DESTROYER OF WORLDS

How we learned to start worrying about the bomb.

Close, a British particle physicist who has written more than two dozen books, writes, “It’s little appreciated that there were three Industrial Revolutions.” The first was powered by the 18th century’s steam engines; the second was brought about with the 19th century’s discovery of electromagnetic induction, a fundamental principle of electric motors. The third, the nuclear age, which remains fraught with haunting questions and moral uncertainty, comes under careful inspection in Close’s sweeping examination of the people, science, and politics that brought it to bear. The result is a compelling account of a global drive to harness a power that we may never feel at ease with. The author writes of the discovery of X-rays and the early seeds of nuclear research, telling of the fabled women and men who made key discoveries in the five decades of nuclear development that culminated with the October 1961 Soviet test of the largest nuclear weapon ever constructed or detonated. The 50-megaton “Tsar Bomba,” he writes, has “a unique place in history” because “the nuclear energy released in this single explosion amounts to 10% of all the known tests worldwide, before or since.” Throughout this captivating narrative, Close explores the motivations, successes, and failings of significant figures and moments in nuclear history, ultimately bringing the reader back to wonder about the morality of the power this revolution unleashed. For Close, the core nuclear dilemma was personal: He completed a first draft of the book while being treated with radiation therapy for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

A deeply researched and finely told history of the revolution with which we have yet to make peace.