Brighter than a Thousand Suns: A Personal History of the Atomic Scientists (Paperback)

~ (Author) "It is said that during the last year of the First World War Ernest Rutherford, already famous for his work on atomic research, failed to..." (more)
Key Phrases: other atomic scientists, atomic experts, uranium problem, Los Alamos, United States, Soviet Union (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

An account of the remarkable scientists who discovered that nuclear fission was possible and then became concerned about its implications. Index. Translated by James Cleugh.

About the Author

Robert Jungk was born in 1913 in Berlin, emigrated to Paris in 1933, where he made documentary films and studied at the Sorbonne, lived in Prague from 1936-38 where he published an anti-fascist paper, and then fled to Switzerland when the Nazis entered Prague, staying there until 1945. Then, as a freelance journalist, he worked for several papers including The Observer of London, for which he covered the Nuremberg Trials.

During the 1950s he began to explore the themes which dominated the rest of his life: the future, and peace and anti-nuclear activity. His first book was entitled The Future Has Already Begun, and in 1953 he founded the first Institute for Research into the Future.

By the 1960s Robert Jungk was known around the world and was much in demand as a speaker on global issues. He worked with Bertrand Russel on anti-nuclear campaigns; with Johan Galtung he co-founded the International Conference on Futurism in 1967, out of which he emerged the World Federation for Future Research. He began to develop Future Workshops, in which people envisioned desirable futures and the means of achieving them, as a way of regaining power over their own lives. Then in 1987 he founded the International Futures Library in Salzburg, the first public library specialising in the collection, inter-disciplinary networking and distribution of future-oriented information.

A similar blend of scholarship and activism characterised his peace initiatives. His book Brighter than a Thousand Suns was followed by several others on the nuclear theme, including The Nuclear State in 1978. At the same time, Jungk was deeply involved in the peace movement, lecturing and participating in marches and demonstrations. In 1992, he stood as the candidate of the Green Party in Austria's presidential elections.

Following Robert Jungk's death in Salzburg in July 1994, the International Futures Library is continuing its work in the spirit of his efforts, including the production of the quarterly bulletin Pro Zukunft (For the Future), which he started in 1987.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Harvest Books (October 21, 1970)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156141507
• ISBN-13: 978-0156141505
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #447,415 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The first good historical picture of the Manhatten Project, May 5, 1999

By	Stephen M. St Onge "Stephen M. St. Onge" (Mpls, MN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Robert Jungk went to a lot of trouble to interview as many people as possible who'd worked on the A-bomb, and produced this well written history of the Manhatten Project. It's a bit dated, but if I had to recommend three books on this subject, this would be one of them (the others would be Richard Rhode's THE MAKING OF THE ATOMIC BOMB and Lillian Hoddeson's CRITICAL ASSEMBLY). There's interesting information in here I haven't read anywhere else, and I've read over a dozen books on the Manhatten Project.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting and easy to read, October 30, 2003

By	Keith Appleyard "kapple999" (Brighton, UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book was written nearly 50 years ago in the 1950's, so naturally some of the stories are incomplete with todays hindsight, but I wish I'd read this book 20 years ago. It is extremely well written, and full of fascinating anecdotes. Although I am familiar with many of the characters & stories, there was something new for me in every chapter, for example the insights into Oppenheimer in Germany before WWII. It would be wonderful if a revised version could be published incorporating the story of the Soviet Atom Scientists.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Serious book about science that reads like a thriller, November 16, 1999

By A Customer

An extraordinary book. The story of the University in a small town of Goettingen, and the amazing characters who gravitate there to learn physics. This part on its own, prior to the Manhatten project is an exciting reading. Both the atmosphere of the German University and the characters of the students, inluding the "fathers" of nuclear and thermonuclear bombs, Oppenheimer and Teller, are very well described and vivid. Easy and interesting description of the foundations of physics behind the nuclear weapons. Actually that was my favorite part. The story of the Manhatten project is done very well. The book was powerful enough to affect me to become a physisist - 35 years ago. I am happy to see that it is still in print. Good reading for any age, but especially highly recommended for those who are chosing a profession and are too bright to go to a Medical School.