The Making of the Atomic Bomb: 25th Anniversary Edition

When this book was published 25 years ago it was immediately recognized as a true classic, a history that was unlikely to be ever surpassed for the sheer amount of detail in it, the amazing breadth of the narrative and the spellbinding language and almost epic style that Rhodes brought in describing an earth-shattering event in human history. 25 years later this fact still rings true and it is inconceivable that anything of this caliber can ever be written. The new anniversary edition has a poignant foreword by Rhodes in which he traces the history of the book, examines our nuclear world and makes a heartfelt and yet commonsense plea for the ultimate abolition of these weapons of mass destruction. There are three things about the book which make it a timeless classic. The first is the sheer, staggering amount of meticulous research and attention to detail that Rhodes brings to his narrative. One simply marvels at the wealth of sources he must have plumbed and the time he must have spent in making sense of them, the mountains of material he must have assimilated and sorted and the number of people he must have interviewed. This book stands as a model of exhaustive research on any topic. A related aspect is the immense breadth and sweep of events, people and places that Rhodes covers. He paints on a canvas that's expansive enough to accommodate everything from quantum mechanics to the human psyche. In this book he doesn't just give us the details of the first atomic bombs but also holds forth on, among other things: the fascinating political and military personalities of the era (FDR, Truman, LeMay), a history of physics in the first half of the twentieth century, ruminations on war and peace including accounts and interpretations of key events during both World Wars, an account of anti-Semitism in Europe, the beginnings of "Big Science" in the United States, the psychological aspects of scientific personality, the moral calculus of bombing, the political history of Europe between the wars and the detailed engineering that went into building weapons of war. There are sections on each of these topics and more, and even the digressions are deep and riveting enough to temporarily immerse the reader into an alternative topic (for instance, a six page account on Jewish history and persecution transports the reader). Long paragraphs of direct quotation allow the characters to speak in their own words. What is remarkable is that Rhodes makes the material utterly gripping in spite of the extraordinarily broad coverage and the level of detail and holds the reader's attention from beginning to end through an 800 page work. This is an achievement in itself. The second aspect of this book that makes it such a fantastic read is the elegant, clear explanation of the science. It is no easy feat to describe the work of Rutherford and Oppenheimer on nuclear physics while at the same time dissecting the political manipulations of Churchill and Roosevelt. Yet Rhodes accomplishes a beautifully simplified (but not oversimplified) version of the momentous scientific ideas developed during the early twentieth century. He seems to have read the original papers on the neutron, radioactive transformations and nuclear fission and these sources are thoroughly documented in the extensive bibliography; key experiments and theories unravel into clear explanations supported by quotes from the original participants. In fact the first half of the book would be a first-rate introduction to the development of atomic physics and the life and times of brilliant scientists like Fermi, Heisenberg, Rutherford, Bohr, Chadwick, Einstein and the Curies who contributed to this discipline. These remarkable scientists are really at the center of Rhodes's account and their personalities and work come alive under his pen. This was physics during its most glorious age of discovery and nobody knew just how enormously it would impact politics and society; indeed, one of Rhodes's goals is to demonstrate how even the purest of science can have the most far-reaching practical and social ramifications. The work of all these scientists is set in revealing detail against the backdrop of growing anti-Semitism and political turmoil in Europe, and their subsequent emigration to the United States and England constitutes a very important chapter in this story. But the introduction of nuclear energy was primarily an act of science, and Rhodes excels in describing this science in patient and marvelous detail. Finally, what ensures this book's place in history is Rhodes's mesmerizing prose, of the kind employed by the select few historians and novelists like Shakespeare, Tolstoy and Herodotus who opened our eyes to world-changing historical events and to the human condition. In Rhodes's hands the making of the atomic bomb turns into an epic tale of triumph and tragedy akin to the Greek tragedies or the Mahabharata. He brings a novelist's eye to his characters and portrays them as actors in a heroic drama of victory and woe; a great example is the unforgettable opening paragraph of the book in which the physicist Leo Szilard first thinks of a chain reaction while waiting for a traffic light in London. The leading lights of the narrative are Niels Bohr and Robert Oppenheimer, brilliant men who also saw deep into the future. And there are many others, human beings laid bare in all their glorious folly, frailty and greatness, struggling to comprehend both natural and human forces. There are no saints and sinners here, only complex humans struggling to understand and control forces that are sometimes beyond their immediate comprehension, often with unintended consequences. Rhodes relentlessly drives home the point that man's greatest gifts can also be the cause of his greatest evils. He makes it clear that science, politics and human nature are inextricably linked and you cannot perturb one without perturbing the other. Taming this combustible mix will be a struggle that we will always grapple with. I first read "The Making of the Atomic Bomb" about fifteen years ago and consider it the most influential book I have ever come across. I am a scientist and the book completely changed my understanding of the inextricable relationship between science and society. Since then at any given moment I have about three copies of the book on my shelf, ready to be lent or gifted to anyone I feel might be interested. I consider it one of the best chronicles ever written about what human beings are capable of, both as creators and destroyers. In the making of the atomic bomb are lessons for all of humanity.

March 29, 2009 Ardsley, PA THE MAKING OF THE ATOMIC BOMB provides a valuable insight into the developments within physics and chemistry which directly lead to the Manhattan Project with its parallel development of the first fission bombs and their use against Imperial Japan. In 790 pages, 19 chapters and three parts Richard Rhodes covers every imaginable aspect of the scientific discoveries which brought us into the Atomic Age. Along with the discussions of the developments in Physics and Chemistry we are introduced to the various scientists and laboratories, the major world events and the political decisions that accompanied these developments. Anyone with more than an introductory class in Physics in college will recognize all of the major scientists and much of the physics and chemistry discussed. Highlighted figures include Ernest Rutherford, Marie Curie, Niels Bohr, Enrico Fermi, Otto Hahn and Lise Meitner, Leo Szilard, Einstein, Robert Oppenheimer, General Leslie Groves, Churchill, FDR, Truman and countless others. This encyclopedic book weaves the story of the development of atomic chemistry and physics with the accompanying strands of world developments. These include the founding of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in Berlin, Rutherford's work at various universities in England and Canada, WWI, the development of theoretical physics in the USA, the rise of Nazism and its accompanying flight of Jewish Physicists to the west, the parallel bomb programs of Germany, Japan, the UK and Russia and the incredible industrial and engineering efforts within the USA orchestrated by Leslie Groves. This is a very interesting book, but is not an easily read book. It should be read carefully and you should take notes if you intend to follow the converging story lines of scientific, interpersonal, political and industrial developments. I actually read most of it twice correcting and adding to my notes as I went. Beyond the discussion of bomb development, there are a few items that really struck me: 1. An atomic bomb was inevitable. There were parallel programs underway in all the major combatants of WWII. Once the war ended, most would have overcome the industrial obstacles and built fission weapons. 2. General Leslie Groves, whatever his personal peccadilloes alluded to in the book, was an organizational genius. It is beyond belief that he oversaw the acquisitions and developments necessary to bring about the factories necessary to produce the Plutonium and Uranium bombs in the time he did. 3. Franklin Roosevelt was a dictator. This to me is the most frightening aspect of this whole book. Regardless of whether he was a benevolent dictator, or not, the realization that the USA elected and accepted this is disheartening. In 800 pages there aren't three mentions of Congress, there were no checks and balances, there was no oversight of the billions spent on the Manhattan Project; "Make it happen, FDR," seemed all that was needed. When Harry Truman assumed the presidency it was days before his Secretary of War even briefed him on the bomb, he knew nothing of its existence. Please understand that he was not only the VP, but also had been a Senator, yet was completely in the dark about the Manhattan Project. The author carries through the book this idea that scientists are morally superior to everyone else. Without once explaining how these individuals attain that superiority, time and time again he bemoans the fact that Churchill and Truman wouldn't listen to Bohr , Szilard and Oppenheimer. I trust the leadership of Winston Churchill and Truman in the strategic realm as I do Bohr and Oppie in the theoretical physical world. Finally, this book is worth 5 stars, but the epilogue is a one star groaner. By 1989 the epilogue is completely irrelevant. Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and Pope John Paul II understood the inhumanity of the USSR far better than Bohr, Oppenheimer or Richard Rhodes. Fission and Thermonuclear weapons have not proven to be the plague that the author alludes. Western Civilization, rather, carries within its fabric a far more insidious plague which took no Manhattan Project to develop and has been freely, even cheerfully, employed not only to kill probably 100 million but also to destroy whole cultures. That plague is ABORTION. It has torn the fabric of Europe more surely than two world wars and has brought most European societies, both democratic and totalitarian, within sight of extinction. Abortion, not atomic weapons, reveals the true morality of this book's much heralded "Republic of Science."

I literally could not put the book aside, I read it in every free minute I found. As someone very interested in engineering and physics, but a layman, it was very easy to follow and understand the atomic concepts and how (in theory) it worked. A lasting impression formed when the last part of the book explains in detail the reality of having used this bomb ...

It's pointless for me to endorse something that has already been highly praised by a bunch of Physics Nobel Laurates, Carl Sagan, and so more... This book can't be recommended to any specific group of readers. Almost anybody can get mesmerized by looking at the thing from owns angle. Scientists, engineers, military leaders, and political leaders everyone's role is recorded in this masterpiece. It captures in great detail how science, military & politics merged to one point in time at 5.30 am on 16 July 1945. There is lot to learn from it history, science, engineering, planning, execution, strategy, morality and ethics.... I wonder what if everything that got into this destruction would have channelized to creation! I find it necessary read. At a rate of .5 chapter per day, I took 34 days to engulf the whole thing.

その昔 Brighter than a Thousand Suns を読んだ。（その部分訳が日本語で出ていたかと思うが、それでは物足らず分厚いペーパーバックを読んだ。） それから幾星霜。映画Oppenheimer の脚本家はこの本などを参考にしたような話(本当かどうかはしらない）を読んだ。私が読んだ Brightger than a Thousand Sunsが書かれたころに比べたら機密解除でいろいろ明らかになってることもあるだろうと思い読み始めたが、最初の方を読んだだけでも丁寧にいろいろ書かれていることが分かる。 原爆を通常の市民の頭の上に２回も落とされた国の人間としては、原爆を作った側の人間にも葛藤を抱いていた人がいたということを知るのも無駄ではないと思う。 もちろん、原爆では物足りない、水爆が絶対い必要だと言っていた「水爆の父」ともいわれる Teller 氏みたいな科学者もいたが、彼も亡くなる前の１９９５年あたりには、「政治家に原子力兵器の管理を任せたのは誤りだった。」なんていうことを言い出していたらしいことを 映画 Oppenheimer の公開に合わせて最近の情報をあさって知った。 そこまでの歴史はカバーされてないと思うし、そもそも書かれたのは丁度Teller 氏がそういうことを言い始めたころだから書かれてないだろう。 しかし、書かれたころの知識を丁寧に描いていると読んでいてわかるので、おすすめできる作品だ。日本語訳もでているようだが、上に書いたような事情で先に英語版を読んでいる。映画Oppenheimerの影響で１９６０年代に日本の軍人のインタビューも含めた原爆の使用に関するNBCの番組、オッペンハイマーのインタビューなどのビデオが多数 youtube で公開されている。本を読みながらそれらも見ると考えさせられる。 大部なのでまだ終わりまで読めてないが、いい本だと思うのでお勧めの５星をつけた。

Excelente! Leitura fácil e cativante.

Richard Rhodes Buch gilt nicht umsonst als Standardwerk, wenn es um die Geschichte der Atombombe geht und wurde auch mit zahlreichen Preisen überhäuft. Wer das Buch bekommt, ist daher nur so mittelüberrascht, dass es ein Türstopper ist: Fast 800 eng beschriebene Paperbackseiten. Ich - kein langsamer Leser - habe fast drei Wochen gebraucht, was aber auch daran liegt, dass es keine ganz einfache Lektüre ist. Rhodes beginnt tatsächlich ganz grundlegend mit den Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftlern, die die theoretischen Grundlagen gelegt haben. Und mit den theoretischen Grundlagen. Wie ausführlich das ist, mekrt man daran, dass der zweite Weltkrieg erst nach etwa einem Drittel des Buches ausbricht. Wer viel Wissenschaftsgeschichtliches liest, wird hier auch vieles kennen, aber dennoch: Die Detailverliebtheit ist schon beeindruckend und die Verflechtungen sind hier entsprechend klar. Ähnliches gilt für die Anfänge und den Verlauf des zweuten Weltkrieges. Viel habe ich über die Annektion von Tschechien nicht gelesen (Vielleicht sollte man den Teil der Geschichte mal denjenigen zu lesen geben, die meinen, man solle die Ukraine des Friedens willen aufgeben). Ähnliches gilt für die Eroberung Dänemarks und dass Norwegen vor allem deswegen besetzt wurde, um dort schweres Wasser herzustellen, war mir auch unbekannt. Erst überraschend spät beginnt der Teil, der durch den Film Oppenheimer bekannt ist: Das Manhattan-Projekt. Auch hier werden viele Details ausgebreitet, manche Diskussion, manches Meeting ist vielleicht doch etwas zu viel des Guten, aber man merkt Rhodes, dass er wirklich alle Aspekte der Entstehung abbilden wollte, inklusive der Politischen (und moralischen) Diskussionen hinter den Kulissen. Die Zündungen der drei Bomben (Trinitiy, Hiroshima, Nagasaki) wird minitiös begleitet und ist (trotz bekannten Ausgangs) spannend zu lesen. Insgesamt ist es eben tatsächlich das ultimative Werk für diesen Teil der Geschichte. Die Folgen der Abwürfe werden in den Buch nur angedeutet. Daher macht es auch nichts, dass es bereits über 20 Jahre alt ist.