Wizards of Oz How Oliphant and Florey helped win the war and shaped the modern world

Two Australian scientists played a vital yet largely unknown role in the Allied victory in the Second World War. Almost eight decades later, Wizards of Oz finally tells their story. In this fast-paced and compelling book, Brett Mason reveals how two childhood friends from Adelaide—physicist Mark Oliphant and medical researcher Howard Florey—initiated the three most significant scientific and industrial projects of the Second World War. Manufacturing penicillin, developing microwave radar, and building the atomic bomb gave the Allies the edge and ultimate victory over Germany and Japan. More than just a story of scientific discovery, Wizards of Oz tells a remarkable tale of secret missions, international intrigue, and triumph against all odds. Mason tells how Oliphant and Florey were also instrumental in convincing a reluctant United States to develop and deploy these three breakthrough inventions in time to change the course of the war. The two Australians not only helped win the war but shaped the peace, with their war-time contributions continuing to influence international politics and the health and wealth of nations.

Brett Mason is Chair of the Council of the National Library of Australia and Adjunct Professor in the School of Justice at the Queensland University of Technology. He was formerly a Senator for Queensland, and served in the Ministry, before being appointed Australia’s Ambassador to The Hague and Permanent Representative to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. He is the author of Privacy Without Principle and co-editor of Future Proofing Australia.

Prologue (1622) 1. Dreaming in the city of churches 2. A life of the mind that matters 3. The three quests 4. Prelude to war 5. Hell breaks lose 6. Sunday 26 May 1940 7. Alone in the storm 8. Missions to America 9. Rattling the cage 10. The arsenal and pharmacy of democracy 11. The ‘ Salvation of the Allied cause’ 12. Of mice and men and melongs 13. Critical mass 14. Smiling public men Afterword: Australian achievement Bibliography Index