Rating: 
Summary: This book is VERY WELL WRITTEN
Review: I'm only a few chapters into the book at the moment. However, I am finding the book to be very interesting and extremely well researched. I totally disagree with the other reviews on this one. The book is very well written. I can hardly put it down. Excellent job!
Rating: 
Summary: Great Subject -- Poorly Written
Review: I've always found the subject of America's quest to build the atomic bomb to be one of history's most fascinating subjects. There are few things that have changed the course of world events more than the Allied victory in WWII and the onset of the nuclear age. A number of years ago, I had the pleasure of visiting Los Alamos, New Mexico, and spent half a day at the museum near the lab that detailed the development of the bomb. That's why I was excited to see this new book about Lawrence, Teller and Oppenheimer and quickly sat down to read it. Now that I've finished it, I don't think I know much more about what happened than I did before picking up the book. Sure, there are some fascinating passages about the scientists and their relationships with one another, but there is very little actual information on what happened. Part of the problem is that the book is so clumsily written that it is too hard to follow. The writer alternates between writing about the development of the bomb and writing about quest to prove Oppenheimer's loyalty and subequently fails to include enough substance on either subject. To give you an idea, the actual detonation of the first atomic bomb in White Sands is given only a few pages. Subsequent tests are barely mentioned at all. Thankfully, the writer covers the issue of Soviet espionage and the questionable behavior of the Oppenheimer brothers but even that discussion seems to have the proper context. I'll give it two stars because of my interest in the subject matter but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else.
Rating: 
Summary: Personal politics drive public nuclear agenda
Review: In this well written book that draws on recently declassified US and Soviet sources, Herken draw a picture of the transition from research to high stakes nuclear policy. He uses the lives of three key physicists, Lawrence, Oppenheimer and Teller, to explore the complex issues of applying the new knowledge about atomic power to first creating an atomic bomb, and later to the intense debate about whether a hydrogen bomb should be created. In choosing three scientists with very different temperaments, Herken describes not only the chronology of events from the mid 30's to the 60's, but can look at the fascinating intersection of how personal experiences contribute to the shape of history. I was personally fascinated by Oppenheimer, who was affiliated with left wing and Communist organizations in the 30's, but did a stellar job of driving the research that led to the atomic bomb. The book describes how various government agencies had him and his colleagues under surveillance throughout the war, and into the 50's. I found this fascinating. Far more repulsive was how innuendo and carefully excerpted materials were used to paint him as a possible spy during the 50's Communist witch hunts. For me, Oppenheimer's was the saddest story; using his reluctance to create the H-bomb as "proof" that he was a Soviet sympathizer is one of the dark moments of American history. The story of a man with a conscience about the consequences of his actions, against a backdrop of huge pressures to compete against the Soviet arms program, is the stuff of tragedy. The portraits of the scientists are well drawn, and their differing motivations become clearer as they become older. You don't need to be a physicist yourself to read this... The science is explained succinctly, with enough detail to be satisfying to the lay person. It might be slightly disappointing to someone deeply familiar with physics. The focus is on how personality and politics shaped one of the most critical policies of the second half of the twentieth century: the American nuclear policy.
Rating: 
Summary: History treated like a heavy machinery operating manual
Review: This book is very well researched, but is EXTREMELY poorly written. It is the driest and most boring history book that I have ever read in my life. The entire thing is presented as a simple collection of facts and the author hardly gives you any insight into what the major characters were really like (sometimes you get a little glimpse in the footnotes). I bought this book after seeing all the good reviews it had gotten, but I have trouble focusing on reading for more than 10 minutes because I feel like I'm wasting my time reading this tedious amassment of factual evidence.
Rating:
Summary: Very cool book
Review: This book was very fascinating and fun to read. The book is very informative and interesting about the development of "the Bomb", and beyond. The book goes into vast detail about Ernest Lawrence, Robert Oppenheimer, and Edward Teller; especially Ernest Lawrence. The book starts in about 1939 with Ernest's invention of the cyclotron, and ends in the early 1960's with the Limited Test-Ban treaty. Besides talking about the relationships between the three physicists, which is very interesting, the book also talks about a lot of the small people involved in the production of the first fission weapon. What I think is cool, is the information given on Robert Oppenheimer from the FBI. The book also sends a lot of time discussing Edward Teller's interest and development of the Hydrogen Bomb. Although it does give some information about the nuclear testing we have done, it would be better if the Author discussed this more. Overall, I enjoyed this book and definitely recommend it to anyone who is interested in the history and development of nuclear weapons.
Rating:
Summary: first rate history of science, told like a novel
Review: This is a wonderful book about one of the most controversial developments of the last century: the development of the atomic and then hydrogen bombs. At the core of the book are the three scientists - Robert Oppenheimer, Ernest Lawrence, and Edward Teller - who had the greatest impact, both from the technical problems they confronted and from the political points of view they advocated. Though a bit rarified in terms of general interest as it focuses on science advisors, this for me was a fascinating recounting of the decisions that led to the arms race and eventually cost $5.5 trillion and produced 120,000 nuclear weapons. It also evokes with great eloquence the domestic repercussions of the cold war and paranoia of the 1950s. Herken writes well, though at times his style was strange for me. For example, one person evaluated a speech with a "gimlet eye." (I had to look that up.) Nonetheless, Herken's writing is dramatic and fast paced, far far better than I would normally expect from an American academic. Recommended with enthusiasm.
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