Picturing the Bomb: Photographs from the Secret World of the Manhattan Project [Hardcover]

Rachel Fermi (Author), Esther Samra (Author), Richard Rhodes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1995

Published to coincide with the Manhattan Project's 50th anniversary, Picturing the Bomb presents compelling images--most never seen by the public before--that offer a fresh look at the U.S. government's effort to build the world's first atomic device. Introduction by Richard Rhodes, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Making of the Atomic Bomb. 283 photos, 19 in color.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This visually compelling collection of private and official photos found in family albums and laboratory archives offers a closer look at the Manhattan Project scientists who built the first atomic bombs, the military men who delivered them to the target and various sites connected with that effort (principally Los Alamos, N.M.; Oak Ridge, Tenn.; and Hanford, Wash.). Included are informal shots of physicists J. Robert Oppenheimer, Enrico Fermi, Niels Bohr and other key figures in the historic project; photos of technical facilities; pictures of the components of the atomic devices; and a stunning graphic record of the first explosion at the Trinity test site. The collection is chillingly rounded off with a series of photos by one of the Los Alamos physicists, Robert Serber, who studied the blast damage of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Rhodes's introduction, the extended captions and the main text (one of the authors is Enrico Fermi's granddaughter) provide a thorough review of the project from start to finish. Photos. Library of Science Book Club alternate.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

During World War II, three cities were built in months to facilitate work on the atomic bomb: Hanford, Washington; Oak Ridge, Tennessee; and Los Alamos, New Mexico. Security was so tight that most Manhattan Project employees had no idea what was being built. Those in the know were instructed to use the work gadget instead of weapon. This collection of photographs, compiled by the granddaughter of Enrico Fermi and photographer Samra, is an eerie combination of recently declassified government archives and snapshots taken by residents of the new cities, which resonate on both epic and human levels. An aerial photo of the burgeoning development at Hanford?acres of new buildings set against the narrow river and Hanford Bluffs?attests to the vast scale of the Manhattan Project. A shot of a Santa being searched by military police at an Oak Ridge checkpoint illustrates out the absurdity of importing civilian life into an armed camp. The testing of the bomb is chronicled in a particularly grim chapter and its use in another. No serious American history collection can afford to be without this startling, eye-opening document.?Adam Mazmanian, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 232 pages
• Publisher: Harry N Abrams; First Edition edition (September 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810937352
• ISBN-13: 978-0810937352
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 9.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,381,083 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Photographic history depicted in haunting humbleness, April 25, 2000

By 

Lazarus MacIntosh (Seattle, WA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Picturing the Bomb: Photographs from the Secret World of the Manhattan Project (Hardcover)

"Picturing the Bomb" by Rachel Fermi (granddaughter of Nobel Laureate and brilliant Physicist, Enrico Fermi) and Esther Samra is a completely fascinating and often haunting photographical documentary which presents the first images of The Manhattan Project. Many of the pictures are gathered from private collections of people who were actually participating in the secrecy. The book also contains never-before-published, de-classified military images. And, as a perfect complement to the photos, the accompanying text is equally compelling. For those who know the horror of the genie, this is a must for your collection.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful pictures, September 24, 2001

By 

Shawn Hughes "still prefers paper to pdf" (near Oak Ridge, Tenn.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Picturing the Bomb: Photographs from the Secret World of the Manhattan Project (Hardcover)

This book is a little pricey, but the photographs inside this coffee-table book are incredible. Not the run of the mill technical photos, some of these came from private collections, showing a slice of life in and around these plants.

It's actually kind of fun to take the book out and see how the landscape has changed over the years.

PS- If you are solely looking for technical photos of devices assembly and production areas, you will be disappointed. Get Chuck Hansen's book instead.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely fascinating!, April 8, 1998

By 

M. Broderick "mikebinok" (Oklahoma City, OK USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Picturing the Bomb: Photographs from the Secret World of the Manhattan Project (Hardcover)

An amazing collection of photos which I highly recommend for anyone with even a passing interest in the incredible Manhattan Project. It has the expected pictures of airplanes, bombs, buildings, and machines, but also has more human photographs of the people involved and their families.