Century of Mismatch; How Logical Man Can Reshape His Illogical Technological Society [from DJ front]

New York: David McKay Company, Inc, 1970. Hardcover. Very good/good. xiii, [1], 204, [4] pages. DJ has some wear, soiling, edge tears and chips. DJ front flap creased. His books on the application of science to social programs, Cure for Chaos and Century of Mismatch, have received wide critical acclaim and public audience. Simon "Si" Ramo (May 7, 1913 - June 27, 2016) was an American engineer, businessman, and author. He led development of microwave and missile technology and is sometimes known as the father of the intercontential ballistic missile (ICBM). He also developed General Electric's electron microscope. He has been partly responsible for the creation of two Fortune 500 companies, Ramo-Wooldridge (TRW after 1958) and Bunker-Ramo (now part of Honeywell).By 1953 Ramo and the Air Force had become increasingly frustrated with management problems at Hughes. Ramo and Wooldridge were particularly concerned when Howard Hughes avoided their attempts to discuss the problem. In September they jointly resigned, and within a week they formed the Ramo-Wooldridge Corporation on September 16, 1953. In October 1953 an Assistant Secretary of Defense, Trevor Gardner, created a committee to consider the future of guided missiles. This Strategic Missile Evaluation Committee (SMEC) was headed by John von Neumann and included both Ramo and Wooldridge. In four months, the committee produced their report and recommended that a crash program was needed to developintercontinental ballistic missiles, and that such a program might enable the United States to overtake Russian developments by 1959 or 1960. The Ramo-Wooldridge Corp. became the lead contractor for the resulting Air Force program. With Dr. Ramo as the driving scientific and engineering officer, they succeeded. In 1958, an Atlan rocket delivered a payload 5,000 miles downrange. The Atlas would go on to serve as the launch vehicle for NASA'sProject Mercury orbital flights, starting with John Glenn in Friendship 7. USAF General Bernard Schriever head of the ICBM program, described Ramo as "the architect of the Thnor, Atlas, and Titan" rockets. According to a July 30, 2002 article, Ramo's comments are legendary for capsulizing complex ideas into off-the-cuff witticisms. During a series of key experiments of ballistic missiles in the 1950s at Cape Canaveral, Florida, at which Ramo and Air Force General Bernard Schriever were observers, test rockets kept blowing up on their launch pads. When one missile rose about 6 inches before toppling over and exploding, Ramo reportedly beamed and said: "Well, Benny, now that we know the thing can fly, all we have to do is improve its range a bit." Ramo-Wooldridge merged with Thompson Products to become TRW Inc, and Simon Ramo became Vice-Chairman. In 1964, TRW and Martin Marietta formed the jointly ownedBunker-Ramo Corporation with Ramo as President, which expanded into the computer and communications technology fields. In January 2008, he joined the faculty of the Univeristy of Southern California's Viterbi School of Engineering as a presidential chair and professor of electrical engineering. Ramo is also a founding member of the National Academy of Engineering.