The Second World War - the physicists' war - established the notion that no modern state could survive without harnessing the potential of organized science. For much of the post-war period science was perceived as the engine of progress, as the driving force for economic prosperity and industrial innovation, and as the only sure means of improving the human condition. Matters are very different today, as science funding dwindles, the scientific establishment fragments and the brain-drain continues. In this history of British science and scientists in relation to government policy since 1945 Thomas Wilkie charts the rise and fall of science as a political priority. His landmark work - the first of its kind - should be read by students, teachers, scientists and policy-makers like, and will be enjoyed by anyone concerned by the prospects for science in Britain today.