The Road from Los Alamos: Collected Essays of Hans A. Bethe (Masters of Modern Physics) (Hardcover)

by Hans A. Bethe (Author) "One of the views concerning our policy on the atomic bomb that is frequently expressed is contained in the slogan, "Keep the secret!..." (more)
Key Phrases: test cessation agreement, invulnerable deterrent, equivalent megatons, United States, Soviet Union, Star Wars (more...)

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Product Description
As the head of the theory group at Los Alamos, Hans A. Bethe played a

Product Details

• Hardcover: 308 pages
• Publisher: American Institute of Physics; 1 edition (March 15, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0883187078
• ISBN-13: 978-0883187074
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #847,659 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a towering figure in modern physics, February 28, 2005

By	W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

An outstanding collection of essays, written over 50 years, by one of the giants of twentieth century physics. Hans Bethe won the Nobel Prize in physics for his work on stellar evolution. He is perhaps the most senior figure from the Manhattan Project still living.

The essays are nontechnical, and mostly discuss the nuclear arms race. Many were cowritten with other prominent scientists, like Richard Garwin. These essays span the Cold War, and most have a common theme of how to avoid a nuclear war.

The book concludes with essays by Bethe on other prominent physicists that he has known. Freeman Dyson. J Robert Oppenheimer. Richard Feynman [who got his PhD from Bethe]. The essay on Feynman echoes what Bethe said in a memorial lecture for Feynman, given at Los Alamos in 1988, shortly after Feynman's death. [I was fortunate to be present at the latter lecture.]