Bomb: The Race to Build--And Steal--The World's Most Dangerous Weapon (Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon #1)

by Steve Sheinkin (Author)

Discusses the international competition to create the first atomic bomb.
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Starred Review

In late December 1938, German chemist Otto Hahn discovered that uranium atoms could be split, and just a few months later the race to build an atomic bomb was on.

The story unfolds in three parts, covering American attempts to build the bomb, how the Soviets tried to steal American designs and how the Americans tried to keep the Germans from building a bomb. It was the eve of World War II, and the fate of the world was at stake, “[b]ut how was a theoretical physicist supposed to save the world?” It’s a true spy thriller, ranging from the football stadium at the University of Chicago to the mountains of Norway, from the deserts of New Mexico to laboratories in East Tennessee, and all along the way spies in the United States were feeding sensitive information to the KGB. Groups of photographs are sprinkled throughout the volume, offering just enough visual support for the splendid character development in the writing, and thorough documentation is provided in the backmatter. It takes a lot of work to make a complicated subject clear and exciting, and from his prodigious research and storytelling skill, Sheinkin has created a nonfiction story young people will want to read.

A superb tale of an era and an effort that forever changed our world. (source notes, quotation notes, acknowledgments, photo credits, index) (Nonfiction. 10 & up)

Publishers Weekly

Starred Review

In his highly readable storytelling style, Sheinkin (The Notorious Benedict Arnold) weaves together tales of scientific and technological discovery, back-alley espionage, and wartime sabotage in a riveting account of the race to build the first atomic weapon. The famous (Robert Oppenheimer) and infamous (spy Harry Gold) headline an enormous cast of characters, which also includes Norwegian resistance fighter Knut Haukelid, whose secret wartime missions prevented Hitler from acquiring an atom bomb. B&w portraits of key players appear in photo- montages that begin each of the book's four sections. Sheinkin pulls from numerous sources to supply every chapter with quotations that swiftly move the narrative forward. Suspenseful play-by-play moments will captivate, from the nuclear chain reaction test at the University of Chicago to the preparations for and dropping of the first bomb over Hiroshima. In a "genie out of the bottle" epilogue, details of the Cold War's escalating arms race and present-day weapons counts will give readers pause, especially Sheinkin's final thoughts: "It's a story with no end in sight. And, like it or not, you're in it." A must-read for students of history and science. Ages 10-up. (Sept.) ■

Copyright 2012 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

School Library Journal

Starred Review

Gr 5 Up--"Harry Gold was right: This is a big story." So begins this depiction of the "creation-and theft-of the deadliest weapon ever invented." As he did in The Notorious Benedict Arnold (Roaring Brook, 2010), Sheinkin has again brought his superior talent for storytelling to bear in what is truly a gripping account of discovery, espionage, and revolutionary changes in both physics and the modern world. This fascinating tale, packed with a wide cast of characters, focuses mainly on three individuals: spy for the Soviets Harry Gold, leader of the Manhattan Project J. Robert Oppenheimer, and Knut Haukelid, who sabotaged German bomb efforts while working for the Norwegian resistance. Sheinkin skillfully combines lucid, conversational snapshots of the science behind the atomic bomb with a fast-paced narrative of the remarkable people who made it possible and attempted to steal it. Handsomely designed and loaded with archival photos and primary-source documents, the accessible volume lays out how the bomb was envisioned and brought to fruition. While the historical information and hard facts presented here will likely be new to the intended audience, they in no way overwhelm readers or detract from the thoroughly researched, well-documented account. It reads like an international spy thriller, and that's the beauty of it.--Brian Odom, Pelham Public Library, AL

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

"This superb and exciting work of nonfiction would be a fine tonic for any jaded adolescent who thinks history is "boring." It's also an excellent primer for adult readers who may have forgotten, or never learned, the remarkable story of how nuclear weaponry was first imagined, invented and deployed—and of how an international arms race began well before there was such a thing as an atomic bomb." —The Wall Street Journal

"This is edge-of-the seat material that will resonate with YAs who clamor for true spy stories, and it will undoubtedly engross a cross-market audience of adults who dozed through the World War II unit in high school." —BCCB, starred

..".reads like an international spy thriller, and that's the beauty of it." —School Library Journal, starred

"[a] complicated thriller that intercuts action with the deftness of a Hollywood blockbuster." —Booklist

"A must-read..." —Publishers Weekly, starred

"A superb tale of an era and an effort that forever changed our world." —Kirkus, starred

Steve Sheinkin
Steve Sheinkin is the award-winning author of several fascinating books on American history, including The Notorious Benedict Arnold, which won the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults, the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award for nonfiction, and received three starred reviews; and Bomb, a National Book Award finalist and recipient of five starred reviews. He lives in Saratoga Springs, NY
Classification
Non-fiction
ISBN-13
9781596434875
Lexile Measure
920
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Flash Point
Publication date
September 04, 2012
Series
Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon
BISAC categories
JNF025130 - Juvenile Nonfiction | History | Military & Wars
JNF051190 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Science & Nature | History of Science
JNF061010 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Technology | Inventions
Library of Congress categories
History
Great Britain
World War, 1939-1945
Germany
Secret service
Atomic bomb
Soviet Union
Commando operations
Norway
Operation Freshman, 1942
Vemork
National Book Awards
Finalist 2012 - 2012
Newbery Medal
Honor Book 2013 - 2013
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award
Winner 2013 - 2013
Cybils
Winner 2012 - 2012
Beehive Awards
Nominee 2014 - 2014
Tayshas Reading
Commended 2013 - 2013
Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award
Nominee 2014 - 2014
Capitol Choices: Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens
Recommended 2013 - 2013
Jefferson Cup
Winner 2013 - 2013
Volunteer State Book Awards
Nominee 2014 - 2015
Grand Canyon Reader Award
Recommended 2015 - 2015
Black-Eyed Susan Award
Nominee 2014 - 2015
Evergreen Young Adult Book Award
Nominee 2015 - 2015
Eliot Rosewater Indiana High School Book Award
Nominee 2014 - 2015
Iowa Teen Award
Nominee 2015 - 2015
South Carolina Childrens, Junior and Young Adult Book Award
Nominee 2014 - 2015
Virginia Readers Choice Award
Nominee 2015 - 2015
William Allen White Childens Book Award
Nominee 2015 - 2015
Young Hoosier Book Award
Nominee 2015 - 2015
Young Reader's Choice Award
Nominee 2015 - 2015
Sequoyah Book Awards
Nominee 2015 - 2015
Rhode Island Teen Book Award
Nominee 2015 - 2015
Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Book Award
Nominee 2015 - 2015
Nevada Young Readers' Award
Nominee 2016 - 2016

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