Product Description The first collection ever of the writings and insights of the original creators of the atomic bomb, along with pieces by the most important historians and interpreters of the subject, is now in paperback.
Born out of a small research program begun in 1939, the Manhattan Project eventually employed more than 130,000 people, including our foremost scientists and thinkers, and cost nearly $2 billion—and it was operated under a shroud of absolute secrecy. This groundbreaking collection of documents, essays, articles, and excerpts from histories, biographies, plays, novels, letters, and the oral histories of key eyewitnesses is the freshest, most exhaustive exploration yet of the topic.
Compiled by experts at the Atomic Heritage Foundation, the book features first-hand material by Albert Einstein, Leslie Groves, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Leo Szilard, Enrico Fermi, Richard Feynman, Niels Bohr, Henry Stimson, and many others.
Dozens of photographs depict key moments and significant figures, and concise explanatory material accompanies each selection. The project's aftermath and legacy are covered as well, making this the most comprehensive account of the birth of the atomic age.
Note to self: In the future pay attention to the book descriptionFebruary 6, 2010 G. Spearman(Dallas, TX) 3 out of 3 found this review helpful
When I added this book to my Christmas list I must have skimmed over the part about it being just a compilation of other writer's work. Upon receiving it, I anxiously opened the book looking forward to a story describing the history of the Manhattan Project. Instead, I found, a mildly disjointed compilation of excerpts from books, articles, and official reports. Honestly, I have nobody but myself to blame for not reading the book description. Having said that, I can't really recommend this book. I'm giving it three stars only because it does contain real factual information (it doesn't get more real than regurgitating other people's work). On the whole it was a boring read. The last section on the world after the bomb was particularly boorish in it's heavy emphasis on revisionist and apologist history on the use of the bomb against Japan.
Interesting book.June 1, 2009 Prof Aharon Loewenstein(Haifa) 1 out of 2 found this review helpful
It is always a pleasure to review a good book.
Cynthia Kelly should be complimented for her intelligent chioce of the items for this anthology. The prefaces to the chapters and the items are well written, concise, but fully povide the needed background. Even for those who are familiar with the History of the Manhattan Project, the book reads like a thriller. The last two chapters can serve as an introduction to Richard Rhodes's "Arsenls of Folly".
Not as engrossing as most reviews give it credit for......March 30, 2009 Jerry B. Wilt(Katy, TX USA) 2 out of 3 found this review helpful
As most oral histories go, the interviewer sits down with the interviewee and records their statements. But this book is not that. It is a collection of stories, newspaper articles, letters, exceprts from books and speeches...and that is what this oral history is composed from. Nevertheless, I was a bit disappointed. The book does a decent job of splicing together the history of the early development of the bomb; day to day life in Los Alamos; and the after effects of the bomb dropping. However, the last part of the book which includes modern history about current events surrounding nuclear arms was a bit boring. It could have easily been excluded from this book. I think some of the DVDs available about the Manhattan Project are far more riveting than this book.
Not Just For Manhattan Project BuffsMarch 24, 2009 Monica MacAdams(Brooklyn, New York) 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I was born in 1949, and although I'd heard of the Manhattan Project, had never given it a moment's thought...it was the "product" not the "process" that loomed large in my imagination. Accordingly, I adopted Cindy Kelly's book merely as a "subway companion," something to take my mind off being jostled and lurched on the way to work. But I soon became enthralled (and strange though it may seem) charmed by the tale of the making and deploying of the bomb, as told in Kelly's engrossing, skillfully-selected collection of articles and memoirs by and about the people involved and directly affected. The book provides an intimate feel for the personalities, the practical problems and the politics, and a fascinating and unbiased peek into a part of American history about which many of us know little if anything. One need not be a physicist or an atomic activist (pro or con) to find the book compelling and (again, dare I say it?) enjoyable. I have already sent the book to a few friends as birthday gifts and the like, and am compiling a list of more. I strongly suggest you give yourself a gift and read "The Manhattan Project."
Inside the Manhatten ProjectMarch 7, 2009 Jim Kerwin(SILVER SPRING, MD United States) It's a good read. I'm about half way through. I was originally attracted by the propect of learning more about the personalities of Oppenheimer and his peers (like Bethe, Fermi, etc.) but I now find equally engrossing the exposition on the industrial processes that were tried and developed to produce the fissionable materials (U235 and Plutonium). The anecdotes about the ordinary workers and their families were good too. - A great one is about a little boy who stood up in class and proceeded to reveal what they were making at the Hanover, WA, facility.
