Son Of (Entropy) 2: Personal Memories Of A Son Of A Chemist, Joseph E. Mayer, And A Nobel Prize Winning Physicist, Maria Goeppert Mayer

Their son, mostly for fun, writes this collection of vignettes about two prominent scientists. The forward includes a description of the two, summarizing their character and their careers. The summary contains an explanation of the title, Entropy Squared. The forward ends with remarks about the accuracy of the vignettes. Some vignettes include a representation of the impact on the son and some have historical significance. The first two sections concern Göttingen, Germany, from where "that American", Joe, as a fellow student put it, acquired his wife. The first section of Göttingen vignettes is from the time of meeting and from visits until World War II. The second is from after the War. Maria's career at Sarah Lawrence College separates sections of their supporting the World War II war effort, Joe at the Ballistics Research Laboratory of Aberdeen Proving Grounds and Maria with the Manhattan, nuclear bomb, Project. The Sarah Lawrence College section goes beyond memories because biographers have said little about Maria's time at Sarah Lawrence. Sections concerning each are followed by a section on Maria receiving of the Nobel Prize. The conclusion is a memorial to Joe.