The Making of the Atomic Bomb | 
| Author: Richard Rhodes
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Category: Book
List Price: $20.00
Buy Used: $7.25
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Avg. Customer Rating:  157 reviews
Sales Rank: 7834
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 928
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.5
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.5
ISBN: 0684813785
Dewey Decimal Number: 623.4511909
EAN: 9780684813783
ASIN: 0684813785
Publication Date: August 1, 1995
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: A few margin marks, otherwise very good condition. Exact edition guaranteed. Ships same/next day with tracking/delivery confirmation. Protective packaging. We notify you when your order is shipped.
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
If the first 270 pages of this book had been published separately, they would have made up a lively, insightful, beautifully written history of theoretical physics and the men and women who plumbed the mysteries of the atom. Along with the following 600 pages, they become a sweeping epic, filled with terror and pity, of the ultimate scientific quest: the development of the ultimate weapon. Rhodes is a peerless explainer of difficult concepts; he is even better at chronicling the personalities who made the discoveries that led to the Bomb. Niels Bohr dominates the first half of the book as J. Robert Oppenheimer does the second; both men were gifted philosophers of science as well as brilliant physicists. The central irony of this book, which won a National Book Critics Circle Award, is that the greatest minds of the century contributed to the greatest destructive force in history.
Product Description
Here for the first time, in rich, human, political, and scientific detail, is the 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 yon Neumann -- stepped from their ivory towers into the limelight. Richard Rhodes takes us on that journey step by step, minute by minute, and gives us the definitive story of man's most awesome discovery and invention. The Making of the Atomic Bomb has been compared in its sweep and importance to William L. Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. It is at once a narrative tour de force and a document as powerful as its subject.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 152 more reviews...
Outstanding Book August 7, 2008
Myself not being a scientist there were parts of this book that were hard to understand theoretically speaking, but the historical story the book brings forth is hard not to understand. Between the people making blind discoveries to educated guesses to scientific brilliance it's all here. Leading up to the climatic climax. This book is long and could be hard to read at times but the important historical facts leave nothing to wonder. A fantastic account of the making of the atomic bomb from around the world to then center on two cities in Japan was a page turner through and through. A giant collection a names, dates and ego's that ethics aside did stop a war cold in it's tracts. A weapon with hopefully will never see the light of day again.
A magnificent work July 7, 2008
A dazzling epic. A complete chronicle blending history, physics, chemistry and engineering in a manner accessible to anybody.
the best book on the manhattan project, the personalities and the science June 13, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
this is a fascinating read for people that enjoy science, technology, and the quirky, industrious, oftentimes brilliant people that can change history with their creations. the writing is superb. it is crafted in such a way that you feel like you've been with these people in los alamos and know what they went through. you understand the tension between the military and the irreverent scientists and you can't help but wonder at the clairvoyance of some of the important decisions that could have gone either way. a truly fun read if you like reading about extremely smart people. "american prometheus" about the life of j. robert oppenheimer would be a good sequel or prequel. it, too, is very well written and enjoyable if you like science biographies about brilliant, interesting people that have had a big impact on the world.
IMPORTANT READING May 19, 2008
AT THIS POINT , I AM ABOUT ONE THIRD THRU THIS TOME . I AM A RATHER SLOW READER , BUT HAVE EXCELLENT RETENTION . MY BACKGROUND IS ENGINEERING , SO INTENSE READING HAS BEEN MY WAY FOR YEARS . MY WIFE AND I WERE BORN IN 1933/34 RESPECTIVELY , SO MANY OF THE OCCURENCES ARE VERY RELATIVE TO US . I FOUND IT INTERESTING THAT THE MUTUAL RESPECT BETWEEN THE MANY SCIENTISTS IS BASED ON THE WORK AND DISCOVERY OF EACH ONE , WITHOUT ANY INTEREST OR AVERSION TO THEIR RESPECTIVE COUNTRYS OF THEIR ORIGIN . THE WRITING IS READABLE AND UNDERSTANDABLE , ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE WITH A BIT OF ENGINEERING , CHEMICAL , OR SCIENTIFIC BACKGROUND , WITHOUT BEING OVERWHELMING . I HAVE LEARNED MUCH .
J.L.MURRAY
The history and the people behind the technology April 13, 2008
A lot of effort went into the making of the 'gadget'. However little is known in popular history about the people and the science that led to splitting the atom. The author does a superb job introducing us to the players on both sides of the Atlantic, and the history behind discoveries leading to the splitting of the atom. I loved this book.
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