The Devil Reached Toward the Sky

If you are an intelligent person, or at the very least think you are, you have to read Garrett Graff’s THE DEVIL REACHED TOWARD THE SKY. Even if you don’t read this lengthy masterpiece, you should keep it in your library to demonstrate that you are curious and literate. If you Zoom frequently, it should be one of the books on the shelves directly behind you so that viewers can register how smart you are. If you need to know something about the story itself – it’s everything, and more, about the atom, the atom bomb, the Manhattan Project, and the terrifying destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This period in history has never been more relevant and frightening than it is today.

* James Patterson, author of ‘Along Came a Spider’, ‘1st to Die’, & ‘Kiss the Girls’ *Journalist Graff delivers a magisterial oral history of the atomic bomb … The result is a stunning account that brings to the fore the nuclear saga’s surreal combination of ingenuity, fate, and terror. * Publishers Weekly, starred review *A comprehensive and engrossing account of the atomic bomb’s creation-and its effects… . The 500 voices who make up the oral history include famous and less-known figures, such as members of the crew who created the first controlled nuclear chain reaction; farmers whose land was needed to build massive complexes to produce enriched uranium and plutonium for the bombs; ‘project spouses’ at all three locations raising families under difficult living conditions; politicians and military men involved in planning and executing the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; and Japanese survivors of the bombings… . Excellent oral history. * Kirkus *The story of the Atomic Age’s start is a fascinating one about the power of invention and a chilling one about its consequences. In The Devil Reached Toward the Sky, Graff skillfully tells both… a comprehensive account… focuses not just on the voices of scientists [but] explores overlooked pieces of the Manhattan Project’s history, such as how segregation affected life at Oak Ridge. * Daily Mail *