The Surveillance Imperative

Surveillance is a key notion for understanding power and control in the modern world, but it has been curiously neglected by historians of science and technology. Using the overarching concept of the "surveillance imperative," this collection of essays offers a new window on the evolution of the environmental sciences during and after the Cold War.

"Individual essays could be useful assigned reading in advanced university courses in history of science, technology, and the Cold War ... . Academic historians and policy analysts will find in this text a trove of information about the remarkably expansive use of planetary science data during the Cold War and valuable context for the current, politically charged debate over big data surveillance that represents the legacy of these earlier programs." (Lisa Ruth Rand, Quest, Vol. 23 (1), 2016)