Table of Contents

* The Origins of Operational Research: Military and Other Antecedents to 1937 * The Beginnings of Operational Research: British Air Strategy, 1920-1940 * The Wartime Diffusion of Operational Research, 1940-1945 * Operational Research in Bomber Command, 1941-1945 * The Postwar Labour Government and Operational Research 1945-1951 * Operational Research in Iron and Steel * Operational Research in Coalmining * The Diffusion of Operational Research After 1960: The Corporate Sector * Operational Research in the Public Sector * The Institutional Development of Operational Research

Reviews

"Although the brief of this book might appear narrow, Kirby has commendably broadened its scope to show the relevance of OR to, or used it as an example of wider historical and economic issues, most obviously in his discussions about the penetration of Taylorism and scientific management in Britain compared to the US." Business History "... is an excellent authorized history, produced for the Operational Research (OR) Society. Its novelty lies not in what it tells us about OR at war but about OR in peace." The Economic History Review "The interesting historical perspective presented by the author shows that the success of operational research in obtaining the status of an independent science considerably increased the level of its technical requirements and therefore is also responsible for a closed-loop mathematical development and a loss of contact with application." Mathematical Reviews