Hacker News Reader

Comment by sefk | Hacker News Reader

The author of this article wrote one of my all time favorite books, _The Making of the Atomic Bomb_. Hr tells the story of the Manhattan Project incredibly well.

The sequel, _Dark Sun_, about the making of the hydrogen bomb, is OK but has a lot more Cold War espionage than science.

Both worth a read!

View on HN

One of my favourite books, too. Tangentially, I highly recommend "American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer" by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. It delves a lot more deeply into the life Oppenheimer than Rhodes was able to, for obvious reasons. Beautifully written, and doesn't have a boring moment.

I second the recommendation for The Making of the Atomic Bomb. That books more or less defined the category of "narrative history" for me. So much better than any other history I had ever read at the time.

Oh yes, one of the best books on the subject. Reads like a novel, but the physics side is presented surprisingly well.

best book i read in college

It is also an excellent well-paced introduction to the physics of the bomb, from the early 20C to the wartime development.

"...won the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction". Looks good; I'm gonna have to read this one.

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Making_of_the_Atomic_Bomb

Similar story but of a failed physics project is "Project Prometheus" by George Dyson, Richard Dyson's son. It's about the project to use atomic explosions for extremely efficient propulsion. With proper implementation, such atomic bomb thrusters would have allowed for 100,000 ton payloads and a truly space faring society.

I think the Rhodes book deserves far more attention. A good companion is to read Robert Buderi's book on radar, which covers other sides of the science-goes-to-war story, and overlaps in places.

I've only read Dark Sun, and agree it's a great book. For some more light hearted looks at the Manhattan Project, a couple of Feynman's books are great. Don't recall the titles offhand, though.

Absolutely loved that book and the sequel. He has another book out now titled _Energy: A Human History_.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com