by Craig Nelson
First published 2014
Craig Nelson chronicles the atomic age from Marie Curie's early radioactivity research through the Fukushima disaster. He traces how Jewish scientists escaping Hitler helped transform America from a nation making light bulbs into one splitting atoms. The narrative follows key figures including Enrico Fermi, Edward Teller, Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Curtis LeMay, John F. Kennedy, Robert McNamara, Ronald Reagan, and Mikhail Gorbachev. Nelson shows how nuclear science emerged in the nineteenth century, shaped World War II and the Cold War, and continues affecting our daily lives. He examines both benefits and dangers of radiation, from medical advances to cancer risks. The book reveals Alfred Nobel's peace aspirations and describes emergency workers battling dangerous reactors. Nelson argues that atomic power remains inseparable from modern existence, exploring our complex relationship with this powerful but perilous energy source.
Genres: history, 20th-century, non-fiction, biography-memoir, physics, 21st-century, academic, american-history
Vibes: epic, informative, thought-provoking
Tropes: historical-figures, scientific-progress
Setting: America, Fukushima
Period: 19th-century, Cold War, World War II
448 pages · Paperback · Scribner