Patrick G

Exceptionally good book, but the title is misleading: It's much more about the making of modern atomic physics, and how that precipitated the bomb. They don't get to making an actual bomb until more than half way into the book. Still super interesting though and full of great side-stories about Bohr, Meitner, Einstein, you name ‘em. Should be required reading for anyone interested in physics.

There are useful insights in this book but it's far too stodgy to recommend. The misogyny of the 1940s really shows, as the only pronouns used in the book are he/him, and the recommended reading list of 137 authors contains only two (!) women – one of whom was George Eliot.

I could see this being more useful, widely read, and appreciated if it were updated for modern audiences. Alder and Van Doren and both dead now, so I'm sure they wouldn't mind shaving off 100+ pages of repetitiveness and overwrought explanations. In the spirit of syntopical reading, I look forward to reading an alternative.