Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic read.
Review: This ranks with the best books I have ever read. The detail that Rhodes put on the pages is amazing. At times, the details and names can be a bit overwhelming. The scope of the book is far greater than I originally thought. I wanted to read it for the scientific and engineering aspects of the bomb, and it didn't disappoint. It did take some effort to get through the social and political sections, however.
Rating:
Summary: Truly a great accomplishment of literature and history.
Review: Wonderful well documented history of the scientific, political, military, ethical, and personal aspects of atomic weaponry. Absolutely engrossing and instructive for anyone interested in the study of great accomplishments of man and society.
Rating:
Summary: This is a fantastic book on so many levels.
Review: I have read this and Dark Sun.This is history that we should have all been aware of. Obviously most are not and never will be. The pure science is icing on the cake.
Rating:
Summary: Great book!!!!
Review: I picked this up in a book store in West Yellowstone, Montana, and cannot put it down. Though some of the physics and chemistry are a bit above my head, it is still fascinating to read about those wonderful years of fantastic discovery.I cannot wait until I finish and then start on Dark Sun. It will probably be as involved, but it will be worth the effort!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Lengthy and Tedious -- A real disappointment
Review: I bought this book with great excitement, and during vacation was torn whether to start this book or another since it seemed so promising. Thankfully for my vacation, I chose another book to read first! I will admitt that I have not finished this book, but that is the point -- I am not sure I ever will. What held so much promise as an in-depth story of one of the greatest scientific and military projects ever immediately dies within the first 100 pages with the seemingly ENDLESS and tedious life stories of the scientists involved. While the characters invloved is certainly of interest and relevance, I can't help but wonder what several hundred pages of endless detail into their lives, education, and even appearnace has to do with this story. I feel as if the author spent a great deal of time researching these people and could not help himself from putting it all in, even though this was superfluous to the real story. Let this be a warning to the prospective buyer -- you may have to skip the first hundred pages to get to any good stuff, which in my mind makes this a sub-par book!
Rating:
Summary: Incredible book!
Review: Considering I was not even very interested in the subject of particle physics or the making of the atomic bomb before I started this book, the writing in this book is so absorbing and the topic developed so well that I could not put it down. Frankly, I was given the book as a gift and started reading it out of boredom. I found it to be the most engaging book I have read in years. This is less a testament to the subject and more a testatment to the author!
Rating:
Summary: The best intro to 20th century physics I have read
Review: In addition to being a stellar history of the atomic bomb, in the first 50 pages Rhodes takes you quickly through a history of the development of 20th century physics which is the clearest I have ever read -- and I have read a lot of them. Rhodes is one of the few non-fiction authors for whom I have gone out of my way to read every book he has written. As an explainer he is in a class with Asimov. As an historian and biographer he is in a class with Ellmann.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding. One of the best books I have ever read.
Review: I just wanted to add another 5 starts to the reviews. Excellent book
Rating:
Summary: The most frightening event of the century explained.
Review: No, I'm not talking about the endless, verbose review that appears a few lines below mine, but about the (literally) earth-shattering explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Never have I read a book that so well describes the interrelated process that allows any scientific discovery (or invention, if you're not into fatalism) to occur. It helps that the eggheads who brought us into the nuclear age had personality and charisma, making for a relatively quick read (at least quicker than the musings of certain Georgetown scholars). Read this book at all costs, for if you do not, you may never understand why Montgomery Burns has a "healthy green glow" about him.
Rating:
Summary: Mind Blowing
Review: I have had a chance to read some of the greatest books of our period, but this book takes the cake. Never has a non-fiction book been told in such a detailed and absorbing manner. Definitely worth the Pulitzer.
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