Dark Sun: Making of the Hydrogen Bomb (Sloan Technology Series) - Hardcover

Rhodes, Richard

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 068480400X ISBN 13: 9780684804002

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd, 1995

Synopsis

First published in 1995 and now available in paperback, an account of the race to create the H-Bomb, revealing how and why it was made, and how its development has fundamentally affected the political history of the mid-20th century. Based on previously classified Soviet and American sources.

About this title

Review

An engrossing history of the scientific discoveries, political manoeuvrings, and cold war espionage leading to the creation of mankind's most destructive weapon. The book includes 94 archival photographs and a glossary with brief descriptions of the hundreds of people interviewed and discussed in the book. Author Richard Rhodes won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award for his previous atomic tome, The Making of the Atomic Bomb.

Review

"A dark tale told with gripping intensity....Chilling and brilliant. [The] authoritative and riveting sequel to [the] Pulitzer Prize-winning saga The Making of the Atomic Bomb."-Marcia Bartusiak, The Washington Post Book World

"Rhodes is a meticulous scholar, yet his tale is as riveting as any suspense thriller, replete with fascinating and bizarre characters, exotic locales, and a cliff-hanging plot. And all of it is true."-Paul Preuss, San Jose Mercury News

"A book of formidable range...draws on a vast array of sources, melding previous scholarship with an abundance of fresh material....Rhodes writes with a sharp eye for anecdote, character and political context....The result is a brilliantly rich and vivid account of the Cold War."-Daniel J. Kevles, The New York Times Book Review

"This most rewarding book is unique in the grim grandeur of its scope, the richness and originality of its content, and its deep and humane understanding."-Loma Arnold, Nature

"[Dark Sun] demonstrates the same ambition; literary skill; unrelenting research; talent for portraiture; understanding of the links between science, war and politics; willingness to stand up to large historical questions; and sound judgment that distinguished Richard Rhodes's 1988 book, The Making of the Atomic Bomb. But this is the more important volume, not only because of its influence on the way we think about a half-century of world history, but because the hydrogen bomb continues to cast a shadow on the world today."-Michael Beschloss, Los Angeles Times

Edition details

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 068480400X
• ISBN 13: 9780684804002
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 576