The Making of the Atomic Bomb

”… what I read already impressed me with the author’s knowledge of much of the history of the science which led to the development of nuclear energy and nuclear bombs and of the personalities which contributed in the U.S. to the development of these. I was particularly impressed by his realization of the importance of Leo Szilard’s contributions which are almost always underestimated but which he fully realizes and perhaps even overestimates. I hope the book will find a wide readership.“-Eugene P. Wigner, Nobel Laureate for Physics, 1963”The Making of the Atomic Bomb is an epic worthy of Milton. Nowhere else have I seen the whole story put down with such elegance and gusto and in such revealing detail and simple language which carries the reader through wonderful and profound scientific discoveries and their application. The great figures of the age, scientific, military, and political, come to life when confronted with the fateful and awesome decisions which faced them in this agonizing century. This great book dealing with the most profound problems of the 20th century can help us to apprehend the opportunities and pitfalls that face the world int he 21st.“-I. I. Rabi, Nobel Laureate for Physics, 1944“A great book. Mr. Rhodes has done a beautiful job, and I don’t see how anyone can ever top it.”-Luis W. Alvarez, Nobel Laureate for Physics, 1968“A monumental and enthralling history […] Alive and vibrant in the book are all the scientists…and each human being stands vividly revealed as a man of science, of conscience, of doubts or of hubris.”-San Francisco Chronicle“A stirring intellectual adventure, and a clear, fast-paced and indispensable history of events on which our future depends.”-Carl Sagan“I found The Making of the Atomic Bomb well written, interesting and one of the best in the great family of books on the subject. It is fascinating as a novel, and I have learned from it many things I did not know. Mr. Rhodes has done his homework conscientiously and intelligently”-Emilio Segrè, Nobel Laureate for Physics, 1959“Mr. Rhodes gives careful attention to the role which chemists played in developing the bomb. the Making of the Atomic Bomb strikes me as the most complete account of the Manhattan Project to date.”-Glenn T. Seaborg, Nobel Laureate for Chemistry, 1951“The best, the richest, and the deepest description of the development of physics in the first half of this century that I have yet read, and it is certainly the most enjoyable.”-Isaac Asimov “The comprehensive history of the bomb–and also a work of literature.” -Tracy Kidder

Richard Rhodes is the author of numerous books and the winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the National Book Critics Circle Award. He graduated from Yale University and has received fellowships from the Ford Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Appearing as host and correspondent for documentaries on public television’s Frontline and American Experience series, he has also been a visiting scholar at Harvard and MIT and is an affiliate of the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University.