Review: The Making of the Atomic Bomb

 The Making of the Atomic Bomb is a 1000+ page pulitzer prize winnder recounting the history of the atomic bomb. It is comprehensive, and includes depictions of physicists I'd never heard of before, such as Leo Szilard, who conceived of the chain reaction and held to patent (in secret), and went from worrying about beaing the Germans to the atomic bomb to worrying about the very human cost of deploying it in Japan.

The book goes so far as to cover the German efforts (and the allied forces successful effort to destroy the heavy water facility!) and the Japanese efforts to develop their bombs, though in the respect of success, no one came close to the Americans. One famous scientist said something like "You'd have to turn the whole country into a factory to make it happen in time to affect the war," and upon touring the facilities turned around and said, "OK, that's what you did!"

Lots of little known (to me anyway) details about the bomb was explored, including the imploding mechanism to trigger critical mass, and fully remote-operated lines for refining U235 and plutonium (once the facilities started production no human could enter those facilities and still live). I was astounded to learn that Roosevelt held the cards so tightly to his chest that Truman was never briefed about the Manhattan project until he assumed the presidency!

The book ends with the bomb dropping of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. That chapter was so hard to read because the tragedy was so poignant and real. (Keep in mind that none of my teachers in school nor anyone who was occupied by the Japanese in Singapore had any sympathy for the Japanese after the atrocities they committed during the war, so I'm prejudiced about it --- a good writer can make you sympathize even when you have good reasons not to have sympathy)

I read this book because someone mentioned it on the Ezra Klein show. I'm impressed at the comprehensiveness of the book. Recommended.