The Age of Radiance: The epic Rise and Dramatic fall of the Atomic Era by Craig Nelson
An absolutely fantastic book which traces the rise of atomic power from the discovery of x-rays in the 1890s through to the atomic bomb, the subsequent cold war buildup of atomic weapons and the rise of nuclear power, with its inherent dangers.
The book is told through the story of the scientists involved - Marie and Pierre Curie, Enrico Fermi, Albert Einstein,, Robert Oppenheimer and the many other giants of the scientific world, many of whom died young as a result of the huge doses of radioactivity they endured. Indeed, it traces well the complicated and difficult relationship with the dangerous power that mankind discovered and made part of civilization. Ultimately, he argues that the atomic age is in its twilight and that eventually both nuclear power and nuclear weapons will be nearly eradicated.
It finishes with a thorough analysis of the 5 Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukoshima. But these are in fact the tip of the iceberg. To get a proper perspective on the vast number of accidents, major and minor, check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nuclear_power_accidents_by_country.
Craig Nelson has crafted a superbly researched yet immsensely readable book which I think is a must for everyone.
This was but one of many books that I have in my library on this era and this science. Titles include
Danger and Survival: Choices about the bomb in the first fifty years by McGeorge Bundy (1988)
Day of Trinity by Lansing Lamont (1966)
Brighter than a Thousand Suns by Robert Jungk (1965 edition)
The Energy Question by Gerald Foley with Charlotte Nassim (1978 edition)
The Prometheus Crisis by Thomas M Scortia and Frank M Robinson.
Of the many scientists mentioned, I was just so impressed with Italian physicist Enrico Fermi who was not just brilliant but super brilliant in every possible way. So when I finished this book, I borrowed from the Moreland Library and am now reading his biography Enrico Fermi Physicist written by fellow scientist Emilio Segre in 1970.
An absolutely fantastic book which traces the rise of atomic power from the discovery of x-rays in the 1890s through to the atomic bomb, the subsequent cold war buildup of atomic weapons and the rise of nuclear power, with its inherent dangers.
The book is told through the story of the scientists involved - Marie and Pierre Curie, Enrico Fermi, Albert Einstein,, Robert Oppenheimer and the many other giants of the scientific world, many of whom died young as a result of the huge doses of radioactivity they endured. Indeed, it traces well the complicated and difficult relationship with the dangerous power that mankind discovered and made part of civilization. Ultimately, he argues that the atomic age is in its twilight and that eventually both nuclear power and nuclear weapons will be nearly eradicated.
It finishes with a thorough analysis of the 5 Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukoshima. But these are in fact the tip of the iceberg. To get a proper perspective on the vast number of accidents, major and minor, check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nuclear_power_accidents_by_country.
Craig Nelson has crafted a superbly researched yet immsensely readable book which I think is a must for everyone.
This was but one of many books that I have in my library on this era and this science. Titles include
Danger and Survival: Choices about the bomb in the first fifty years by McGeorge Bundy (1988)
Day of Trinity by Lansing Lamont (1966)
Brighter than a Thousand Suns by Robert Jungk (1965 edition)
The Energy Question by Gerald Foley with Charlotte Nassim (1978 edition)
The Prometheus Crisis by Thomas M Scortia and Frank M Robinson.
Of the many scientists mentioned, I was just so impressed with Italian physicist Enrico Fermi who was not just brilliant but super brilliant in every possible way. So when I finished this book, I borrowed from the Moreland Library and am now reading his biography Enrico Fermi Physicist written by fellow scientist Emilio Segre in 1970.
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