Here, for the first time, in a brilliant, panoramic portrait by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "The Making of the Atomic Bomb, " is the defin...
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Jan 29, 2012
Richard
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Richard Rhodes described the beginnings of the atomic age in his "The Making of the Atomic Bomb." The scientific-military Manhattan Project was born of the necessity to beat the Nazis into production of atomic bombs and ended with their use by the United States against Japan. "Dark Sun" tells the history of nuclear bomb development since that time. It contains a wealth of scientific descriptions, such as a discussion of the physics of thermonuclear (TN) devices and their cons
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Sep 12, 2010
Converse
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Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb covers more than the title suggests. The narrative begins with Soviet espionage in the 1940s, coving such figures as the physicist Klaus Fuchs, the courier Harry Gold, David Greenglass the enlisted man at Los Alamos, and the Rosenbergs. These figures and others provided the Soviets with a good deal of information about the atomic bomb program, in particular the existence of plutonium and the use of implosion to create a plutonium bomb (as opposed to
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Oct 31, 2009
Robert
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Not only is this a very compelling and understandible read about the project to develop the Hydrogen Bomb, it is also a startling expose of the reasons why so many betrayed their own country to leak those secrets to the Soviets.
Rhodes not only vividly details the rampant anti-Semitism in the United States that the Soviets exploited to gain the trust of Jewish scientists working on the project, but also he exposes the last days of Joseph Stalin and introduces the strong possiblity th More...
Rhodes not only vividly details the rampant anti-Semitism in the United States that the Soviets exploited to gain the trust of Jewish scientists working on the project, but also he exposes the last days of Joseph Stalin and introduces the strong possiblity th More...
Mar 06, 2009
G. Branden
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A worthy follow-up to The Making of the Atomic Bomb, but the tight-fistedness of Rhodes's sources render it slightly less informative. I hope to find out if the author's subsequent (and much more recent) follow-up Arsenals of Folly, fills in the gaps.
Invaluable for insight into the Soviet nuclear program, which is a pretty hazy subject for most Americans (and probably to many contemporary Soviet citizens as well). More...
Invaluable for insight into the Soviet nuclear program, which is a pretty hazy subject for most Americans (and probably to many contemporary Soviet citizens as well). More...
Jan 07, 2012
This is sort of the sequel to his The Making of the Atom Bomb(which I liked, albeit it was thick and complicated).
That book was all about "fission"...
Hydrogen bombs, well, that's all about "fusion"....so we're still talking about a thick and complicated book. (Now featuring even more neutrons!)
It was good, too, but it suffered from nuclear physics overdose because I read it after I read the first one. There's only so much heavy hydrogen you ca More...
That book was all about "fission"...
Hydrogen bombs, well, that's all about "fusion"....so we're still talking about a thick and complicated book. (Now featuring even more neutrons!)
It was good, too, but it suffered from nuclear physics overdose because I read it after I read the first one. There's only so much heavy hydrogen you ca More...
Dec 12, 2010
James
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Like Richard Rhodes' previous work, The Making of the Atomic Bomb, the title Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb doesn't begin to describe the shear amount of information in the book. The greatest difference between Dark Sun and Atomic Bomb is that this book spends much of its time on political maneuverings, Soviet espionage, and the Soviet effort to build an atomic bomb.
While the basic operational principles of thermonuclear weapons are covered, there is not as much detail as wa More...
While the basic operational principles of thermonuclear weapons are covered, there is not as much detail as wa More...
Jan 12, 2011
James
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Years ago I'd read and enjoyed Rhodes's earlier The Making of the Atomic Bomb. Because that was a history of atomic research, the Manhattan Project, and the resulting bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, I'd expected Dark Sun to be a history in a similar style. It's partly that; the record of how thermonuclear theory was developed into a weapon is only a piece of the huge story he tells. Dark Sun, continuing the history of nuclear arms begun with The Making of the Atomic Bomb, includes 2 impor
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Dec 13, 2009
Dan
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This follow-up to "Making of the Atomic Bomb" was not as brilliant as the original, but still very good.
The author traces the development of the arms race between the US and the USSR after World War 2, and what drove the U.S. to develop weapons of insane destructive power. He shows that a big part of the "arms race" was irrational fear on the part of U.S. policy-makers. The U.S. had some truly crazy folks (LeMay, Borden) in charge of its nuclear weapons program, More...
The author traces the development of the arms race between the US and the USSR after World War 2, and what drove the U.S. to develop weapons of insane destructive power. He shows that a big part of the "arms race" was irrational fear on the part of U.S. policy-makers. The U.S. had some truly crazy folks (LeMay, Borden) in charge of its nuclear weapons program, More...
Oct 19, 2009
Shelley
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I read Rhodes other book in this area, The making of the atomic bomb. Like the former, Dark sun deals with not only the science behind the endeavor, but the political, social, cultural and individual personalities that defined one of mankind's greatest and dubious achievements.
It makes you realize that all matters of great import are throughly nuanced and defy the simplified treatment that we routinely receive via modern press.
It makes you realize that all matters of great import are throughly nuanced and defy the simplified treatment that we routinely receive via modern press.
Jan 03, 2011
Kevin
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Not quite as compelling as its precurson on the making of the Atomic Bomb, this book nonetheless does a fantastic job of explaining the advent of the thermonuclear age, just a few decades into the nuclear age, and setting the stage for playout of the entire cold war.
Aug 03, 2011
Dan
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Good book. Not as good as the preceding "The making of the atomic bomb" but still well worth a read. Focusses more on the politics than the previous book, and does not have the same gripping narrative, but still full of interesting information.
Feb 07, 2009
Jack
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A very interesting book, but may have a narrower appeal than Rhodes` first book on the bomb. Rhodes tells you everything you might not have wanted to know about Teller, the rather creepy "father of the Hydrogen Bomb."
Jan 15, 2012
Noladishu
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About half the book is about Soviet espionage. There's fare less about the science than the Making of the Atomic Bomb. Still a hell of a read.
Jun 27, 2008
brian
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This book is a fairly comprehensive look at the early development of the US nuclear arsenal. The scientific aspects of the book are surprisingly easy to follow for those not familiar with nuclear physics and engineering (which, honestly, is pretty much everyone). The author does a great job of turning what could be a very dry subject into a compelling history with stories of scientific rivalries, political gamesmanship, and Cold War espionage. The book also highlights evolving ideas about nuc
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Nov 20, 2010
Very good and accurate description of the cold war era and the making of the Hydrogen bomb. I recommend this book to people who can sit through a long book with not too much action.
Jan 04, 2011
Chris
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Not the classic that Rhodes' Atomic Bomb is, but well worth reading. Good explanations of the physics and engineering behind the H bomb designs. I never realized how truly close to nuclear war we came in the 50s and 60s--even closer than depicted in the movies on the Cuban missile crisis. On multiple occasions, Strategic Air Command (SAC) and various committees actually advised Ike and Kennedy to preemptively strike the Soviet Union!! I also never realized that SAC had the capability of launchin
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Jan 03, 2010
Michael
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Another outstanding book from Rhodes. Thoroughly researched, easy to read and to follow (even without a specialist knowledge of nuclear physics), and hard to put down. Quite a shocking disclosure of the shoddy treatment of J. Robert Oppenheimer at the hands of the Atomic Energy Commission at the height of the Red Scare, and a good rhetorical question at the end about just how very highly educated men, trained in the scientific method, could so radically misjudge the true relative strengths of th
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Feb 10, 2009
John
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Dr. Strangelove really existed! His name was Curtis LeMay, and holy crap we're lucky to still be here.
Dec 06, 2011
Olli
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A gripping story and a great read after the Making of the Atomic bomb. Would have loved a more scientific approach to the bomb building (as in the predecessor) but the espionage and cold war approach was interesting nonetheless.
Apr 17, 2011
Scott
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So this was most certainly a worthwhile read, although nowhere near the same class as "The Making of the Atomic Bomb" (which I think every scientist and most want-to-be-educated people should read). The descriptions of the science and technology wasn't nearly as thorough as TMotAB (although that could be because most of the info is still highly classified), but the discussion of the politics, and the personalities were very well done. A fascinating topic in general, and one that make
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Feb 18, 2008
phrajao
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Most people who read "The Making of the Atomic Bomb" and expect this book to be the same will be disappointed. Whereas the former was focused much more on the scientific side of building the atomic bomb, this book focuses much more on the extensive efforts by the Soviet Union to steal the neccessary technology to develop their own nuclear program. I think both are very interesting books and are remarkably well written, but hopefully the reader will go into the second book with an open
Oct 23, 2010
Allen
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I was hoping this book would provide a detailed description of the science behind the development of the hydrogen (thermo nuclear) bomb. That is what Richard Rhodes did in his wonderful book about the making of the atomic bomb.
Instead the book spends about 700 pages describing who was spying on who and how the Soviet Union was stealing secrets.
The history of the spies is a fine subject, but it is just not what I thought I was getting when I started this book.
Instead the book spends about 700 pages describing who was spying on who and how the Soviet Union was stealing secrets.
The history of the spies is a fine subject, but it is just not what I thought I was getting when I started this book.
Aug 05, 2010
Chris
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incredible, one of those books the reading of which is a long, but wonderful journey
Jan 21, 2012
Dmitry
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A well written, well researched summary of the Soviet efforts toward the A-bomb (including an excruciatingly-detailed review of the Soviet spying activities in the US) and the US and Soviet efforts towards the H-bomb.
Sep 15, 2008
Mike
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A tough slog at times since it starts before the prequel but eventually it makes it through the fission effort and onto fusion history. An authoritative work.
Jun 06, 2008
Kevin
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follow-up to his making of the atomic bomb book - picks up where it left off and discussed the birth of the H bomb and the simultaneous rise of the red scare
May 30, 2008
Robert
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Good - but too much like Atomic Bomb. After reading Atomic bomb and picking this book up, it was tiring. If you only read one of Rhodes stick with Atomic Bomb.
