With technical mastery and remarkable empathy, Canaday introduces readers to the people involved in the creation and testing of the first atomic bomb, from initial theoretical conversations to the secretive work at Los Alamos. Critical Assembly also includes brief biographies, notes, and a bibliography for further exploration about this critical event in world history.

From the dawn of the atomic age, art and popular culture have played an essential role interpreting nuclear issues to the public and investigating the implications of nuclear weapons to the future of human civilization. Political and social forces often seemed paralyzed in thinking beyond the advent of nuclear weapons and articulating a creative response to the dilemma posed by this apocalyptic technology. Art and popular culture are uniquely suited to grapple with the implications of the ...

**Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the National Book Critics Circle Award****The definitive history of nuclear weapons—**from the turn-of-the-century discovery of nuclear energy to J. Robert Oppenheimer and the Manhattan Project—this epic work details the science, the people, and the sociopolitical realities that led to the development of the atomic bomb.This sweeping account begins in the 19th cen...

An illuminating portrayal of Richard Feynman—a giant of twentieth century physics—from his childhood tinkering with radios, to his vital work on the Manhattan Project and beyondRaised in Depression-era Rockaway Beach, physicist Richard Feynman was irreverent, eccentric, and childishly enthusiastic—a new kind of scientist in a field that was in its infancy. His quick mastery of quantum mechanics earned him a place at Los Alamos working on the Manhattan Project under...

From New York Times bestselling author Sam Kean comes the gripping, untold story of a renegade group of scientists and spies determined to keep Adolf Hitler from obtaining the ultimate prize: a nuclear bomb.Scientists have always kept secrets. But rarely have the secrets been as vital as they were during World War II. In the middle of building an atomic bomb, the leaders of the Manhattan Project were alarmed to learn that ...

One of the most famous science books of our time, the phenomenal national bestseller that "buzzes with energy, anecdote and life. It almost makes you want to become a physicist" (Science Digest).Richard P. Feynman, winner of the Nobel Prize in physics, thrived on outrageous adventures. In this lively work that “can shatter the stereotype of the stuffy scientist” (Detroit Free Press), Feynman recounts his experiences trading ideas on atomic physics...

**NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Magisterial…A stunning account that brings to the fore the nuclear saga’s surreal combination of ingenuity, fate, and terror.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) • “If you are an intelligent person, or at the very least think you are, you have to read The Devil Reached Toward the Sky…This period in history has never been more relevant and frightening than it is today.” —James Patterson • “Comprehensive and engrossing…Excellent oral...

The Guardian's Best Science Book of 2017: the fascinating science and history of the air we breathe.It's invisible. It's ever-present. Without it, you would die in minutes. And it has an epic story to tell.In Caesar's Last Breath, New York Times bestselling author Sam Kean takes us on a journey through the periodic table, around the globe, and across time to tell the story of the air we breathe, which, it turns out, is also the st...

Perfect for middle grade readers and history enthusiasts, New York Times bestselling author Steve Sheinkin presents the fascinating and frightening true story of the creation behind the most destructive force that birthed the arms race and the Cold War in Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon.A Newbery Honor bookA National Boo...

On the 8th of January 2012 a man who discovered at 21 that he had motor neurone disease, which usually means a few years' degeneration then death, celebrated his 70th birthday. Stephen Hawking was born January 8, 1942 in Oxford, England. Even as a child, he exhibited a fascination for mathematics, science and the sky. At age 21, while studying cosmology at Cambridge, Stephen was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). In the two years after this live changing announcement; Step...

In this revelatory new book, the author of the award-winning international bestseller Wizard: The Life & Times of Nikola Tesla delves deeper into the groundbreaking ideas and astonishing mind of one of the greatest geniuses of modern times . . .“In a few years hence, it will be possible for nations to fight without armies, ships or guns, by weapons far more terrible to the destructive action and range of which there is virtually no limit. Any city at a...

An insightful look into the brilliant mind of physicist Richard Feynman.One of the towering figures of twentieth-century science, Richard Feynman possessed a curiosity that was the stuff of legend. Even before he won the Nobel Prize in 1965, his unorthodox and spellbinding lectures on physics secured his reputation amongst students and seekers around the world. It was his outsized love for life, however, that earned him the status of an American cultural icon—here ...