Trinity: A Graphic History of the First Atomic Bomb [Hardcover]

Jonathan Fetter-Vorm (Author)

Book Description

Release date: June 5, 2012

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.

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.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Hill and Wang; First Printing edition (June 5, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809094681
• ISBN-13: 978-0809094684
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #284,267 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended June 28, 2012

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).

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Piqued my interest in the Manhattan Project July 12, 2012

By Andrew Bissell

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.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Splendid! June 6, 2012

By K

Format:Hardcover

An absolute Marvel! Terrific story, incredible attention to detail, and masterful artwork. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A complete and carefully researched picture of the Manhattan Project from inception to completion September 17, 2012

By GraphicNovelReporter.com TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

The months of research and testing for atomic weapons, which had started out of curiosity by the world's most brilliant minds, led to the momentous and terrible bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This critical period in modern history is expertly detailed in Jonathan Fetter-Vorm's brilliant debut graphic novel, Trinity: A Graphic History of the First Atomic Bomb.

Trinity is a historical, scientific, and largely nonfiction work, with dialogue between historical figures taken primarily from first-hand written accounts of the events to preserve historical accuracy. The early part of the novel is focused primarily on the discovery of the atom and radioactive elements through the works of Pierre and Marie Curie, Niels Bohr, Ernest Rutherford, Otto Hahn, and Fritz Strassmann. Large and often confusing concepts and processes, such as the nuclear fission, uranium enrichment, and the construction of an atomic bomb, are broken down into using detailed yet easy to follow illustrations and concise language. The bold leadership of the troubled genius J. Robert Oppenheimer and General Leslie Groves is laid out with exquisite clarity, highlighting the painstaking efforts taken to keep information from leaking, the magnitude of the operation, as well as their attempts to keep the project on schedule. Though the beginning of the novel is rather heavy on the side of scientific fact, Fetter-Vorm's highly detailed black-and-white art is often filled with dynamic imagery and emotional portraits of the scientists, which in turn keeps readers hooked.

The suspense comes to a boiling point with the Trinity test--the first detonation of a nuclear explosion out in the deserts of New Mexico.... Fetter-Vorm's illustrations of the nuclear blast are stark and eerie, with only small clips of text printed on otherwise entirely black pages and a quote from the test, saying, "It was not yet a bomb. It was not yet a symbol of the apocalypse. It was not yet a part of our world. In these fractions of a second, the atomic light was still as timeless and indifferent as the universe itself." This moment in the novel is breathless, foreboding, and told with enough literary expertise to emphasize the importance of this revolutionary, Frankenstinian event.

After the Trinity test, the story moves on to explain the historical significance of the bomb, and shows rather painstakingly, the horrors of the bomb and World War II as a whole. In what is perhaps the most moving sequence of the novel, two Japanese boys are subject to unspeakable horror in Nagasaki when the bomb is detonated. One of the boys is severely burned in a panel that spans across two pages, and wanders through the streets of Nagasaki, witnessing the contorted and charred remains of thousands of people and the utter destruction brought on by the bomb. Without the use of a heavy-handed "the-bomb-is-bad" spiel, Fetter-Vorm successfully issues a sense of urgency about the dangers of nuclear war, and the regret and shame faced by many of the bomb's developers following its use on Japanese civilians.

Trinity offers a complete and carefully researched picture of the Manhattan Project from inception to completion. What is perhaps the greatest achievement of this novel is its ability to prove to naysayers--men and women who believe that the graphic novel format is below them or sophomoric--that a nonfiction work published in this format can be informative, artistically compelling and entertaining all at once. Teachers take note: Though this work stands on its own for pleasure reading, its uses could be extended to a classroom setting as an alternative text for history, English, or science classes, for an enjoyable and intelligent read.

-- Anthony Landi Read more ›

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing. September 15, 2012

By Tony DaBoney

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Really amazing depiction of the long history of,the atomic bomb. Could not put it down, glued to the page. Better than books or documentaries on the topic.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging and educational August 15, 2012

By K. Blankenship

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Awesome introduction to what went on with the Atomic bomb. Not only does it do a fairly good job of summarizing the historical facts of the bomb, but it also does a pretty good job of giving a basic summation of the science behind it. Throughout the history and science of it all, the author does a good job of conveying the emotions of the characters while also raising moral and philosophical questions the reader can chew on for a while. Very happy with the book. Highly recommended

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars page-turning and panoptic at once July 11, 2012

By gdw

Format:Hardcover

I've never read a graphic novel before, but I was really impressed by this one. Fetter-Vorm uses the medium wisely, managing to pull together all the threads of the story in one composite: the basic science of the atom, the organization of the largest technical project of all time, the huge moral dilemma of the new weapon and its inevitable use, the war's aftermath and the bomb's ramifications in geopolitics this day. Some of the art is breathtaking: the time lapses of the Trinity test are quieting and awesome. Amazingly, all this comes from a book that a teenager (or an adult) could enjoy.