The Smithsonian Institution has grown and prospered since the first edition of this book appeared in 1970, and Paul Oehser’s revised edition is badly needed. New and expanded structures (the Air and Space Museum, the Hirshhorn, the National Museum of American Art, the National Portrait Gallery) and new undertakings (Smithsonian magazine, the Handbook of North American Indians series, the Woodrow Wilson Center, and prestigious symposia) richly serve the original purpose James Smithson envisioned in his will:
To found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men. The heart of Oehser’s original work has been left intact in this second edition. His is the only survey that combines the dramatic story of the Smithsonian’s influence and expansion with the behind-the-scenes details of daily operations, structure, and administrative problems. The book has been updated to include all important developments of the last thirteen years, as well as to describe current plans for future expansion and program additions. The whole picture leads one to the conclusion that the world’s largest museum complex, housing over seventy million objects, has succeeded-despite its air of old-fashioned traditionalism-in reflecting the adventure of the American experience and the insatiable curiosity and dynamics of the American spirit.