The Making of the Atomic Bomb (1986)

A long history worth reading. Richard Rhodes introduces us to dozens of physicists, generals, politicians and business leaders. All corroborate in what could be one of the greatest monumental scientific and engineering feats ever accomplished.

Neils Bohr is a key figure as he early on sees that the power unleashed will change the course of mankind and pushes for the secrets of atomic power to be openly shared worldwide.

for anyone interested in history, science and WW II this is a masterpiece. ( )

The grand, encyclopedic, epic story of the atomic bomb program. Starts from WWI and continues until after the end of WWII. Includes short biographies of all of the major figures of the program, as well as a firm outline of the political situation which surrounded them. Harrowing detail of when the bomb itself was dropped, and what the creators thought during the while ordeal. Brilliant blend of history and science. ( )

This book has stared out at me from my shelf for over two decades. I finally accepted the challenge: It is a marvel of research and writing. It reads at points like a great mystery novel as world class physicists struggle not only to impact the young field of nuclear physics but to understand the significance of what others have found both in theoretical and real world terms. It is great science, great history, great storytelling. It captures the pity of an open scientific community pulled in both WW I & II into plying their trade for their respective nation states.

Before reading this, I had no real appreciation for the magnitude of the U.S.'s industrial buildout during the war years--its unbelievable scale--once the project was fully underway. It seems clear that only an industrial juggernaut could have carried out the building of the bomb while fighting a two front world war.

The book is also, of course, very disturbing because there is no mistaking the ultimate goal. Rhodes captures the satisfaction the Los Alamos scientists have in their contribution to ending the war with their 'gadget' at the same time they struggled with their misgivings about what they have unleashed. Their pride in years of work runs headlong into Rhode's wrenching descriptions of Hiroshima in the aftermath of the bombing.

Rhodes focuses frequently on Neils Bohr and his greatness as a theoretical physicist, a humanitarian, and as a sort of seer in his ability to see what the bomb might mean for the world and, in the hands of individual nation states, what it most probably would come to mean. Rhodes, having lived with this material and the issues for so long, does not back off at the book's conclusion from making the reader face the 'Nation of the the Dead' created by 20th century war and the famine and pestilence that follows in war's wake and our seeming inability to grapple with this in any other than the old nation-state bound ways. ( )

The Making of the Atomic Bomb won a Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award. In other words, people liked it. A lot. I can also tell you it is a thick read. Over 800 pages long (and the pictures don't count). I got through the first 50 and called it quits. No regrets.

If I had been able to devote more time to The Making of an Atomic Bomb I would have found it to be a portrait of personalities ranging from scientists (Einstein) to political leaders (Roosevelt). I would have found it to be a commentary on the state of world economics (The Great Depression) and warfare (World War II). I would have found it to be scientific and philosophical, psychological and historical. All those things. ( )

Mrs Arukiyomi bought me this for Christmas… Christmas 2005 that is. Thought I should finish it off before this Christmas at least although I should be forgiven seeing as how that was in Korea and we moved back to the UK and then out to Papua New Guinea in that time leaving this in storage with a shipping company for years.

This is a mammoth book. Rhodes tells the story with a level of detail that is astonishing. His Pulitzer Price is well-deserved. And, as befits a Pulitzer-winning book, the history is gripping, the characters fully fleshed-out and the whole builds to a tremendous climax.

The only trouble I had with the book was the level of technical detail that Rhodes had to include. At times it left me a bit clueless. If you’re not able to grasp the basic theories of how atoms work and how they can be split and their power harnessed, you’re not going to appreciate the genius of what these scientists achieved. I barely hung on to the technical side of things.

What kept me engrossed in the book more than the technological achievements was the excellent coverage Rhodes gives to the moral issues that suffused the science. These were absolutely profound. As is remarked on many times, the scientists did not invent atomic destruction, they simply discovered what has always existed. I think this is fair to say. In fact, it isn’t until the US enters WW2 that the bomb itself becomes the major focus of the work on nuclear fission. Prior to this, it’s the potential for power generation that is pursued.

The bomb would not have been possible without the the billions of dollars that the US govt. poured into its development between 1942 and 1945. Even with its massive resources and the work of thousands of people, it was something of a miracle that the first test, code named Trinity, was successful.

From that moment, their use in the war against Japan was almost certain. There were opportunities for the bombs not to be used, particularly the second on Nagasaki (which was only bombed because the original target at Kokura was cloudy). However, it is also highly possible that the Japanese would have capitulated through diplomatic channels within weeks of the atomic test. I find it deplorable that these avenues were not exhausted before their eventual use.

Having visited Nagasaki, toured the hypocentre and the A-Bomb Museum there and lived in Japan for six summers of memorial ceremonies in early August, I know the suffering that the bombs caused has not abated. It was not those in power that suffer but the people in the street.

It was the dream of many of the scientists working on the bomb that its creation would lead to a situation where war could no longer be waged. We now know this to be a flawed ideology. Conventional war has raged continually since WW2 somewhere on the planet and atomic weaponry has never been used (although we’ve come close at least twice.) War between superpowers may no longer be an option. But oppression of the non-nuclear nations by the nuclear powers has become commonplace .It is a situation that those who worked on the bomb would lament.

And so we live with nuclear power, nuclear weapons, nuclear medicine as a part of day-to-day life today and the great majority of us have no idea how we harness such vast amounts of power from such tiny particles. It’s something of a miracle and I thank Rhodes for helping me appreciate it more.