Live with Lightning by Mitchell Wilson Hardcover, Book Club Edition, Atomic Age Novel

Live with Lightning
A Novel by Mitchell Wilson
Little, Brown and Company, Boston
Copyright 1949
Book Club Edition
Hardcover with dust jacket
Includes original July 1950 Book League Review brochure

Published in 1949, Live with Lightning is a novel set against the rapidly changing world of twentieth-century physics, scientific research, and the development of atomic energy. This vintage hardcover retains its original illustrated dust jacket. The black cloth-covered boards have bright gold lettering and decoration on the spine. Also included is an original July 1950 Book League Review promotional brochure for Live with Lightning, an interesting piece of period advertising that has remained with the book.

Condition: Book - Good Dust Cover - Poor/Fair
The hardcover book itself is in good vintage condition. The black boards show shelf wear and some bending at the corners but have no staining. The gold decoration and lettering on the spine remain bright. The binding is tight and the pages are lightly yellowed with age. A previous owner's name is written on the front flyleaf. No other writing or markings were found. The original dust jacket is in poor to fair condition and shows considerable age and wear. It has rubbing and surface marks, tears and creasing along the edges, damage and loss at the bottom of the spine, smaller tears at the top of the spine, and a tear at the bottom of the front fold-over/flap area. Please see photographs for the condition of the jacket. The accompanying Book League brochure also shows age, folds, small tears and edge wear.

Synopsis
Live with Lightning follows Erik Gorin, an ambitious young physicist whose career develops during a period of extraordinary scientific change. Beginning with his struggles as a young researcher during the Depression years, the story follows Erik through academic science, industry, marriage, professional ambition, and eventually the world of wartime atomic research. As his career advances, Erik confronts conflicts between scientific discovery and commercial interests, as well as the larger moral questions raised when scientific achievement becomes intertwined with military and political power. Written during the early atomic age, the novel combines Erik's personal story with the changing role and responsibilities of the modern scientist.

History
Mitchell Wilson brought an unusual degree of firsthand knowledge to Live with Lightning. Before becoming a full-time writer, Wilson studied physics at Columbia University and worked in the scientific community associated with physicist Enrico Fermi. Little, Brown and Company published Live with Lightning in September 1949, only a few years after the end of World War II and at a time when atomic science and its consequences were very much part of public discussion.

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Book Rating

As New: The book is in the same immaculate condition as when it was published. This could be the description for a book that has been lost in a warehouse for years, never shelved, thumbed or even opened yet may still be some years old.

Fine: A Fine book approaches the condition of As New, but without being crisp. The book may have been opened and read, but there are no defects in the book, jacket or pages.

Very Good: Describes a book that shows some small signs of wear - but no tears - on either binding or paper. Any defects should be noted by the seller.

Good: Describes the average used book that has all pages or leaves present. Any defects should be noted by the seller.

Fair: A Worn book that has complete text pages (including those with maps or plates) but may lack endpapers, half-title, etc. Binding, jacket (if any), etc., may also be worn. All defects should be noted.

Poor: Describes a book that is sufficiently worn. Any missing maps or plates should still be noted. This copy may be soiled, scuffed, stained or spotted and may have loose joints, hinges, pages, etc.

Binding Copy: describes a book in which the pages or leaves are perfect but the binding is very bad, loose, off, or nonexistent.

Reading Copy: A copy usually in poor to fair condition that includes all text presented in a legible fashion. The copy is fine to read but nothing more.