This is a normally very dry subject but this author makes the reading extremely enjoyable. My only caution is you MUST know a moderate amount about basic nuclear physics to get the most out of this book. At least know your basic atomic structure, The Nucleus, The Electron, The Proton and the Neutron and how they relate to the A & H Bombs. It would help if you also had a basic understanding of the Nuclear Chain Reaction and the difference between fusion (as in the process of atomic joining) and fission the (process of atomic separation).
That said if you have the very basics I outline above well understood and you love reading about such things then reading this book will be both fun and insightful. Building the H Bomb: A Personal History can at times get very technical. While the author does try to make this subject very accessible to the layman there is little this or any author can do to Nuclear science painfully easy to understand to those who lack a love and understanding of basic nuclear physics.
Building the H Bomb: A Personal History does a great job of blending his own personal story and those he worked with \ around in a fascinating narrative that kept me reading to the point I lost track of time. I read Building the H Bomb: A Personal History on buses and in my doctors waiting rooms and when reality demanded my attention it was always at the expense of the pleasures I had reading this book. I was engrossed in this subject matter quite unlike I have been in many books of this type. I really enjoyed the backgrounds that gave humanizing insights to such luminaries as Edward Teller, Enrico Fermi to name just a few. Hearing about the old primitive computers with all their tubes, airs and graces also gave me many chuckles. I am a computer guy so I know about the early systems. The enjoyable thing till reading Building the H Bomb: A Personal History, I never had the insight provided by a scientist that actually used one of these tube driven, hot cable laden ancient computing beasts.
On so many levels this is a well written and fun to read book if you really love nuclear physics and the guys who made atoms for war and peace a reality. Nuclear weapons are an ugly reality but I must say I am SOOOO happy the USA got the Super \ H Bomb in time to effective counter the then Soviet Union. As for their being a Moral Nation I don't think there is such a thing. Man fouls everything he touches simply because; he is not perfect and never will be. I believe in the USA not because; our nation is perfect for we are far from perfect. I just happen to believe that our form of government allows us evolve as a nation that strives for a more perfect union or society. The H Bomb is an awesome responsibility. I simply pray that we as a country and a world continue to be worthy stewards of the atom whose power we have collectively unlocked.
This book speaks also about the demands the atom made on the moral fiber of those scientists charged with first unlocking then putting to use its secrets in weapons of mass destruction. This book hits all the high points of the development of super weapons from one who was inside that highly select and secret circle. I have seldom read a book more spelling binding than Building the H Bomb: A Personal History so yes if you love all the things I share herein you will also love this book. Building the H Bomb: A Personal History earns my highest rating.
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