well as anyone who would appreciate a history lesson on the role science played in winning the last major world war.

Rating:
Summary: The poor writing detracts from the subject
Review: This is not a good book. The quality of the writing is so poor that the reader quickly loses interest in the subject, one Henry Lee Loomis - someone who may or may not have made significant historical contributions to science and/or the war effort during World War II.

Ms. Conant appears unable to distinguish between the relevant and the irrelevant and consequently includes minutiae at every turn. This served to cause me to want to speed-read through the book just to be done with it, and by the time I got to the part of the book that talks about Loomis' WW II contributions, I was inclined to dismiss as hyperbole the importance of Loomis' role in the cited accomplishments.

To make matters worse, Conant REALLY wants to include the story of her father's uncle's suicide and force upon it some sort of relevance. Unfortunately it goes nowhere and should have been left out.

I rarely have such a strongly negative reaction to something I've read that it spills over to the writer. I challenged myself to come up with three positive things to say about _Tuxedo Park_, and here they are:

One: The author is evidently enthusiastic about her subject.

Two: _Tuxedo Park_ can be read as a mildly interesting look into the priorities of the privileged class from which Ms. Conant springs. While I don't care in the least about the trauma felt by a philandering rich man and his apparently soulless paramour as a result of the shunning they received at the hands of the moneyed set, it apparently strikes Conant as poignant. Similarly, I would hardly classify the financial maneuverings Loomis and his partner undertook as praiseworthy, but Conant revels in his "brilliance." It's good to know these things.

Three: Crud. I can't come up with three.

I'm sure Ms. Conant is a good person who treats the hired help well. Even though I don't recommend it, it seems I'm in the minority. Most other reviewers are pleased with the book, so maybe it's just me. Hmmm...

Rating:
Summary: A Great Story, Horribly Written
Review: This is one of the most interesting stories I have ever read, and one of the shoddiest jobs of writing. If Alfred Loomis isn't the model for Bruce Wayne (aka Batman), then no one is; and if Jennet Conant's "Tuxedo Park" isn't an example of the sorry state of publishing - greedy, cynical, bottom-line conglomerates who care more about packaging than content - then nothing is. The blurbs on the dustjacket are all from fellow writers, a more logrolling bunch I've never seen; for no respectable critic could possibly provide this book with a usable blurb.

Alfred Loomis is one of the unsung heroes of 20th century American history, and I am grateful, that Miss Conant has brought this elusive man's times and achievements to light. For Alfred Loomis is, at least on a "guy" level, someone we all dream of being: a man with a "hobby" who, in order to support himself and family while pursuing it, first amasses a fortune. He reminds me of another "Yankee genius," composer Charles Ives, who made himself rich by inventing the field of insurance "estate planning" so that his family would not "suffer while I pursue my dissonances".

Loomis was indeed, as Miss Conant states, last of the great amateurs - in my opinion, in the same league with Christopher Wren and Benjamin Franklin. Not for glory or money, but for love of his hobby and patriotism was Loomis the driving force in the development of radar in World War II, arguably the decisive factor in the Allied victory; the (disputed) inventor of LORAN, the worldwide electronic navigation system for ships and aircraft only recently superceded by the satellite Global Positioning System (GPS); and a mentor and enabler for such pioneers in nuclear physics as Ernest Laurence, Luis Alvarez and George Kistiakowsky.

This incredible story is told by someone who, because of family ties to a key player in Alfred Loomis's life, has obtained an "exclusive" on all of his papers, as well as access to members of his extended family. Apparently, if Loomis's story is to be told, it shall be told by Miss Conant. What we are presented, then, is a shoddy patchwork of notes, slapped together without the least regard for narrative continuity and peppered throughout with grammatical amd factual gaffs. Here are just a few examples:

There is a sub-plot to the Loomis story, we are told - that of William Richards, a troubled genius, who wrote a "roman a clef" about Loomis's exploits shortly before commiting suicide. However, Richards' story is dealt with in the first chapter of the book and, except for citations which ornament chapter headings, is not heard from again. Then, there is Alfred Loomis's best friend and business partner Landon Thorne, who remains close to Loomis all their lives, but likewise disappears, after a one-chapter treatment toward the beginning.

In "Tuxedo Park," the cast of characters numbers into the dozens, yet individuals in this diverse lot are repeatedly referred to by last name only, even after a 20-30 page absence. And speaking of Tuxedo Park, the fabulous mansion for which this book is named is abruptly excused, midway through the book, with the meat of the action, that of Loomis's World War II work, occuring elsewhere. It is obvious, that "Tuxedo Park" is so named not because of Tuxedo Park's part in the Loomis story, which despite Conant's padding and fluff is only tangential, but because of its name cachet (Conant writes for Vanity Fair).

"During August, the Luftwaffe's losses in raids over England was 15 percent" (p.210)

"On Sunday morning, December 7, 1941, the Japanese hit Pearl Harbor...America was now at war on two fronts." (p.248)

The "It was a dark and stormy night" school of writing: "On a cold clear morning on Saturday, January 4, 1941" (p.217), "On a raw New England morning on January 10" (p.218), "On a bitter cold New England Morning on March 17" (p.242).

Photo caption: "...guestbook show the names of luminaries Einstein, Heisenberg and Bohr" No Heisenberg, no Bohr.

Moreover, much of the book, especially the scientific narrative, seems to be ghosted. There is a discernable style shift (and absence of gaffes) when Conant leaves the shop talk and returns to character study, of which there is precious little, despite the promise on the dustjacket. We are given the impression, that on a domestic level, Alfred Loomis was somewhat of a cad, but the evidence is cursory and inconsistent.

Jennet Conant is a magazine writer, and her short attention span shows flagrantly in "Tuxedo Park." If Simon and Schuster, the once great publishing house, had an ounce of integrity, they would have recognized the imminent worth of the Alfred Loomis story and the college term paper quality of Conant's manusript and assigned an editor worthy of the name to make a narrative palatable to an educated audience.

I don't know if Miss Conant knows or cares about the disservice she has done Alfred Loomis. I am sure Simon and Shuster knows. And it is obvious, that they don't care.

Rating:
Summary: THE LAST GREAT AMATEUR
Review: Today with university and industrial labs conducting research using multi-million dollar grants and government contracts, it is amazing that in before the 1930s a brilliant banker had established, financed and staffed a private research lab that was superior at the time to university laboratories. This book by Jennet Conant is the story of Albert Lee Loomis who not only established his lab in Tuxedo Park, NY, he also personally conducted research there. Outstanding scientists such as Albert Einstein, Enrico Fermi, Neils Bohr, etc. visited his lab with Einstein describing the lab as a "place of science."

Loomis while interested in science at Yale nevertheless when to Harvard Law School and upon graduation entered the New York law firm of Winthrop & Stimson; Stimpson was a cousin of Loomis. During WWI, Loomis jointed the army, received a commission and was sent to Aberdeen Proving Ground where he struck up a friendship with Robert Wood of Johns Hopkins University, considered America's most brilliant experimental physicist, who later became Loomis' mentor. One year after WWI Loomis went to work in the investment business and later with his brother-in-law as partner purchased their employer. Recognizing the approaching financial crisis of 1929, the partners took appropriate action, with Loomis making $50 million during the first years of the Depression.

Loomis had established his lab at Tuxedo Park in the 1920s leaving the day-to-day running of the lab to a lab manager. Loomis worked in the lab evenings and on weekends, working alongside accomplished scientists. In 1934 he quit Wall Street for good devoting fulltime to his lab. The text notes "He played a major role in the development of the electroencephalograph, which went on to become an extremely valuable diagnostic tool and is used routinely in hospitals to detect epilepsy as well as many other diseases."

Loomis and other scientists became concerned about reports of German advanced weaponry; and aided by MIT, Tuxedo Park, devoted its work to the development of secret war-related radar systems to detect airplanes. When the 1940 British technical mission came to America, they brought their magnetron oscillator; Loomis immediately recognized that a major breakthrough had occurred in radar development. Loomis lead the establishment of a secret radar lab at MIT, closed his lab and shipped his valuable equipment to MIT. "For the next four years, he would drive himself and his band of physicists almost without break to develop the all-important radar warning systems based on the magnetron." Also, Loomis conceived the basis for and directed the development of the Loran navigation system, a system critical for accurate aircraft navigation during bombing missions.

In 1941 Loomis's involvement with the MIT Lab, called the Rad Lab, became increasingly sporadic as he was pressed into service on uranium research. One leading scientist noted "...it was a great stroke of luck for the country that Loomis was involved in the uranium project from the beginning, not as an originator of ideas as much as an individual who knew how to exploit them..." contributing to "the remarkable lack of roadblocks experienced by the Army's Manhattan District, the builders of the atomic bombs."

By June 1943 nearly 6000 radar set based on the MIT Rad Lab designs had been delivered with production climbing past 2000 sets per month. In the opinion of many of his peers, Loomis' greatest contribution lay in the brilliant manner he and the Secretary of War, his cousin Henry Stimson, had overcome military resistance to the flow of innovative ideas and applications.... and the military's acceptance of new weapons and systems. The author does an excellent job narrating Loomis' wartime work outlining his contributions in many areas.

In 1945 Loomis divorced his wife and married his mistress, the wife of his former Tuxedo Park lab manager. This produced strong reverberations in his elite financial and social circles. In 1947 he completed his administrative duties associated with radar and almost from the moment that the MIT Rad Lab ceased, Loomis began to disappear. In 1948 he was awarded the highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Merit. The book closes with an EPILOGUE which gives brief accounts of the post WWII lives of the key scientists and others with whom Loomis was associated during his active career. Loomis died in 1975 at age eighty-seven.

My main criticism is the account of Oppenheimer's opposition to the H-bomb in the EPILOGUE which concludes with the statement "Oppenheimer was ousted from power and publicly disgraced" leaving the impression Oppenheimer spent the rest of his life in disgrace. The text fails to tell that later the Atomic Energy Commission cleared Oppenheimer of all charges and in 1963 awarded him their highest honor the Enrico Fermi award. Oppenheimer served as director of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton from 1947 to his retirement in 1966.

This was a difficult book to write, not only because of Loomis' countless activities, but because he destroyed his papers before his death. Consequently, the book does not always read smoothly. Nevertheless, the book provides valuable material not available from other sources.

Rating:
Summary: Tuxedo Park is an impressive achievement
Review: Tuxedo Park is a factual history lesson, in a vein similar to The Devil in the White City, only without the serial killer.

Tuxedo Park takes place a bit later, pre-World War II. It starts with the death of one of the scientists who used to visit Tuxedo Park, a veritable fortress of technology and leisure. The suicidal scientist posthumously published a fictionalized book about the goings on there and sold it as science fiction. It was so bizarre that of course, nobody suspected, although the primary subject of the novel, Alfred Loomis, knew better.

Alfred Loomis is the star of the story, a rich entrepreneur with an all-consuming, frightening intellect. He applies his own cold, nearly inhuman methodology to business and science and excels at both. Loomis is also charismatic and connects with people in a way that makes him irresistible. A veritable human whirlwind, he swept people up and sometimes left them broken and lost behind him, most notably his wife whom he tried to have committed and left for a younger woman.

Loomis invented electrocardiograms (those brainwave doohickeys that draw jagged lines as a patient sleeps) and radar and made fantastic leaps in refining the science of sonics and magnetics. If the book has a moral, it's that money brings freedom, and Loomis was the freest man on Earth. He developed what he wanted, hosted who he wanted, encouraged projects he felt had vision, and had enough influence to determine the course of events in World War II.

What's so striking is that the world needed Loomis. The author, Jennet Connant, makes striking connections that identify just how significant Loomis' contributions (and machinations) were in ensuring victory over the Axis powers. From the atom bomb to the British radar systems, Loomis' fingerprints are on them all. And it was through sheer force of will, coupled with his massive wealth that made things happen.

The book suffers from the same problems as Devil in the White City - some parts are more boring than others. It's entertaining to read about Loomis' inventions, but I had difficulty distinguishing between the various scientists. There are so many intellects that are hosted by Loomis that they start to run together; on the other hand, the book features a lot of familiar faces like Albert Einstein, Enrico Fermi, and others. Still, the physics and complexities of the inventions, along with the internecine squabbling drag in some places.

Perhaps the most exciting part of the book is when one British physicist embarks on a journey to bring all the technological advances of Britain to America with just himself and a trunk full of highly classified documents and devices. The thought of what could happen to that trunk (and how it nearly gets lost a few times) is nerve wracking and the makings of an excellent short story or role-playing adventure. It's the kind of scenario that is usually considered to be bad form by a writer - but it really happened.

Fortunately for us, the trunk made its way safely to America. The book really picks up as the devices Loomis raced to invent are finally implemented in the war. And then, when the action finally gets going, the book is over. There is definitely a feeling of the passing of something great that people could only look at indirectly and never touch - just like the intentional destruction of the Chicago World's Fair, Loomis Tuxedo Park is abandoned, his "rad lab" of scientists disbanded, only to backstab each other during McCarthy's "Un-American" committees. Worse, Loomis' divorce left his family sharply divided - like all things, Loomis treated his relationships with an intellectual clarity that was less a romance and more calculated odds. When Loomis felt his wife was not measuring up, she was discarded along with his other failed experiments. It dims, but cannot diminish completely, Loomis' personality.

Tuxedo Park is an impressive achievement. It manages to record the origin of the American scientist, the belief that technology is inherently good, and sharply frames the slow, lumbering bureaucracies that run everything from medical achievements to military advancements. In comparison, Loomis and his teams are breathtakingly nimble at a time when the world needed speed and decisive action most. It is an important part of history and a sharp reminder that rich men, should they choose, could do great good or terrible harm. Loomis was that rare combination of brilliance and wealth that creates freedom - an aberration not likely to be seen again in my lifetime.

Rating:
Summary: An Inspiring Example of a Wonderful Life ...
Review: Tuxedo Park is an inspiring account of a truly wonderful life - a life that changed the very fabric of history, and left the entire Earth a better place for mankind to flourish. Author Jennet Conant skillfully reconstructs the details of Mr. Loomis' manifold accomplishments, in a compelling and useful work: compelling, because it presents an education in the intricacies of the feats of a singular individual, within the framework of the events and politics of America in the era of World War II; useful, because it demonstrates the power of a man's foresight, and unyielding focus on concurrently critical objectives, to better the lives of all.

Ms. Conant brings the amazing richness and value of the life of Alfred Loomis, who shunned the spotlight and is relatively unknown to us today, to our view in a way that provides a resounding example for us all. Tuxedo Park reveals a remarkable facilitator for the fortification of freedom, who felt it an obligation to become part of the creative processes so enhanced by that freedom. We are indebted to the author for telling Mr. Loomis' story, and for providing a pronounced source of inspiration in Tuxedo Park.

Bill and Robbin Pearson
On the celebration of the Birthday of our Father and Friend, Thomas Cady Hodgson, II

Rating:
Summary: An Inspiring Example of a Wonderful Life ...
Review: Tuxedo Park is an inspiring account of a truly wonderful life - a life that changed the very fabric of history, and left the entire Earth a better place for mankind to flourish. Author Jennet Conant skillfully reconstructs the details of Mr. Loomis' manifold accomplishments, in a compelling and useful work: compelling, because it presents an education in the intricacies of the feats of a singular individual, within the framework of the events and politics of America in the era of World War II; useful, because it demonstrates the power of a man's foresight, and unyielding focus on concurrently critical objectives, to better the lives of all.

Ms. Conant brings the amazing richness and value of the life of Alfred Loomis, who shunned the spotlight and is relatively unknown to us today, to our view in a way that provides a resounding example for us all. Tuxedo Park reveals a remarkable facilitator for the fortification of freedom, who felt it an obligation to become part of the creative processes so enhanced by that freedom. We are indebted to the author for telling Mr. Loomis' story, and for providing a pronounced source of inspiration in Tuxedo Park.

Bill and Robbin Pearson
On the celebration of the Birthday of our Father and Friend, Thomas Cady Hodgson, II

Rating:
Summary: A Hidden Genius, Shown for the First Time
Review: Unless you are interested in the history of physics, I will bet you never before heard of Alfred Loomis. And I bet you will not be able to forget him, once you have read _Tuxedo Park: A Wall Street Tycoon and the Secret Palace of Science that Changed the Course of World War II_ (Simon and Schuster) by Jennet Conant. World War II, more than any preceding conflict, was won by scientific and technological superiority, and one of the allies' successes was radar. There was no more daring or inventive mind on the project than that of Alfred Loomis, and we can hope that this remarkable book redeems him from obscurity.

Loomis was groomed for WASP success. He went to Yale, and to law school at Harvard, and then on to Wall Street where he made a fortune. He displayed "a high-powered intellect that could cut through a maze of difficulty with dazzling speed." He was a chess prodigy, a brilliant solver of puzzles, and a keen magician. He and a partner took over a failing bond firm, and started specializing in utilities. They realized the volatility of the 1920s market, and were among the few to make money during the crash and after it. He had one idea in finance after another, and he was dazzlingly successful. But he wasn't interested in making money. He was interested in science. He bought a rambling Tudor mansion in Tuxedo Park, the estate in which he lived, and turned it into a crackerjack private lab, where he did first-rate experiments in timekeeping, ultrasound, biology, and encephalography. Einstein called it "a palace of science." Loomis not only dabbled brilliantly in many fields, he allowed plenty of the greats to come use his lab, and set up conferences for them all to be together. When someone had a good idea but no money to pursue it, Loomis granted the money. He not only had money, but he had contacts. Having underwritten Earnest Lawrence's efforts to produce a cyclotron, he then squired him around to the princes of industry who thereafter supplied the materials and equipment at bargain rates. He had an unbelievably useful ability to make networks. He was at the heart of the development of radar, and the science behind radar (which was devastatingly successful against Nazi planes as well as submarines), and the excitement of successful testing and deployment, are well conveyed here.

Loomis loved his anonymity, he loved being able to experiment in his own way unbeholden to others, and he modestly avoided any of the fame that he deserved. "He was, by disposition, an extremely understated man who really did not care for being center stage." He would have been embarrassed had this summary of his efforts been published in his lifetime, but Conant has had access to his papers and other documents that had previously been unavailable. This is a great story of an astonishing intellect, powerfully told, bringing to light his many accomplishments and contributions to science and to public service.