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Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon Spiral-Bound | September 4, 2012

Steve Sheinkin

★★★★☆+ from 10,001 to 50,000 ratings

$28.48 - Free Shipping

A gripping narrative of the race between countries, spies, and scientists to create the first atomic bomb.

In December of 1938, a chemist in a German laboratory made a shocking discovery: When placed next to radioactive material, a Uranium atom split in two. That simple discovery launched a scientific race that spanned 3 continents. In Great Britain and the United States, Soviet spies worked their way into the scientific community; in Norway, a commando force slipped behind enemy lines to attack German heavy-water manufacturing; and deep in the desert, one brilliant group of scientists was hidden away at a remote site at Los Alamos. This is the story of the plotting, the risk-taking, the deceit, and genius that created the world's most formidable weapon. This is the story of the atomic bomb.


Bomb is a 2012 National Book Awards finalist for Young People's Literature.

Bomb is a 2012 Washington Post Best Kids Books of the Year title.


Bomb is a 2013 Newbery Honor book.

Publisher: Macmillan
Original Binding: Hardcover with dust jacket
Pages: 272 pages
ISBN-10: 1596434872
Item Weight: 1.3 lbs
Dimensions: 7.7 x 0.9 x 9.5 inches
Customer Reviews: 4 out of 5 stars 10,001 to 50,000 ratings
This superb and exciting work of nonfiction would be a fine tonic for any jaded adolescent who thinks history is "boring." It's also an excellent primer for adult readers who may have forgotten, or never learned, the remarkable story of how nuclear weaponry was first imagined, invented and deployed--and of how an international arms race began well before there was such a thing as an atomic bomb.

Steve Sheinkin is the award-winning author of several fascinating books on American history, including The Notorious Benedict Arnold, which won the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults and the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award for nonfiction. His recent book Bomb was a Newbery Honor Book, National Book Award finalist, and winner of the Sibert Award as well as theYALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults. He lives in Saratoga Springs, NY.