Publisher: Flash Point
Publication date: September 2012
Pages: 272
Source: Library
For: Fun (and Newbery reading)
In December of 1938, a chemist in a German laboratory made a shocking discovery: When placed next to radioactive material, a Uranium atom split in two. That simple discovery launched a scientific race that spanned 3 continents. In Great Britain and the United States, Soviet spies worked their way into the scientific community; in Norway, a commando force slipped behind enemy lines to attack German heavy-water manufacturing; and deep in the desert, one brilliant group of scientists was hidden away at a remote site at Los Alamos. This is the story of the plotting, the risk-taking, the deceit, and genius that created the world's most formidable weapon. This is the story of the atomic bomb.Things I Liked:
It's no secret that I don't read a lot of non-fiction. It's not even that I don't like it, it's more that I have a hard time deciding what will interest me and what won't. Well, this book had no trouble at all interesting me. I was fascinated from beginning to end. It was energetic and it never seemed to drag or get too detailed or boring. I loved seeing the story from so many different perspectives and it really was interesting to hear about people who wanted to build it, steal it, and find out where their enemies were at in this same process. Great, great nonfiction.
Things I Didn't Like:
The only thing I wished was that there were more photos/news clippings or something throughout the text. It definitely could have done with some breaking up of the chapters more with visuals. There were some at the beginning of each chapter and some at the very end, but seeing them while you're reading about it is my favorite.
Read-alikes:
Not sure if I can think of any...
BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: !
a few here and there
mrg-factor:none
v-factor:->->
well, the bombs were dropped and it talks about first-hand experiences - not in too much detail though
Overall rating: *****
If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage
Posts
I've had this book in my hands a few times. I'm much like you -- not sure about non-fiction so I don't read a lot. However I thought this would be an interesting subject. Glad to hear it is well done. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's worth reading. And it's short too, so you could read it in a few hours probably.
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