by Cathryn_Conroy: This is a difficult book to read in two very different ways. First, there is a lot of technical information—engineering- and science-speak with some math thrown in for good measure—on how the atomic bomb was conceived, designed, and constructed. But also, it is extremely difficult to read the graphic descriptions of the effect of the bombs that were dropped on the people of Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945 and Nagasaki, Japan on August 9, 1945.
For me, an English major, the first part was sometimes confusing and confounding, while the second part was always heartbreaking and horrific.
Brilliantly written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Garrett M. Graff, this is an oral history of the atomic bomb, starting with how it was conceived to how it was constructed to how it was deployed to how it killed. Underlying the entire book—sometimes overtly and often covertly—are the deepest questions of morality and ethics.
Each chapter opens with a short introduction written by Graff, which is then followed by direct quotations from the people who were involved at every step—about 500 different voices in all. He did this by scouring more than 100 books, dozens of archives, personal letters, diaries, and many more found on multiple continents with the goal of unearthing thousands of personal memories. (A full guide to Graff’s quote searching and research process is included at the back of the book.)
As Graff notes in the opening author’s note, the making of the two bombs stands as one of humanity’s most monumental achievements, shrouded in secrecy and conducted under enormous time pressure. Vannevar Bush, the head of the U.S. science effort, likened it to the building of the pyramids. But it was also a shocking technology of unparalleled violence and mass destruction that transformed the politics and geopolitics of the world.
It was Adolf Hitler’s purge and persecution of Jewish scientists that led to a flood of refugees in the United States—the ultimate brain drain from Germany. Without these brilliant, talented, and motivated men, the atomic bomb would never have been developed in the United States. Instead, it might have happened in Germany. The German scientists who found a safe haven in the United States were especially motivated because they thought the bomb would be used against Hitler.
From Chicago to Los Alamos and from Hanford to Oak Ridge and from the Pentagon to the White House, this is the captivating inside story of what happened when and why. In addition to the science, engineering, and math, the book offers a detailed account of what it was like for the families who accompanied the scientists to the remote locations in New Mexico, Washington, and Tennessee.
Also, the stories of the courageous and creative pilots—Col. Paul W. Tibbets and Maj. Charles W. Sweeney–and the flight crews of the Enola Gay and the Bockscar are just as interesting from both the aviation and psychological points of view.
But more than anything this book is the story of the atomic bomb as a product of American industry. It is as fascinating as it is gruesome, making the title of the book perfect. Paul Numerof, one of the scientists at Los Alamos, recalled, “One man described his feelings as having seen the devil come up out of the earth and reach toward the sky as though to pull the heavens down.”
Just beware: A significant part of the book focuses on what happened after the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki as told by survivors, including what they experienced, what they felt, and what they saw. The descriptions are graphic and sickening.
This book is a compendium of the human stories behind the world’s most destructive weapon. It is a story of American enterprise and ingenuity as much as it’s a story of devastation and annihilation.
