"A thrilling narrative of scientific triumph--and the unimaginable, world-ending peril it brought us. Fearing that the Germans would be the first to weaponize the atom, the United States marshaled brilliant minds and seemingly inexhaustible bodies to find a way to create a nuclear chain reaction with unimaginable explosive power. It would begin with plutonium, the first element ever manufactured by humans. In a matter of months, a city designed to...

"Fresh, contemporary perspective: Most books on nuclear weapons are focused on the past, especially World War II and the Cold War. Scoles offers the first modern analysis of nuclear weaponry today that goes beyond just geopolitical consequences but cultural as well"--

**A Washington Post "Notable Nonfiction Book of 2016"**
ON A TRANQUIL SUMMER NIGHT in July 2012, a trio of peace activists infiltrated the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Nicknamed the “Fort Knox of Uranium,” Y-12 was supposedly one of the most secure sites in the world, a bastion of warhead parts and hundreds of tons of highly enriched uranium—enough to power thousands of nuclear bombs. The...

Beginning in the '50s, American and Soviet scientists engaged in a dangerous race to see who could build and detonate the world's largest bomb. The results exceeded all expectations about how big a bomb could be built. Following is an epic story where the United States led the way, but then left the field clear for the Soviet Union to break all records.