A really exciting overall story of atomic research from its beginning to the Nagasaki bombing. The N. Y. Times science editor provides a super-Verne account of the scientists and engineers who brought a pure idea into a climax of materialisation, explains the technical aspects with clarity, makes a thrilling recital of the mysteries and obstacles, the need for haste from 1939 on, the magnitude of the entire project. Personal observation and knowledge enhance this display of technological wonders.