WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE The Making of the Atomic Bomb is the seminal and complete story of how the bomb was developed, from the turn-of-the-century discovery of the vast energy locked inside the atom to the dropping of the first bombs on Japan. Few great discoveries have evolved so swiftly - or have been so misunderstood. From the theoretical discussions of nuclear energy to the bright glare of Trinity, there was a span of hardly more than twenty-five years. What began as merely an interesting speculative problem in ...
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WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE The Making of the Atomic Bomb is the seminal and complete story of how the bomb was developed, from the turn-of-the-century discovery of the vast energy locked inside the atom to the dropping of the first bombs on Japan. Few great discoveries have evolved so swiftly - or have been so misunderstood. From the theoretical discussions of nuclear energy to the bright glare of Trinity, there was a span of hardly more than twenty-five years. What began as merely an interesting speculative problem in physics grew into the Manhattan Project, and then into the bomb, with frightening rapidity, while scientists known only to their peers - Szilard, Teller, Oppenheimer, Bohr, Meitner, Fermi, Lawrence and von Neumann - stepped from their ivory towers into the limelight. Richard Rhodes gives the definitive story of man's most awesome discovery and invention. Told in rich human, political and scientific detail, The Making of the Atomic Bomb is a narrative tour de force and a document with literary power commensurate with its subject.
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Richard Rhodes's books are just a wonderful read concerning the development of the atomic and hydrogen bombs. Recommended!
JohnEdward
Mar 10, 2011
great book
This book is the most comprensive book on this subject. Also very exciting as to the security surrounding this project.
RonRocker
Dec 18, 2008
A fabulous and revealing book
If you are scientifically curious and somewhat founded in Chemistry and general science or if you are a WWII buff; you will not be able to put it down. It is revealing in both the science and engineering of the fission bomb. It leads you through the trials and tribulations of the war effort, funding huge projects and also the thrill of success at the Trinity site first test in New Mexico. The author gives an introduction to all the "players" in the development including the scientists, the government and the Military. It also reveals the horror of victims of an atomic attack in Japan. It exposes the spying that went on during the development of the Bomb. The conception of, and the beginnings of the Hydrogen bomb projectis also revealed. The book is indexed.
Recommend follow up book: Dark Sun (The Hydrogen Bomb) by same author.
savannahm
Feb 17, 2008
Fascinating and comprehensive
Long and detailed, but an excellent marriage of stories, politics, and science. If you're particularly interested in the subject, this is a must read; if you're a bit curious for any other reason, it's still worth a read and skim. Especially interesting is his take on the forces and pressures of the time on scientists and officials, and the sort of force the atomic bomb shaped up to be in the world. It's also interesting just to see how science we're taught as a given was formulated, how the scientific community works, and what sort of people these major scientists were--Rhodes is quite a portrait painter.
This is most likely the definitive work on the development of the atom bomb, yet accessible to any reader or person interested in history or science or politics or most any subject.
