1 comments about Problems and Solutions on Atomic, Nuclear and Particle Physics: Major American Universities Ph.D. Qualifying Questions and Solutions (Major American Universities ... PhD Qualifying Questions and Solutions).

1. This is the best problem and solutions book in Atomic Physics I sow! It has a broad variety of detail solved problems, from those which are almost easy to those which are really hard. I use that one like main book in Atomic Physics to prepare myself for Ph.D. qualifier. I also highly recommend this book to all graduate students, as well as to those undergraduate who are willing to learn more than they can from ordinary undergraduate courses.

5 comments about The Secret of Life.

1. Not much to say about Lakhovsky, other than his Multi~wave oscillator has a proven 'case history' record of over 90% symptom loss ---hiv,cancer,diabetes,herpes,hepatitus,tB,common cold,etc etc etc.... it is in my opinion much better than the Rife frequency device...and it is said Lakhovsky was the one responsible for Rife's accomplishments in that respect to a large degree. It is far more user friendly and easy to use. *There are various theories on what would happen to an individual sitting between the coils past a certain period of time... I have not attempted this past the 15-20 minute mark.. I think the bottom line here and what Lakhovsky just prooves again is that no matter where the truth takes us particularly in the field of health, untill humanity as a collective consciousness wakes up (search under "adventures of don croft" on a search engine and you will see the rate at which this is happening across the world..some amazing(...)), it will never find the answers it seeks. The fact of the matter is this:(...)there is really nothing very exciting to gossip about when problems just disappear and go away. "do you want to find out what the problem is, or do you want to get your life back?!!" a doc once told me...i think that sums up the Multi Wave Oscillator perfectly.. it's the ideal method to use if you have been to 100 doctors and still have no idea what you have .. this device should have made megalithic breakthroughs in medicine.. of course mr. lakhovsky died suddenly like wilhelm reich and royal rife(...))(...)NOTE: it is very important once you are 'over' your condition to rebuild your body as the damage will not go away immediately.. cardiovascular excercise and only the best in food and supplements should be used. the Life Extension Foundation is your best bet for the supplements and their magazine is a must (they are non profit)*be well*



2. Very interesting Book on which the author explains his theory that
   all cells work as antennas and absorb energy from cosmic rays (ether),
   unfortunately there is no more books from this author.
   
   For the people who would like to read more about similar opinions
   I would recommend to get the following: The secret life of the Plants,
   Persecution and Trial of Gaston Naessens, Shape Power by Dan A. Davidson,
   Ultimate Reality by Joseph Cater, The Discovery of Orgone Vol 1 and 2
   by Wilhelm Reich.
   
   Enjoy.



3. I was working in MWO some time before buying this book. Inside it you can find some info that it's hard to find at the WEB, other stufs are eassy to read anywere. I believe that there isn't so much more to read about MWO (few other publications) then investigation is the way to learn more. Buy it anyway, will not be spent money.



4. This book is a real eye opener, A must read for everyone! I found that one can not admire everything in the natural world in the same way after reading this work. I just find it a shame that the medical world did not push Mr. Lakhovsky's work further. His concepts and work where way ahead of his time! Yet another that has been swept under the rug!



5. Dr. Lakhovsky was a contemporary of Nikolai Tesla. He took the work of Tesla in the field of electro-magnetics and used this work to uncover the truth about cancer and how it can be cured. Read for yourself, you'll enjoy knowing the truth!

1 comments about Foundations of Radiation Hydrodynamics.

1. This work is by far the most outstanding text in the field. It's completeness and attention to detail make it a "must have" for students of radiation hydrodynamics as well as for experts in the field. The republication of this book by Dover has done the field a great service second only to the service provided by the authors in writing it!

1 comments about Nuclear Energy: Principles, Practices, and Prospects.

1. I am amazed that nobody wrote yet a review of this book.
   
   I liked this book a lot. David Bodansky's style is logical, concise and fun to read. What I liked most is that the author succeeds to attack with equal clarity a wide range of diverse subjects about nuclear energy:
   - Economic considerations on nuclear energy.
   - The physics principles behind nuclear reactions, and their relevance in reactor design, etc.
   - Engineering considerations around nuclear reactor design and operations
   - Administrative considerations around waste disposal.
   
   To conclude: if you have some background in physics, math and/or economy, and you need a no-nonsense introduction in the field of nuclear energy, then this book is for you. However, if you just like to read prose, (and you don't enjoy technical details being sprinkled during the exposition) then the book migth be too high-level.

5 comments about Classical Dynamics of Particles and Systems.

1. I really like this book a lot. I never went to class for both quarters of my upper-division undergraduate mechanics class, and instead read Thornton and Marion religiously. I've heard friends express their dislike for it, but I think it is very clear and provides excellent perspective and insight. It is very mathematically rigorous, which I appreciate but others may not. The proofs given are typically very readable, although I often skipped over the sort of "obvious" things that the book shows in exquisite detail. Lots of great sections and topics, much interesting material covered, in addition to the basics. Highly recommended.



2. I use this text in my spring sophomore-level mechanics class. There are no perfect texts for this level, but this is the best one out there. The book does assume that you either have a solid base of mathematics or are willing to learn during the course. That's typical in a physics class; you learn mathematics while learning physics, and so its a good introduction to the style of more advanced physics classes. While the chapter on nonlinearity doesn't fit well with the other chapters, and I wish Lagrangian's were moved later in the text, its still a better choice then most other texts for most students. Less mathematically prepared students could use Taylor's text, for example, and more mathematically prepared students should use Goldstein and landau, but this book aims at the middle of lower division physics majors.



3. Pros: Great reference text. The examples are clear and there are generally a lot of them. The notation is generally very readable.
   
   
   Cons: The price. As with almost any physics text, this one is most easily understood if you can compare it to another book of the same level (might I recommend Taylor?) However, the price of this book makes that impractical at best.
   
   This book is a good text. It is one of the first books that physics students encounter after their introductory courses which makes for a very challenging semester. I think that may be why it has recieved so many poor reviews. . .



4. I used this book as a physics undergrad in the mid '90s. Like so many others on this site, my copy of M&T split in half before the semester was even half over. I'd sure love my $80 back plus interest...
   
   I thought some of the later chapters were quite good -- particularly the one on Lagrangian dynamics -- but the first few chapters didn't strike me as particularly well written. More than a decade later, I can still recall a problem in Chapter 2 that wasn't even remotely covered anywhere in the chapter itself. It somehow managed to survive to the 4th edition, and I'd be willing to bet it's in the 5th as well.
   
   There were lots of things I liked about Marion and Thornton, but generally speaking, if students are expected to plunk down this kind of money for texts on fairly venerable topics, the content should be QA-tested, and the book itself should be reasonably well-constructed.



5. They just sent me a CD, not a book. I wanted to have a hard copy!!!! The .pdf file is not worth for the price I paid for.

5 comments about Physical Foundations of Cosmology.

1. Theories are written to explain observed phenomenon. They are then used to predict future discoveries. So long as the theory continues to work, it is accepted by the scientific community at large. Up until thirty or so years ago the model of the Cosmos was a fairly well agreed upon theory. Then slight problems began to appear, until in 1980-81 the author of this book conducted some experiments and developed theories that applied quantum fluctuations to the large scale structure of the universe.
   
   This began the theory of inflationary cosmology that remedied several annoying little problems in the standard big bang model of the universe.
   
   This is a textbook suitable for students in theoretical cosmology, physics, and astrophysics. It might be suitable for advanced undergraduates, but is more likely to be used in graduate level study. Some knowledge of general relativity and particle physics (and quantum field theory) is said by the author to be helpful but not necessary. I suppose that that's true, but by the end of the book you will certainly have some knowledge in this area. I'd recommend a bit of study in other books before tackling this one.
   
   This book is a good single volume work on the modern view of cosmology. It can be used as a text on the subject. Further it contains a lot of information that will be very useful for even the best experts in the field.



2. I think this is the best conceptual book in cosmology,
   I truly enjoy reading it.



3. With the rising importance of cosmology has come an increasing flood of textbooks on modern cosmology. While I have not surveyed all the textbooks out there, many of those I have looked at suffered from serious problems. Recently, I had the opportunity of looking at Slava Mukhanov's new book on cosmology and I was so struck by its excellence that I am moved to post a review on Amazon, something I am not in the habit of doing. The bottom line is that I heartily recommend to any student or physicist serious about mastering modern cosmology. Mukhanov is one of the earliest pioneers in inflationary cosmology and a towering figure over the whole field, particularly when it comes to actual calculation, as compared to mere talk, of the density fluctuation spectrum.
   
   Different people have different criteria for an outstanding textbook. I like a textbook to slice away all the obscure and unnecessary formalism shrouding the subject and to get through to the underlying concepts and the important physical ideas. So, dear reader, if you love heavy dry formalism that does not help you understand physics, then this book is not for you. (An aside: from a cursory glance at some of the reviews of physics books posted on Amazon I was amazed by the number of readers, apparently misinformed and misguided, more interested in mathematics and formalism than in understanding physics.)
   
   There is a whole spectrum of books on cosmology. There are the giant compendia of every imaginable topic, but with almost nothing really derived, such as the book by Peacock. Then there are those books notorious for the amount of hype and hot air they blow. Such books apparently really appeal to people who want to "grasp" cosmology without doing any work; they could just read the hype and "be happy." On the opposite end of the spectrum is the book by Scott Dodelson, which is full of nitty gritty, the real stuff that you need to do detailed cosmic microwave background calculations, and which for that reason I highly recommend to students wanting to become professional cosmologists.
   
   I have not read Mukhanov's book in its entirety. I read the parts on inflation and looked at his treatment of density perturbations. I really like his discussion of inflation, which carries the stamp of authority and deep understanding associated with a master who invented the subject. He cuts to the essential physics of the different approaches and wisely refrains from presenting the one thousand and one inflationary scenarios that have flooded (some would say, polluted) the literature. When he comes to density perturbations, he does it as simply as possible, and most importantly, correctly. Students should be aware of the fact that many of the well-known papers on the subject contain errors, as Mukhanov points out in a very helpful and biting footnote.
   
   I recommend this book enthusiastically to all those serious about modern cosmology.



4. I've read the book and solved part of the problems in the course of a few months.
   
   Let's start with the good. Viatcheslav Mukhanov is obviously an expert in theoretical cosmology, he is well known for quantizing the cosmological inhomogeneities. On 400 pages, he discusses all major topics like the necessary general relativity, hot universe (nucleosynthesis and recombination), the speculative ideas about the very early universe, inflation, inhomogeneities (their quantization and subsequent evolution), primordial quantum fluctuations, CMB, the gravitational wave background, and the CMB polarization. He is apparently a wizzard in obtaining semi-analytical approximations of differential equation solutions where others use numerical code. Experts in the field will appreciate the book as a primer for formulas and approximations. It feels like the author has shown his own view in the derivations, and often generalizes them compared to more elementary texts - for example the general relativity chapter is not limited to flat universes only and the inflation chapter discusses a rolling de Sitter space (H varies with time) not the easier exact de Sitter. The emphasis is on deriving approximate formulas in gory detail and interpretation of the results.
   
   Now the bad for which I deducted one point. This books is definitely not for undegraduate or even middle level graduate student despite the author's claims. Understanding the GR chapter requires a course in GR and understanding the early universe chapter with its speculative fantasies coming from particle physics require a REALLY GOOD understanding of the ideas at frontiers of QFT - I had hard time telling what was going on conceptually behind the messy formulas.
   
   The price to be paid for encompassing more general cases and deriving messy approximations is that there is no space left to carefully familiarize a beginner reader with the concepts - just mentioning something true is not enough to understand it deeply. Some of the high level explanations Mukhanov offers obviously assume an expert level reader. To a middle level reader like me, those explanations sound a little cryptic although I have no doubt they are true. What's the point though if the non-specialist will often go like 'huh ... what .... from where?'. I've written many of those in the book margins.
   
   I found the author's claim that the text is easy to follow as algebra and manipulations completely NOT true - he often skips big chunks of algebra offering incomplete explanations how the next formula was derived. It takes huge amount of time to fill in the missing details, often requiring guessing the author's mind and on a few occasions I was simply unable to get it. I've written something like 100 pages just filling details.
   
   I have been able to solve maybe 30% of the problems interspersed in the text. Many of them lack sufficient support in the text and there are no solutions or answers. It would be more pedagogical in my opinion to have at least solution outlines - what's the merit of a problem most readers won't be able to solve? Some of the problems require knowing approximation techniques like WKB, stationary phase, asymptotic series. Mukhanov could have written an appendix on these since he uses them so often.
   
   After reading the book, I became familiar with the messy algebra at the frontier of cosmology. I've experienced lots of new concepts (not too deeply though) and seen powerfull approximations. The general logical picture of cosmology that I have hoped to gather from this book still remains a little chaotic - not sure what derives from where.
   
   The book shoud be usefull for specialists looking for more generalized formulas and approximations. Mukhanov should work on more carefull explanation of concepts and the algebra if he wants that to be a book for beginners or middle level students. I suggest Scott Dodelson for that.
   
   Recently I've found out that the Mukhanov textbook is almost a 1-to-1 copy of some of his overview articles [...]. Detail omission is common in published articles for the purposes of brevity but such style is not appropriate for a textbook.



5. I was really thinking of buying this book. But since it didn't have the
   "search inside" feature, the decision is on hold.

4 comments about How to Build a Nuclear Bomb: And Other Weapons of Mass Destruction (Nation Books).

1. I have read quite a lot on this subject so I almost did not buy it because I thought from a quickscan that I knew almost all this stuff and it would be too simple.

   However I certainly learnt much from it. If you are looking for a good book to state the current world situation this book will do the trick in a quite readable form.




2. A reference book which does not delve into the exhausting details of the WMD technology but presents in a clear and easy to read text all the essential information. Of course the title is somehow misleading, as the book is not a manual for nuclear bomb producers. The strong point of the book is that it is not necessary for someone to have a PhD in Physics, Bilogy or Chemistry in order to understand the working principles of WMD.



3. The book had some erroneous figures causing me to scrutinize the entirety of the information it contained. On top of this I felt it was poorly written with no closing to wrap up, typos, and instead of using a single form of currency when describing worth, Barnaby used several (e.g. Australian, the Euro, USD, Pounds, etc.) and I didn't like consulting a currency converter to make the numbers mean something to me. Overall, it was an informative but scatterbrained and, in my opinion, a useless book he wrote over the weekend to get some extra cash.
   
   By the way: who advertises with a review from the "financial times"? Give me a break.



4. Only a twisted prankster or a deluded madperson would publish a book on how to build a nuclear weapon. The author of this book however does not fit any of these two categories, and despite the title of this book, he has written a book that covers the issues and horrifying prospects behind chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. The title therefore is somewhat misleading, and one should not expect to find detailed explanations on how to construct a nuclear bomb. Even a terrorist group who was interested or had the knowledge on how to do this would not share this knowledge, preferring instead to keep it to itself.
   
   The book was first targeted to a British audience, but in this new edition one finds a new preface that is directed to readers in the United States. This preface was written after the immoral and illegal invasion of Iraq in the spring of 2003. and the author makes a clear and skeptical allusion to the absence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. He is concerned with any kind of nuclear development in places like North Korea and Iran, and gives some evidence and insight into the status of their nuclear programs.
   
   In any case the author's purpose in writing the book is in his words to "contribute to informed debate" by giving some details on how weapons of mass destruction can be developed and then used. If the actual building of a nuclear bomb is very difficult, even with weapons grade material available, then perhaps the goal of anti-terrorist planning should be more in the area of chemical and biological weapons, and in strict monitoring of the location of nuclear weapons that are already built. A terrorist group interested in using nuclear weapons in their attacks on civilian populations would find it easier to steal a nuclear weapon than to develop, or perhaps purchase one from a "rogue" state that is sympathetic with their grievances.
   
   The author does not give a general definition of what he considers "terrorism" to be, but a good definition that encapsulates the intent of terrorists would be:
   
   "Terrorism is the deliberate act of killing civilians for the purpose of bringing about a particular end or goal, political or otherwise".
   
   The key part of this definition is in the real intent of killing civilians, rather than them being merely inadvertently killed when in the way of a military target. Thus the attacks on the World Trade Center were clearly terrorism, while the attack on the Pentagon was not, since the latter targeted a military installation. Palestinian suicide attacks against Israeli citizens are also acts of terrorism, as was the purposeful killing of Palestinians when their country was taken over by Zionist forces in 1949. The firebombing of Tokyo and Dresden by the Allies in World War II was also clearly a terrorist act and the nuclear attacks by the United States against Hiroshima and Nagasaki were without doubt acts of terrorism if one accepts the above definition.
   
   Thus individuals from many walks of life and political ideologies practice terrorism, both with primitive weapons and more sophisticated and deadly ones. Although the author does not state it explicitly, to date only the government of the United States has practiced nuclear terrorism, but the author asks the reader to consider whether the threat of nuclear terrorism by other groups or "rogue states" is a real one or one that has been exaggerated. To inflate the threat of terrorism to bring about a particular end or goal, political or otherwise, is a dastardly act, but the possibility of this occurring must be considered alongside the real threat of terrorism. We must be able to distinguish a real threat from an exaggerated one, in order to stay focused on genuine dangers and not those that are hyped up by a particular political party or governmental agenc (a good example being the current regime in Washington).
   
   This is another good reason for reading this book, because it allows a more objective assessment of the effects of weapons of mass destruction, the degree of difficulty in their development, and the likelihood of their use by groups or countries. The author is skeptical of the chances of ridding the world of nuclear weapons, given the ability of countries that have them to obtain "dominant positions" in their regions. Most importantly, he addresses the ability of democratic societies to counter international terrorism without becoming an authoritarian regime in the process. He quotes a study that indicates that the likelihood of finding a terrorist group in a democratic society is 3.5 times the likelihood of finding one in an authoritarian regime. He does not elaborate on how these odds were calculated unfortunately.
   
   Anyone with a strong physics background has no doubt amused herself or himself at one time or another on just how they would build a nuclear bomb, if they were not currently working in nuclear weapons projects. It is natural to have such a curiosity, and this reviewer has been involved in many such conversations over lunch or in front of campfires. Without divulging classified knowledge, the author gives a brief overview of the physics and technology behind nuclear weapons in the book. The physicist reader will definitely find this part of the book interesting, even though the physics is kept at a very low level, in order to allow the book to appeal to a wider audience.

5 comments about Realistic Ray Tracing, Second Edition.

1. I took a ray tracing course from the first author several years ago and though I loved the course I am not a fan of the first edition. The new edition is a very very good book however. The biggest improvement is that it has lots of C++ code, along with explanation of why it is written the way it is. Higly recommended.



2. I had heard about how many errors this book originally had and assumed that these would be fixed for the Second Edition printing -- well, they weren't. There's a typo on nearly every other page, plus some serious formula errors.

   Also, the book isn't very balanced. Some parts go into too much detail, and others not nearly enough.

   I returned this book the day after I received it.




3. I have to second the person who said that the people who recommended this book never actually sat down and tried to implement the material inside of it. The book is riddled with mistakes, and the errata online keeps growing by the minute.
   
   Shirley (and Morley) are brilliant and pioneers in the field, but they write a book like any hardcore professor you've taken in college would have written it --- dry, coarse and assuming of much knowldege. A reviewer here mentioned "disjointed" and that actually is an understatement.
   
   I am by far no means a graphics person, but being a college graduate with at least two classes in graphics under my belt, I expected to just shoot through this book. This was definitely not the case.
   
   Beware of slim and short books, and this is one of them. I found the classic "An Introduction To Ray Tracing", Andrew S. Glassner (another genuis) to be much better. Also, I've heard great things about Matt Pharr/Greg Humphreys "Physically Based Rendering -- from Theory to Implementation". That one's currently in the mail shipping to my house.
   
   No offense to Mr. Shirley -- however please let edition 3 of this book (assuming there will be one) cater to a wider audience, such as myself.
   
   I wonder if the first edition was better...



4. 
   Compare to the first edition, major improvement include libraries of C++ code but unfortunately, lack of explanations.
   
   No offense to Mr.Shirley, but this book is riddled with errors, some of the materials provided at the end of each chapters were DIFFERENT from the code on the server. Not sure which one should be follow.
   
   If you intend to write you own path-tracer from scratch, I will definitely not recommend this book. Reading this book requires knowledge on much other theories, such as calculus, probability and other... which were very briefly mentioned in the text.
   
   If you intend to understand global illumination and radiometry, I would recommend "Advanced Global Illumination" by Philip Dutre, Philippe Bekaert and Kavita Bala. This is a much better book which explains things clearly.



5. I bought this book during a period it had actually good reviews. From all CG books I have bought this is the worst by far, as others explain in other reviews, the book is full of mistakes, and lacks of explanations. It's not the kind of book that will give you the insight on how algorithms work, but just present you the algorithms or formulas directly (that usually are just plain wrong). I tried on first edition to mail the author about some errors and got no replay at all (and no fix).
   
   There is really no reason at all why someone would need this book; if you are new to ray tracing, you wont find any explanations on how it really works. If you know about raytracing, in theory it could work as a reference manual, but since its so full of mistakes its of no use even for that.
   
   I suggest "Computer Graphics: Principles and Practice" or "Advanced Animation and Rendering Techniques" if you want to learn the basics of raytracing and actually understand it. And "Realistic Image Synthesis Using Photon Mapping" if you want to implement some global illumination through raytracing, or some more advanced effects like caustics.

2 comments about Experiments in Modern Physics, Second Edition.

1. I purchased this book with hopes of gaining some insight into the theoretical aspects of the modern physics experiments I was working on in a junior laboratory. I must say that this book has been invaluable. The author masterfully details the most fundamental experiments in modern physics, making the material accessible to beginning undergrad students, yet still theoretically rich enough for advanced experimental practice.
   
   Most modern physics experiments can more than likely be referenced somewhere in this book, which serves as a lab manual complete with data samples and example analysis. For myself, the analysis techniques employed in the experiments contained within this book were the most helpful. Any physics student with experience in an advanced lab would agree that data and error analysis are the most critical part of any lab, making this book ideal as a reference.
   
   I give this book five stars, but I must admit only one disappointment with its binding. I read a review, prior to buying this text, stating that the hardcover binding is somewhat prone to wearing out quickly, and indeed I think I have seen the beginning of this demise. However, I have made extensive use of the book, which has undoubtedly contributed to this problem.

   Otherwise, I have gotten every cent's worth out of this book!




2. The 1st edition by Adrian Melissinos is a classic reference book with a wealth of practical information and data. That book was published in 1966; yet much of the theoretical treatments and methods are still applicable today. This 2nd edition either deleted or replaced some important original material. The 2nd edition did not do a good job in discussing new developments since the publication of the last edition. For instance, in the discussion of the Fabry-Perot method for high resolution spectroscopy, there was no mention of using a piezoelectric actuator which is commonly used at present and a significant development since the publication of the 1st edition. Useful data in nuclear experiments were deleted. A chapter of useful techniques in the 1st edition that deals with useful procedures such as pulse height analysis and basic vacuum technique was deleted.

5 comments about Brighter than a Thousand Suns: A Personal History of the Atomic Scientists.

1. While an easy to read book, Jungk presents some false information that depreciates the value of the book.

   The first is the impression that Von Weisacker and other German scientists attempted to give to the post war world, that they were not really trying to build a bomb, but were merely interested in nuclear power. This is refuted by Jeremy Bernstein, in his book "Hitler's Uranium Club." The historical record shows that there were many memorandums sent to the German Military, by the scientists, about the possibility of producing an atomic bomb.

   The more serious misstatement however, is about Klaus Fuchs' espionage on the Manhattan Project which was the most damaging espionage committed by any of the atomic spies of that era. Jungk claims that Fuchs decided to spy for the Soviet Union when he learned about plans to bomb Hiroshima. This is so off base that one has to question Jungk's scholarship or motives. Here is why: Fuchs began spying for the Soviets in 1941 in Britain, before Pearl Harbor and before there was even a Manhattan Project. The decision to acutally bomb Hiroshima was made in 1945. None of the scientists know what the targets were.

   This is such a huge distortion of the facts that it should be mentioned in any review of this book. The book has lots of details but if you buy it, beware of some of the downright distortions of history. A better choice is Richard Rhodes's book, "The Making of the Atomic Bomb".




2. 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.



3. This a clear and terrible book. It can be considered as one of the most complete compelling and passionate works about the most chilling decision in the mankind story . the moral and politic story of the atomic scientists or the underground account of what happened among stage sceneries while the atomic finding and the construction of the atomic weapons . An impressing gallery where you will finf the famous and glorious names osuch as Niels Bohr , Oppenheimer , Heisenberg , Rutherford, Enrico Fermi , Szilard , Dirac , Joliot Curie , Kapitza , Otto Hahn , Weizacker their political approach , from Hitler to Roosvelt and Truman .
   Jungk presnts us the collective drama of the atomic energy and the responsibility of the scientists who wishing or not they finally finished accepting the tragicg fate and the ethical dilemma .
   The fir4st part is an account which reveals how gradually at early 1939 , many of them were frightened about the final consequences of their discovery , but in the other hand the suspect the german scientists could be capable of making the expected weapon under Hitler service .
   Then the author explores the work of the German scientists around the atom fission , the intensive and unfinished stages work in U.K. and U.SA. under the Oppenheimer control, Los Alamos review and the famous July 16 , the countless Szilard and Frank efforts for preventing and avoid the use of the Atomic Bomb over Japan absolutely useless as all we know .
   This book shows us how the science has created its own world having lost of any moral force to oppose the development of the most destructive weapons .
   The moral crossroad of a notable group of men who escaping from a demolisher oppressive nazi regime fell under a new form of destructor power of its own individuality , freedom and conscience
   To have an absolute domain of that complex web I recommend to acquire The great decision whose author is Michael Amrine..
   A must for any kind of reader , no matter your job is .



4. Robert Jungk’s Brighter than a Thousand Suns encompasses one of the most recent subjects in Physics, Atomic Energy. He begins by describing the Environment the most prominent physicists were educated in, Gottingen University in Germany, although an insight into the lives of these emerging physicists was well depicted, I felt that it was little too much background information and not enough explanations of the developments these budding physicists generated. The pattern of excessive background information seems to continue throughout the book, but there is much valuable information to be had throughout the book. The book covers everything from the plethora of atomic physicists sprouting after the First World War to the Manhattan Project and J. Robert Oppenheimer’s trial that removed him from his lofty position at the head of America’s Atomic Energy Commission. This book presents good information, but it is not very accessible as it was written by a German Physicist and later translated into English, and an immense interest in the topic is required to appreciate it.



5. Recently, in theatres in London and New York, the public was treated to the drama "Copenhagen," by British playwright Michael Frayn, and it revisited the theme of this now old book. The play was about a visit in September 1941 by the then young German physicist Werner Heisenberg to his mentor and dear friend Niels Bohr in Nazi-occupied Denmark. So a detail in a bigger picture, but still a key detail!
   
   The wider subject of Robert Jungk's book is a biographical sketch of the pioneers in nuclear physics, the individual scientist who built the atomic bomb (the time before Hiroshima and Nagasaki), or whose theories were instrumental. The debate about the history, the science, and its implications of the nuclear bomb started after World War II, and it is important to remember that nuclear scientists worked on both sides of this conflicts. Now with hindsight, the Cold War, and nuclear proliferation have taken centre stage, but back in 1956 when Robert Jungk's book first appeared, World War II was still casting a big shadow on events and on the debate about nuclear deterrence. In my opinion Robert Jungk's book was one of the first serious attempts at a general account on what was clearly a watershed in history, a series of events that are shaping our lives even today. Since 1956, Robert Jungk's book was reprinted many times, and many more related books appeared.
   
   Jungk's book is interesting in that it paints a vivid portrait of such scientists as Robert Oppenheimer, Werner Heisenberg, Niels Bohr, and other leading physicists at the time, and on both sides of that conflict.
   
   What is interesting now is to view Robert Jungk's book in the light of Michael Frayn's play, and especially in light of newly released papers on the Niels Bohr archives in 2002, following the wide attention given to Michael Frayn's version of the 1941 meeting in Copenhagen. The 2002 addition to Niels Bohr's archives is a deposit comprising documents either dictated or written by Niels Bohr referring to what was said at the fateful 1941 meeting.
   
   Michael Frayn's play makes it clear that the two Bohr and Heisenberg were very close both scientifically and personally, and that the 1941 meeting changed all of that. Both men were devastated!
   
   Heisenberg was a leading scientific advisor to the German government in post WWII Europe; and yet he spent the rest of his life attempting to put his spin on his war work; his work on a nuclear bomb for Hitler, or perhaps rather denying these efforts. Niels Bohr who died in 1962 had been extraordinarily tight lipped about his meeting with Heisenberg in 1941. So while the newly released letters supplement and confirm previously published statements of Bohr's recollections of the meeting, especially those of his son, Aage Bohr, this part of the story is not well known, and especially not to Robert Jungk. The letters are from Niels Bohr to Heisenberg, and they are interesting for many reasons, not least of which is that they were never mailed, and so their contents were never known to Heisenbrg. Quoting from one of Bohr's letters to Heisenberg: "--- I think that I owe it to you to tell you that I am greatly amazed to see how much your memory has deceived you in your letter to the author [Robert Jungk] of the book ["Brighter than a thousand suns"],---." Review by Palle Jorgensen, July 2006.