Rating: 
Summary: A "MUST READ" for a students of the Cold War!
Review: As a United States History teacher, this book has become the definitive history of the atomic bomb when I bring up that subject in my Cold War unit. Student's are fascinated by Rhodes "down to earth" explanations for complex issues and ideas presented in the work. I enjoy telling about the key individuals involved: Oppenheimer, Teller, Szilard, Bohr, etc.. Rhodes has a way of bringing those giants of the scientific world to life in the high school classrooom. This book will be looked upon as a classic to the likes of William Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, which I consider the main source for work in that subject area. I use this book and his, Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb, as resources for the students to use. This part of the Cold War is probably the least understood and most glossed over by politically correct instructors around the country. Rhodes has put the bomb(s) back into the indepth study of the era known as the Cold War
Rating:
Summary: Magnum Opus. Unforgettable, readable history.
Review: A history book, masquerading as a science book, masquerading as a great work of literature, Rhodes' history is a unique treatment for a hitherto untouched subject. It justly won the Pulitzer Prize.
The main characters woven into this magnum opus are a who's who of twentieth century physics. No important contributor is given short shrift. The first chapter's telling of Leo Szilard's revelation of the possibility of a nuclear chain reaction, while walking across a street in London, immediately captures the reader. From there, "The History of the Atomic Bomb" takes on the truly monumental proportions it deserves as Rhodes relates almost the entire history of twentieth century physics!
This is a compelling story that deserves this depth. To hold the reader so completely throughout this huge volume is a monumental accomplishment. An absolutely wonderful read. Essential and informative
Rating:
Summary: Most compelling true adventure story about Nuclear Physics.
Review: The Making of the Atomic Bomb weaves the history of warfare
from 1900 to 1945 and the history of nuclear physics up to
1945 into one of the most gripping adventure stories ever
written. The fact that it is all true makes it all the more
compelling.
My page at http://www.futuris.net/nickp/Making.html
illustrates why this book stands out in my mind as one of
the most profound works of literature ever created.
Rating:
Summary: A "MUST READ" for a students of the Cold War!
Review: As a United States History teacher, this book has become the definitive history of the atomic bomb when I bring up that subject in my Cold War unit. Student's are fascinated by Rhodes "down to earth" explanations for complex issues and ideas presented in the work. I enjoy telling about the key individuals involved: Oppenheimer, Teller, Szilard, Bohr, etc.. Rhodes has a way of bringing those giants of the scientific world to life in the high school classrooom. This book will be looked upon as a classic to the likes of William Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, which I consider the main source for work in that subject area. I use this book and his, Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb, as resources for the students to use. This part of the Cold War is probably the least understood and most glossed over by politically correct instructors around the country. Rhodes has put the bomb(s) back into the indepth study of the era known as the Cold War
Rating:
Summary: Those who ignore history are bound to repeat it
Review: Read "The Making of the Atomic Bomb" and get two excellent books for the price of one. An eminently readable scientific journal and as good a time capsule of the mood of World War II as you'll find anywhere.
Rating:
Summary: Tree- Huggers Beware
Review: This is a good book that I feel different people will get different things from. I'm no quantum theorist however so I should have flipped through these parts more than I did and concentrated on the politics and the war parts which were excellent. The quantum theorem stuff gave me a headache but if you can hang in there I'm sure it'll add to your appreciation of the book. I felt a little impatient all the way through as I wanted to read about Trinity and Hiroshima and the politics behind them. And it was interesting to read about the hopes and fears of the very human but brilliant scientists. I liked the way the book linked the dropping of the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki all the way back to before the first world war, the lack of unconditional surrender in 1918 and so the desire for it in 1945, many Jews fleeing from Germany in the thirties including their top scientists, the fear of Hitler getting the bomb first etc. It just all seems inevitable with the gift of hindsight but this book shows the uncertainty and fears of the days and long candlelit nights. I think anyone who is contempuous towards the people involved in the arrival of nuclear weapons should read this book and at least speak from knowledge rather than emotion.
Rating: 
Summary: Great story, though with some slow parts in New Mexico
Review: The best part of this book is the first 270 pages on the origins of nuclear physics from around the turn of the century. Rhodes does a great job presenting Ernest Rutherford and Niels Bohr, two influential scientists with many students. Rutherford and Bohr (and some others whom Rhodes also introduces) have been overshadowed by Einstein in the public mind. If this part were a stand-alone book, I'd heartily recommend it with five stars.
The middle part of the book narrates the making of the atomic bomb. Rhodes has an interesting approach to the events leading up to Einstein's famous letter to Roosevelt, making Einstein more a conduit than an independent actor.
The book drags when it gets to New Mexico. I found that Rhodes spent too much time talking about uranium processing, which just isn't all that interesting. This moves the narrative away from the concepts of physics (and politics) that drove the story earlier, and focuses it on technical improvements in refining ore. Also, the quality of Rhodes' explanations of the science deteriorated here.
The story picks up again as we move to the bomb test and then the two bombs dropped on Japan. The narrative is compelling. Rhodes then spends a lot of time on the human consequences of the bomb, especially in Hiroshima. This is graphic, disturbing, and probably overly repetitive - but I welcomed the repetition as conveying the sheer horror of the events and reminding us of how many people each bomb affected.
The conclusion consists of what I thought were superficial political musings about the atomic bomb. Richard Rhodes wants Leo Szilard to be our hero, and he starts and ends the book with Szilard. Despite Rhodes' efforts, I wasn't convinced that Szilard's insights into the problems of nuclear weapons were any more profound than anyone else's. Rhodes might have been better off extending the book into about 1945-1955 and the community of nuclear scientists and political scientists wrestling with nuclear doctrine.
Rating:
Summary: Essential History
Review: America's go-for-broke Manhattan Project is one of the most spellbinding stories of intrigue ever told, and Richard Rhodes has done the best job by far of bringing it all together. As always, the fascination is in the humanity involved, and Rhodes charms us with needle-sharp insight into the lives of some of history's most brilliant personalities. This book showcases what is right with America...namely, our rich history of cultural and religious tolerance. The ironic twist that Hitler helped make the Manhattan Project successful by driving some of the most brilliant minds out of their homes in Europe will not be lost on the reader. Simply a magnificent book.
Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece of research and the writing craft
Review: Rhodes' masterpiece brilliantly synthesizes various genres: a lucid and well-documented history, a layperson's primer on atomic physics, and a study of human nature as insightful as the best fiction. He won the Pulitzer and deserves a Nobel.
Rating:
Summary: Those who ignore history are bound to repeat it
Review: The author covers the science and history of the atomic bomb very well. It is worth your time to read. The book would have earned five stars if the author had not injected as much of his naive and politically correct view of the world as he does. Specifically, he spends a good deal of the last chapter and parts of earlier chapters indulging a woolly-headed belief that somehow the Stalin would have allowed the Soviet Union to become an open society in order to avoid the perils of a nuclear arms race, if only the U.S. and Britain had just done things differently. Also, while he does not entirely ignore the excellent reasons for dropping the atomic bombs, he devotes a great deal of space to those who, in ignorance of the the military realities of the war with Japan or because they could not bring themselves to make a hard decision which would save millions of Japanese and Allied lives, whined and railed against the use of the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. There are a few other subjects on which the author's "Late 20th Century Politically Correct" viewpoint comes through, but for the most part these were merely minor annoyances. Overall, and especially if you skip the last part of the last chapter, the book is excellent.
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