Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb

”[Dark Sun] demonstrates the same ambition; literary skill; unrelenting research; talent for portraiture; understanding of the links between science, war and politics; willingness to stand up to large historical questions; and sound judgment that distinguished Richard Rhodes’s 1988 book, The Making of the Atomic Bomb. But this is the more important volume, not only because of its influence on the way we think about a half-century of world history, but because the hydrogen bomb continues to cast a shadow on the world today.“-Michael Beschloss, Los Angeles Times “This most rewarding book is unique in the grim grandeur of its scope, the richness and originality of its content, and its deep and humane understanding.”-Loma Arnold, Nature “A book of formidable range…draws on a vast array of sources, melding previous scholarship with an abundance of fresh material….Rhodes writes with a sharp eye for anecdote, character and political context….The result is a brilliantly rich and vivid account of the Cold War.”-Daniel J. Kevles, The New York Times Book Review “Rhodes is a meticulous scholar, yet his tale is as riveting as any suspense thriller, replete with fascinating and bizarre characters, exotic locales, and a cliff-hanging plot. And all of it is true.”-Paul Preuss, San Jose Mercury News “A dark tale told with gripping intensity….Chilling and brilliant. [The] authoritative and riveting sequel to [the] Pulitzer Prize-winning saga The Making of the Atomic Bomb.”-Marcia Bartusiak, The Washington Post Book World

Richard Rhodes is the author of seventeen books, including novels and works of history, journalism, and letters. His The Making of the Atomic Bomb won a Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction, a National Book Award, and a National Book Critics Circle Award. Dark Sun, about the development of the hydrogen bomb, was one of three finalists for a Pulitzer Prize in History. A father and grandfather, he lives in rural Connecticut with his wife, Ginger Rhodes.