The duo of the late General Leslie Groves (1922 - 1970) and Robert J. Oppenheimer (1904 - 1967) were the midwives of the first atomic bomb and the birth of the nuclear age.
General Leslie Groves as one of the main actors of those times penned a book that is unbeatably interesting and highly educating. My interest in the book delves from the point of view of project management. To this end, I was not disappointed at all. From the begining to the end, there is no let-off. You will keep on reading to the last page.
The displayed leadership and management efforts needed to guide this monumental project from mere theoretical concepts to practical reality in a relatively short timeframe was quite unparalleled in history. Students of management and project managers will find invaluable insights here. While I am not celebrating the waste and loss of invaluable lives resulting from World War II (or any war for that matter), it is a testament to American ingenuity that a bomb that was decisively important towards winning the war was not yet completely assembled or tested just about three weeks before it was first deployed in the warfront. And yet it worked on first try! As stated by the author, the first gun-type atomic bomb was dropped in combat without a prior test to ascertain if it will work, "Nevertheless, the indications for success were strong enough so that no one urged us to change our plans of dropping the first gun-type bomb in combat without prior test."
From the book, it is clearly evident that, it was World War II that made the development of atomic bomb and atomic energy possible. It would have been very difficult for any nation (America included) to contemplate and commit to such a costly project (running into several hundreds of billions of dollars in today's money) in the time of peace.
I whole heartedly concur with the author that the world is a better place today and is still what it is because America was the first nation to create the atomic bomb and also developed and master nuclear energy. One can only imagine what would have happened if such power has fallen into the hands of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany, or to Josef Stalin in the hey days of the Soviets. The bombing of the World Trade Centre in New York on September 11, 2001, the Paris massacres of November 2015, and many others are unimaginably evil. Heinous as they were, these atrocities would have paled to mere children-plays in comparison to what these terrorists and their sponsoring power hungry individuals and nations would have done if they ever get access to these weapons of calimitous destruction first.
NOTABLE EXCERPTS FROM THE BOOK
"Only strength can counter an adversary determined to enforce his goals by physical force."
"… nothing would be more fatal to success than to try to arrive at a perfect plan before taking any important step."
"I wanted a man who was experienced in the oil industry, feeling that he would be used to making quick, conclusive decisions, based, if necessary, on very limited information. I did not want anyone who would always insist on 100 per cent proof before making a move.."
"He reminded me that no weapon developed during a war had ever been decisive in that war."
"I suggested that the time was fast approaching when we should begin to make plans for the bombing operation itself, even though we still had no assurance that the bomb would be effective."
"… a nuclear war could never be fought on this earth without bringing disaster to all mankind."
"… if we played it safe, we could never hope to win; chances had to be taken."
"While it is tragic that the forces for destruction that we unleashed are stronger than man’s present ability to control them, it is fortunate indeed for humanity that the initiative in this field was gained and kept by the United States."
"We know now that when man is willing to make the effort, he is capable of accomplishing virtually anything."
All quotations and excerpts are from the book:
Now It Can Be Told - The Story of The Manhattan Project
By General Leslie Groves
©Da Capo Press, Inc. 1962
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Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2015
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Top reviews from other countries
C. Nielsen
how the atomic bomb was built
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 25, 2015Verified Purchase
Mr P Rogan
Excellent
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 20, 2020Verified Purchase
Jonathan
A companion volume for Oppenheimer's biography
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 25, 2013Verified Purchase
churchfield27
Great book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 20, 2015Verified Purchase
Joaquín Suárez
Un buen libro sobre la organización del proyecto
Reviewed in Spain on May 19, 2014Verified Purchase
