- Hardcover: 432 pages
- Publisher: Harvard University Press; New edition edition (26 Mar 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0674017242
- ISBN-13: 978-0674017245
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16.5 x 3.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,311,569 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Bomb: A Life
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Review
Gerard DeGroot...has produced a timely account of mankind's most awful invention, wrly wrapped as a biography...This is a clever cocktail of reportage, analysis and anecdote, from the physics of the bomb's conception to the B-movies it inspired (notably "Night of the Lepus", in which the world is threatened by giant mutant rabbits.) There are also some well-aimed blows at the late Ronald Reagan, who despite hagiographical obituaries tinkered with the superpower balance with a dangerous whimsy.--Peter Millar"The Times" (08/14/2004)
The Word
‘A page-turning biography of mankind’s most terrifying creation, this disturbs, amuses, enlightens and, most importantly, makes you think twice.’
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"The Bomb: A Life" is a highly readable history of nuclear weapons, from the Manhattan Project through the end of the Cold War and the threat of nuclear terrorism. I picked the book up on a whim and soon found that DeGroot's style kept me turning the pages.
DeGroot's book is a fairly high level overview of the development of the atomic bomb and its even more horrific successor, the hydrogen bomb. It also explores the challenges of integrating these earthshaking weapons into military and political doctrine, with a special emphasis on the formative period of the 1950s and early sixties.
But "The Bomb" is more than just a military or geopolitical history. Degroot gives equal time to domestic developments provoked by the Bomb, such as disarmament movements, the grim fate of "downwinders," and artifacts of bomb-driven cultural history like Bert the Turtle, "Dr. Stangelove," Doomtown, "The Day After," and the Doomsday Clock. In fact, one of the most interesting aspects of the book is its description of the interplay between nuclear weapons and society--how the bomb changed culture, and how culture responded by changing the bomb.
DeGroot is an equal opportunity critic, and he muses about both the excesses of nuclear warriors and the quixotic struggles of those who pressed for disarmament. In the end, he demurs--"a final verdict on the Bomb is impossible."
If you are looking for a readable overview of the development and cultural impact of nuclear weapons, "The Bomb: A Life" is a good and sobering place to start.
17 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Having read both "The Making of the Atomic Bomb" and "Dark Sun" I approached this book with caution - I wondered how could anyone hope to add anything significant, or new, to history of the bomb?
This book is more of a social history of, rather than an analysis of, the development of the bomb. Eminently readable, this book complements the other "authoritative" texts, gleaning new light on a disturbing history.
Throughout the book we are reminded of the horrors of war, and the horrors of using nuclear weapons.
This book gets my vote for non-fiction book of the year.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Atom Bomb History
For the more academic types, many of the subjects encompassed by this very readable story of the history of atom bomb development are not given enough detail to be of any worth. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Jacb201
Great book.
A top rate overview of 'The Bomb'. It resists the urge to delve to deep into the rabbit holes and sticks to broad strokes. Read more
Published on 21 Sep 2009 by Huckleberry Finn
Highly recommended
A throughly engaging and well written book which deals mostly with the socially and political aspects of The Bomb. Read more
Published on 30 Oct 2007 by J. Bennett
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