Skillful, unsettling arguments that the world is headed toward nuclear disaster from two different directions.
Diligent history of nuclear proliferation and peaceful nuclear energy makes a good case that they are intimately connected and equally out of control.
In her first book, veteran nuclear-industry journalist Cooke quickly dispenses with the Manhattan Project before settling down to portray post–World War II America, suddenly the world superpower because it had sole possession of the atomic bomb. While other historians stress the Soviet Union’s scramble to develop its own nuclear weapons, Cooke gives equal time to Britain and France. Offended at America’s refusal to reveal the secrets of a technology both helped develop, each launched its own successful Manhattan Project, as immensely expensive, oppressively secretive and environmentally damaging as the original. By 1960 the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and France all had the bomb; they were followed in subsequent decades by China, India, Israel and Pakistan. In parallel, Cooke describes the growth of nuclear power. It was enthusiastically embraced by the U.S. government as a means of soothing Americans’ fear of atomic fission. Also, American authorities hoped to discourage other governments from developing atomic weapons through the generous Atoms for Peace policy, which supplied enriched uranium to nations eager to acquire nuclear technology in exchange for a promise not to use it to make bombs. Neither goal was achieved. No fan of nuclear power plants, Cooke emphasizes the expense of their construction and maintenance, the complexity of their apparatus, the pollution they cause and the catastrophic accidents that have occurred. Possession of nuclear weapons has become the mark of a great nation, she notes, just as battleships were a century ago, and any government willing to make the effort can build an atomic bomb. Since America shares this macho ideal, nonproliferation efforts always fail because have-not nations correctly perceive that the United States will never give up its own arsenal.
Skillful, unsettling arguments that the world is headed toward nuclear disaster from two different directions.Pub Date: April 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-59691-617-3
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2009
An intriguing meditation on the nature of the universe and our attempts to understand it that should appeal to both...
Italian theoretical physicist Rovelli (General Relativity: The Most Beautiful of Theories, 2015, etc.) shares his thoughts on the broader scientific and philosophical implications of the great revolution that has taken place over the past century.
These seven lessons, which first appeared as articles in the Sunday supplement of the Italian newspaper Sole 24 Ore, are addressed to readers with little knowledge of physics. In less than 100 pages, the author, who teaches physics in both France and the United States, cogently covers the great accomplishments of the past and the open questions still baffling physicists today. In the first lesson, he focuses on Einstein's theory of general relativity. He describes Einstein's recognition that gravity "is not diffused through space [but] is that space itself" as "a stroke of pure genius." In the second lesson, Rovelli deals with the puzzling features of quantum physics that challenge our picture of reality. In the remaining sections, the author introduces the constant fluctuations of atoms, the granular nature of space, and more. "It is hardly surprising that there are more things in heaven and earth, dear reader, than have been dreamed of in our philosophy—or in our physics,” he writes. Rovelli also discusses the issues raised in loop quantum gravity, a theory that he co-developed. These issues lead to his extraordinary claim that the passage of time is not fundamental but rather derived from the granular nature of space. The author suggests that there have been two separate pathways throughout human history: mythology and the accumulation of knowledge through observation. He believes that scientists today share the same curiosity about nature exhibited by early man.
An intriguing meditation on the nature of the universe and our attempts to understand it that should appeal to both scientists and general readers.Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-18441-3
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Riverhead
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A magnificent account of a central reality of our times, incorporating deep scientific expertise, broad political and social knowledge, and ethical insight, and Idled with beautifully written biographical sketches of the men and women who created nuclear physics. Rhodes describes in detail the great scientific achievements that led up to the invention of the atomic bomb. Everything of importance is examined, from the discovery of the atomic nucleus and of nuclear fission to the emergence of quantum physics, the invention of the mass-spectroscope and of the cyclotron, the creation of such man-made elements as plutonium and tritium, and implementation of the nuclear chain reaction in uranium. Even more important, Rhodes shows how these achievements were thrust into the arms of the state, which culminated in the unfolding of the nuclear arms race. Often brilliantly, he records the rise of fascism and of anti-Semitism, and the intensification of nationalist ambitions. He traces the outbreak of WW II, which provoked a hysterical rivalry among nations to devise the bomb. This book contains a grim description of Japanese resistance, and of the horrible psychological numbing that caused an unparalleled tolerance for human suffering and destruction. Rhodes depicts the Faustian scale of the Manhattan Project. His account of the dropping of the bomb itself, and of the awful firebombing that prepared its way, is unforgettable. Although Rhodes' gallery of names and events is sometimes dizzying, his scientific discussions often daunting, he has written a book of great drama and sweep. A superb accomplishment.
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1986
ISBN: 0684813785
Page Count: 932
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1986
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