Trinity, the debut graphic book by the gifted illustrator Jonathan Fetter-Vorm, depicts in vivid detail the dramatic history of the race to build and the decision to drop the first atomic bomb. This sweeping historical narrative traces the spark of invention from the laboratories of nineteenth-century Europe to the massive industrial and scientific efforts of the Manhattan Project. Along the way, Fetter-Vorm takes special care to explain the fundamental science of nuclear reactions. With the clarity and accessibility that only a graphic book can provide, Trinity transports the reader into the core of a nuclear reaction—into the splitting atoms themselves.
The power of the atom was harnessed in a top-secret government compound in Los Alamos, New Mexico, where some of the greatest scientific minds in the world gathered together to work on the bomb. Fetter-Vorm showcases J. Robert Oppenheimer, Enrico Fermi, and General Leslie Groves, the fathers of the atomic bomb, whose insights unleashed the most devastating explosion known to humankind. These brilliant scientists wrestled daily with both the difficulty of building an atomic weapon and the moral implications of actually succeeding.
When the first bomb finally went off at a test site code-named Trinity, the world was irreversibly thrust into a new and terrifying age. With powerful renderings of the catastrophic events at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Fetter-Vorm unflinchingly chronicles the far-reaching political, environmental, and ethical effects of this new discovery. Richly illustrated and deeply researched, Trinity is a dramatic, informative, and thought-provoking book on one of the most significant and harrowing events in history.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
“Trinity illuminates a turning-point in human history, and does so with admirable pace, grace, and skill.” —Cory Doctorow, Boing Boing
“Succeeds as both a graphic primer and a philosophical meditation.”
—Kirkus (starred review)
“Fetter-Vorm’s work . . . is altogether exemplary. And the writing’s as good as the art, making this a strong primer on the A-bomb’s development.”
—Booklist
“A succinct, compelling, and dramatically illustrated history of the making of the atomic bomb, Trinity is an excellent primer for students and younger readers.”
—Cynthia C. Kelly, founder and president of the Atomic Heritage Foundation and editor of The Manhattan Project
“The story of J. Robert Oppenheimer and the creation of the first atomic bomb lies deep in our collective imagination. Jonathan Fetter-Vorm’s graphic novel honors the physics, the politics, and the human drama of this contemporary morality tale in a manner that is as informative as it is entertaining.”
—John Adams, Pulitzer Prize winner and composer of Doctor Atomic
“The story of the Manhattan Project has rarely been told with this much clarity and alertness to moral nuance.”
—Joseph Kanon, author of Los Alamos
“A hugely important story told with virtuosity and heart, Jonathan Fetter-Vorm’s Trinity is a standard-bearer for great comics.”
—Nick Bertozzi, Harvey Award–winning author of The Salon and the Rubber Necker series
About the Author
Jonathan Fetter-Vorm is the illustrator of recent graphic adaptations of Beowulf and Moby-Dick. He lives in Brooklyn.
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More About the Author
Jonathan Fetter-Vorm is a writer and illustrator of nonfiction graphic books. He is the cofounder of the Two Fine Chaps graphic imprint, a partnership dedicated to adapting, illustrating, and printing classical works of literature and natural science. He was born and raised in Montana and currently lives in Brooklyn.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By Scott Berkun
Format:Hardcover
I'm a fan of graphic novels on non-fiction topics. By putting techniques from comics and illustration at the forefront of the book, there is a power to convey complex ideas in salient ways that transcends written language. Books like LogicComix and The Book of Genesis by Crumb take on ambitious topics with grace, style, potency and charm.
The book Trinity, by Jonathan Fetter-Vorm of Two Fine Chaps, takes on the development of the first atomic bomb. He describes the planning, the personalities, and, with great style, the science involved in how they developed the ideas behind the bomb. It's a short book, as most graphic novels are, but the illustrations will last long in my mind.
If you've been intimidated by Rhodes classic The Making of the Atomic Bomb and want a gentler introduction into the central history, issues, science and drama, this book is a great place to start. It's also appropriate for young adults (the illustrations of the bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end are moving more than graphic).
The book Trinity, by Jonathan Fetter-Vorm of Two Fine Chaps, takes on the development of the first atomic bomb. He describes the planning, the personalities, and, with great style, the science involved in how they developed the ideas behind the bomb. It's a short book, as most graphic novels are, but the illustrations will last long in my mind.
If you've been intimidated by Rhodes classic The Making of the Atomic Bomb and want a gentler introduction into the central history, issues, science and drama, this book is a great place to start. It's also appropriate for young adults (the illustrations of the bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end are moving more than graphic).
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
The best histories leave you wanting to know more about their subject, and Jonathan Fetter-Vorm's "Trinity" excels in that regard. Given the book's format, I hadn't expected to learn all that much about fission or nuclear science or uranium refining, but Fetter-Vorm does an admirable job of packing in details, and makes full use of the unique potential afforded by graphic books to render complex reactions and physical phenomena into understandable (and excellently done) illustrations.
Although the subtitle bills it as a "history of the first atomic bomb," "Trinity" focuses most of its attention on the human aspects of its development: the driven and often eccentric personalities who headed the project, the colossal organizational challenges they faced, the impact of the bomb's successful construction on politics and diplomacy, and -- in some of its most stirring passages -- the immediate experience of an atomic explosion, whether viewed from a safe distance or ground zero. The book succeeds in its ambition to peer past the visceral, awesome power of nuclear weapons to the people and the historical forces which brought them into being.
Although the subtitle bills it as a "history of the first atomic bomb," "Trinity" focuses most of its attention on the human aspects of its development: the driven and often eccentric personalities who headed the project, the colossal organizational challenges they faced, the impact of the bomb's successful construction on politics and diplomacy, and -- in some of its most stirring passages -- the immediate experience of an atomic explosion, whether viewed from a safe distance or ground zero. The book succeeds in its ambition to peer past the visceral, awesome power of nuclear weapons to the people and the historical forces which brought them into being.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the best
One of the best illustrated books this fan of non super hero comics has found. I really and deeply enjoyed it!
Published 1 month ago by Nicolas Palau
5.0 out of 5 stars
Never enjoyed a graphic novel this much
It took me two days to finish this book.
I took my time because I did not want to finish it so fast.
the pictures and descriptions are very precise. Read more
I took my time because I did not want to finish it so fast.
the pictures and descriptions are very precise. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Ardavan
5.0 out of 5 stars
Students love this book
I bought this book for students in my history class to encourage them to read more books. I have not been able to keep it in my classroom, as soon as one student reads it another... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Martin Cunningham
5.0 out of 5 stars
Accurate and entertaining overview of the Manhattan Project
Beautiful, meditative, and philosophical profile of the people behind the building and implementation of the first atomic bomb. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Erik E. Gilg
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very well Organized
It's hard to do a graphic novel about the Trinity project without having it be all jumbled and cluttered, but I think this does a very nice job. Read more
Published 2 months ago by C. Ionita
5.0 out of 5 stars
Highly informative and entertaining
I bought Trinity to read for fun, but as soon as my modern physics professor started talking about nuclear, I understood what he was saying because of this book. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Laura Pineda
4.0 out of 5 stars
The development of tha atom bomb
Although not on par, as information is concerned with a formal history, it gives an overall idea of the people involved in the development of the A bombs used against Japan, the... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Paul van Dare
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book!
It's a really great book, which is somehow a graphical documentary of atomic bombs and the story behind the first one. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Siavash Mortazavi
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Technical And The Human Stories
Jonathan Fetter-Vorm relates a wide-ranging history of the development of the first nuclear weapons, beginning with the early discoveries of radioactivity and nuclear forces,... Read more
Published 5 months ago by R. Silva
4.0 out of 5 stars
Exactly as advertised
The product is exactly what it says it is: a graphic history of the trinity project in New Mexico. However, I found that it could do with a better mind for the story. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Robert
