REPORT ON THE ATOM

A former Chief of the Atomic Energy Committee (1949) does an excellent job of presenting the scientific facts and historical background of the atomic energy program here and abroad for the layman. Included in his compass is the American approach to the atom; the international background of the atom; the potentials of the atom in war and peace; the process of changing the element from ore to weapon; the relation of the military to the civilian A.E.C.; the problems of secrecy and security and spies; the study of radioisotopes and quest for knowledge in the field. A straight-from-the-shoulder discourse on what the atom has meant, does and can mean to us.