The Making of the Atomic Bomb
Book description
With a brand new introduction from the author, this is the complete story of how the bomb was developed. It is told in rich, human, political, and scientific detail, from the turn-of-the-century discovery of the vast energy locked inside the atom to the dropping of the first bombs on Japan.…
Why read it?
6 authors picked The Making of the Atomic Bomb as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
I think that the atomic bomb project can only be compared in complexity to putting a man on the Moon, and this Pulitzer Prize winning book by Richard Rhodes describes all the process, from the discovery of fission in the 19th century to the Manhattan Project and the dropping of two bombs to end the Second World War.
The book covers so many famous names (Einstein, Curie, Fermi, Teller, Heisenberg, Dirac, von Neumann, Feynman, and obviously Oppenheimer, among many more) and also discusses sidelines, such as the secret missions planned to impede the Nazis from developing their own weapon.
I’m…
Published nineteen years before American Prometheus, this book also won a Pulitzer Prize.
A self-taught scientific writer, Rhodes is able to weave vivid character portrayals into the narrative of the science behind the bomb, turning a complex story into fascinating reading. Over several lunches with Patricia, Rhodes described Oppenheimer as someone who could antagonize and amuse at the same time.
She found the writer’s psychological insights especially revealing. This is a book to be read and re-read.
From Shirley's list on the race to build the first atomic bomb.
Richard Rhodes has crafted a very readable account of how the world’s leading physicists were recruited to the Manhattan Project during World War 2, and how the industrial might of the United States was employed to transform their ideas into weapons of unprecedented destructive power.
Rhodes succeeds in presenting a historical account of the politics behind the race to create nuclear weapons and the personal stories of the people involved, whilst providing clear explanations of the nuclear physics where necessary.
I first read the book several decades ago and it came as a revelation. Although I had studied physics for…
From Nicholas' list on when contemplating the risks of nuclear technology.
The invention of the A-bomb was the most intensive, expensive, and extensive weapons development program in history. Rhodes’ book is a magisterial, gripping telling of this story—from nascent ideas to the terrors of Nagasaki. Pulitzer prize-winner, it’s essential reading to understand the birth of today’s big science.
From Jacob's list on how science won World War Two.
This Pulitzer Prize-winning book is the be-all, end-all of reads on the Manhattan Project. Full stop.
If I were forced to recommend just one book to immerse yourself into every aspect of the project, from the science to the politics and more, it would be this one. Don’t let the tremendous page-count scare you off—Rhodes is a smooth, readable, and engaging writer.
From Denise's list on The Manhattan Project and the making of the atomic bomb.
A deep, deep dive into one of the most important, and consequential, scientific projects in history. It’s an epic story whose consequences we’re still living with today.
From Sam's list on the wonders of biology.
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