1. After reading this book about the race to build the world’s first atomic bomb, explain how this changes your point of view about nuclear weapons in the world. In the epilogue of Bomb, by Steve Shelinkin, the author made a really good point and wrote about his perspective about nuclear and atomic weapons in the world. At the end of the epilogue it said, “In the end, this is a difficult story to sum up. The making of the atomic bomb is one of history's most amazing examples of teamwork and genius and poise under pressure. But it's also the story of how humans created a weapon capable of wiping our species off the planet. It's a story with no end in sight. And, like it or not, you're in it,”(Shelinkin 236). In this quote, the author is addressing …show more content…
Throughout the book, we see that Soviet spies would deliver their information to KGB agents and in this scene, it said, "The best thing about the reports, Kvasanikov knew, was that the bomb plans from both Hall and Fuchs were nearly identical. That convinced the Soviets the information was correct, allowing them to move ahead quickly with bomb building. No need for the kind of costly trial and error that had taken place at Los Alamos,”(Sheinkin 212). In this quote, Kvasnikov, a KGB agent, was comparing Hall and Fuchs's reports, two scientists working on the atomic bomb, who were secretly giving information about the bomb to the Soviets and sometimes they would use a secret code to contact the Soviets as well. Spies working for the Soviet Union affected World War II because even though they were allied to the U.S., Americans still couldn't give information to them, but there were a few spies who gave information about the atomic bomb to the Soviets. Now the Soviet Union can make exact copies of the atomic bomb from the design stolen from the U.S. Spies working for the Soviets affected the U.S after the war because after the war, the U.S was more aware of them, so they could easily catch them and because of that, the U.S. and the Soviet Union weren’t good friends …show more content…
In Bomb, the main point is to talk about how this deadly weapon came about and how it changed history forever. Towards the end of the book, after Robert Oppenheimer saw the effects of the bombing on Hiroshima, he realizes the dangers of this deadly weapon, when the scene said, “‘The safety of this nation,' he insisted, ‘cannot lie wholly or even primarily in its scientific or technical powers. It can be based only making future wars impossible.' The only hope, he believed, was for the United States to stop building bombs and to somehow convince the Soviet Union not to start, ”(Sheinkin 214). In this quote, we see that Robert Oppenheimer now sees the horrible effects caused by this bomb and he wants the U.S to avoid making these bombs. This quote shows the impact of the discovery, creation, and testing of the atomic bomb because it shows that this bomb is the most dangerous thing on the planet and it should be stopped from being produced. The impact of the discovery, creation, and testing of the atomic bomb is that the discovery of uranium fission led to theories of making bombs with it, which caused the creation of the uranium atomic bomb by Robert Oppenheimer and his team. Now countries have thousands of nuclear weapons that they can use
I am reading Bomb by Steve Sheinkin. At the beginning of the book, Oppenheimer, who is the main chemical scientist in the novel, sees the effects of the Great Depression on his pupils when they cannot buy chemistry textbooks. During Oppenheimer’s time as a professor, the Nazis discovered the splitting of the uranium atom. When Albert Einstein found out that about the discovery the Nazis did, he informs President Roosevelt about how the Nazis plan to develop atomic weapons. Harry Gold who is a Communist spy, starts to work with the KGB. And starts to steal ideas and projects from the American Uranium Committee.
Steve Sheinkin, award-winning author, in his novel Bomb: The Race to Build- and Steal- the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon (2012) addresses the topic of nuclear war and proves that no matter what actions are taken (during war) there will be negative outcomes by depicting the characters with anxiety, describing horror-filled battle scenes and revealing the thirst for power during these times. Sheinkin supports his claim by using memorable moments in the novel such as when the bomb is dropped on Hiroshima and the entire city is close to being wiped out; also when Stalin is upset that the Americans completed the atomic bomb which leads to another race of building upwards
Clay Dillow’s “To Catch a Bombmaker” was published by Popular Science in October 2015. This article educated the reader about the FBI’s Terrorist Explosive Device Analytical Center— a key aspect in the fight against terrorism. Dillow focused on ethos and logos to strengthen the validation of his claim concerning the importance of the TEDAC and was successful in persuading the reader to believe in its significance as well. He used expert quotes from FBI agents to give the article credibility; In addition, he presented statistical data in a clear and concise manner and gave many factual cases in which the TEDAC facilitated the government in their pursuit of terrorist and bomb makers. As proven by Dillow in “How to Catch a Bombmaker,” the Terrorist
A young scientist who was very smart and intelligent was the creator of a bomb that killed millions. The bomb was the most powerful weapon that was ever manufactured. He changed the course of World War II. This man is Robert Oppenheimer, creator of the atomic bomb. The book “Bomb” by Steve Sheinkin, is a book that includes teamwork and how Americans made a deadly bomb that changed the course of the war. The book engages the reader through how spies share secret information with enemies. Because the physicists were specifically told not to share any information, they were not justified in supplying the Soviet Union with the bomb technology.
. The Venona project was a military investigation decoding Soviet cables going in and out the United States. These cables revealed hundreds of citizens and immigrants all on American soil that passed very confidential information to Soviet intelligence. (Citation here) This alarming discovery of spies and the success of them gathering information showed the Soviet Union and communisms ability to influence and control. It was espionage that led to the trails of Julius and Ethal Rosenburg. The Rosenburg were American citizens indited, convicted, and executed for passing confidential information to Soviet officials, which aided them in the duplication of nuclear weapons specifically the atomic bomb. Had the Soviet Union not gained access to such a vital piece of information, the pivoting point of psychological fear to actual physical fear spiraling a world wind of cause and effects around the world, then perhaps the fear its self would not have grown to such status. The Soviet Union’s espionage was a war on American soil, fought secretly to dismantle the super power of the United States.
On August 6, 1945, the U.S. dropped the world’s first atomic bomb over Hiroshima. Three days later, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. On August 15th, the Japan announced unconditional surrender in World War II. To this day historians still discuss why the U.S. decided to use the atomic bombs. Orthodox historians argue that the decision to drop the bombs was a military one designed purely to defeat the Japanese. Revisionist historians argue that the bombs were not needed to defeat Japan; the bombs were meant to shape the peace by intimidating the Soviets. After analyzing the documents in The Manhattan Project it has become clear that the U.S. used the bombs during WWII not only to defeat the Japanese, but also to intimidate the Soviet Union
The terror of nuclear war, the fright of your home being destroyed before your eyes. This was what was facing 16 year old Sorry Rinamu in the novel The Bomb by Theodore Taylor. This historical fiction deals with the problems of Sorry and his small island facing the control of Japan and needs of the United States.
...ar the use of weapons of this magnitude, the American idea of the Japanese people has changed, and we now have set up preventions in the hope of avoiding the use of nuclear weaponry. John Hersey provides a satisfactory description of the atomic bombing. Most writers take sides either for or against the atom bomb. Instead of taking a side, he challenges his readers to make their own opinions according to their personal meditations. On of the key questions we must ask ourselves is “Are actions intended to benefit the large majority, justified if it negatively impacts a minority?” The greatest atrocity our society could make is to make a mistake and not learn from it. It is important, as we progress as a society, to learn from our mistakes or suffer to watch as history repeats itself.
Despite all of the security used by the officials in charge of the “Manhattan Project,” soviet spies managed to leak information to the Soviet Union that allowed them to create a nuclear bomb of their own. Klaus Fuchs, an important scientist to the “Manhattan Project,” managed to move throughout the project and provide crucial information to the Soviets. David Greenglass also provi...
In the world there is little thing called power. Many countries want to have great power, few get it. Powers gave the Soviet Union and the U.S. the ability to dominate in wars. In the 1950’s during the Cold War these two countries had a race to se who could create the most powerful weapon the world has ever seen, the Hydrogen Bomb. Edward Teller, an atomic physicist, and Stanislaw Marcin Ulam, a mathematician, "who together developed the Teller-Ulam design in 1951" for the Hydrogen Bomb (Teller-Ulam Design). Many people had their thoughts about why or why not the Hydrogen Bomb should have been built. What this essay will talk about is why the Hydrogen Bomb was built.
The Atomic Age represents the most epic era and composed of diverse controversial issues in the human history. In the late 1945, President Harry Truman informed to drop two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These two bombs quickly yielded the surrender of Japan and the end the World War 2. However, the impact of it led us to debate whether this decision was actually right or so. First off, it would be hard to imagine how Japan would have been surrendered without the atomic bomb. Therefore to save many American lives, President Truman believed that it was his duty to end the war as soon as possible. But the bombs took away innocent lives and killed civilians indiscriminately. “Atomic Age America” written by Martin
Hence, making the use of the nuclear bomb necessary, since the entire world had already seen how cruel the Japanese were with brutal war crimes that happen throughout the war and spread terror. Also it is important to mention the attack on Pearl Harbor which at the time the United States was no involved in the war at the time. The United States needed to make Japan surrender so that nothing like that would happen again to them or the rest of the Allies. The use of the atomic bomb aided the Allies in getting one step closer to ending the war, however, the use of the bomb had a lot of after effects. Hence, “the four-ton uranium bomb wreaked unprecedented havoc
The U.S. decided to develop the atomic bomb based on the fear they had for the safety of the nation. In August 1939 nuclear physicists sent manuscripts to Albert Einstein in fear the Germany might use the new knowledge of fission on the uranium nucleus as way to construct weapons. In response, on August 2, 1939, Einstein sent a letter to President Roosevelt concerning the pressing matter to use uranium to create such weapons before Germany (Doc A-1). To support the development of the atomic bomb, President Roosevelt approved the production of the bomb following the receipt that the bomb is feasible on January 19, 1942. From this day to December of 1942, many laboratories and ...
The Manhattan Project was one of the first outlets America used to show the era of scientific triumph. The directors of this project, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Albert Einstein, Leo Szilard and General Groves played a big contribution in the outcome of World War II. I have researched the argument of(that) the Manhattan Project being(was) vital for the legitimate ending to World War II. While other(s) some(take out some amd put could) say(that) they could have not dropped the second bomb, or(take out or) since Japanese Prime Minister Suzuki formed a new War cabinet to bring the war to end on its own. (Stoff, Michael B., Fanton, Jonathon, F., William, Hal, R., EDT. Al. 1991, p. 1991). This project had many different components for it to run successfully. Components such as theology and applied sciences were used. Oppenheimer was the main administrator credited to put the organization together. I will cover how(take out how) the time periods from 1938 (the discovery of Nuclear Fission) to 1945 (when the atomic bombs were dropped on Japan.) This major contribution is important today because the technology and the leap of science were emphasized greatly during the war. I will also be covering some results and life after the two bombs(were) set off. In the book “The Manhattan Project” by Jeff Hughes, during the 1930s, America was not the only country to research the secrets of nuclear transmutation. This justifies one of my points that the bombs were not a rational decision made by the Truman administration. The elements and materials needed to create the atomic bombs were not only the U.S’s call. Discoveries(that were) made in a short amount of time and having to put a team together to make the world’s first weapons of mass destruction is ...
Smirnov, Yuri, Vladislav Zubok. “Nuclear Weapons after Stalin’s Death: Moscow enters the H-Bomb Age.” Cold War International History Project. March 1994.