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Half-Life: The Divided Life of Bruno Pontecorvo, Physicist or Spy
It was at the height of the Cold War, in the summer of 1950, when Bruno Pontecorvo mysteriously vanished behind the Iron Curtain. Who was he, and what caused him to disappear? Was he simply a physicist, or also a spy and communist radical? A protege of Enrico Fermi, Pontecorvo was one of the most promising nuclear physicists in the world. He spent years hunting for the Higgs boson of his day -- the neutrino -- a nearly massless particle thought to be essential to the process of particle decay. His work on the Manhattan Project helped to usher in the nuclear age, and confirmed his reputation as a brilliant physicist. Why, then, would he disappear as he stood on the cusp of true greatness, perhaps even the Nobel Prize?
In Half-Life , physicist and historian Frank Close offers a heretofore untold history of Pontecorvo's life, based on unprecedented access to Pontecorvo's friends and family and the Russian scientists with whom he would later work. Close takes a microscope to Pontecorvo's life, combining a thorough biography of one of the most important scientists of the twentieth century with the drama of Cold War espionage. With all the elements of a Cold War thriller -- classified atomic research, an infamous double agent, a possible kidnapping by Soviet operatives -- Half-Life is a history of nuclear physics at perhaps its most when it created the bomb. Physics at perhaps its most when it created the bomb.
In Half-Life , physicist and historian Frank Close offers a heretofore untold history of Pontecorvo's life, based on unprecedented access to Pontecorvo's friends and family and the Russian scientists with whom he would later work. Close takes a microscope to Pontecorvo's life, combining a thorough biography of one of the most important scientists of the twentieth century with the drama of Cold War espionage. With all the elements of a Cold War thriller -- classified atomic research, an infamous double agent, a possible kidnapping by Soviet operatives -- Half-Life is a history of nuclear physics at perhaps its most when it created the bomb. Physics at perhaps its most when it created the bomb.
400 pages, ebook
First published February 3, 2015
23 people are currently reading
665 people want to read
About the author
Frank Close
50 books190 followersFrancis Edwin Close (Arabic: فرانك كلوس)
In addition to his scientific research, he is known for his lectures and writings making science intelligible to a wider audience.
From Oxford he went to Stanford University in California for two years as a Postdoctoral Fellow on the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. In 1973 he went to the Daresbury Laboratory in Cheshire and then to CERN in Switzerland from 1973–5. He joined the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire in 1975 as a research physicist and was latterly Head of Theoretical Physics Division from 1991. He headed the communication and public education activities at CERN from 1997 to 2000. From 2001, he was Professor of Theoretical Physics at Oxford. He was a Visiting Professor at the University of Birmingham from 1996–2002.
Close lists his recreations as writing, singing, travel, squash and Real tennis, and he is a member of Harwell Squash Club.
In addition to his scientific research, he is known for his lectures and writings making science intelligible to a wider audience.
From Oxford he went to Stanford University in California for two years as a Postdoctoral Fellow on the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. In 1973 he went to the Daresbury Laboratory in Cheshire and then to CERN in Switzerland from 1973–5. He joined the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire in 1975 as a research physicist and was latterly Head of Theoretical Physics Division from 1991. He headed the communication and public education activities at CERN from 1997 to 2000. From 2001, he was Professor of Theoretical Physics at Oxford. He was a Visiting Professor at the University of Birmingham from 1996–2002.
Close lists his recreations as writing, singing, travel, squash and Real tennis, and he is a member of Harwell Squash Club.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
March 5, 2015
Adapted from my contribution to the Literary Review
Frank Close used to be a research physicist who wrote rather good books on the side. Latterly, his research activity has declined, and he has devoted rather more time to writing even better books. On the evidence of Half Life, which is undoubtedly his best book so far, it is a pity for us that he did not give up the day job sooner. No longer a physicist who writes, he is now a writer with a background in physics, in the same way that after “retiring” Dick Francis became a writer with a background in horse racing.
Indeed, the story told here, of the divided life of the Italian physicist Bruno Pontecorvo, could have formed the basis of a Dick Francis type of action thriller, or a John Le Carré scientific spy story. For the first (roughly) half of his life, up until 1950, Pontecorvo was a respectable and respected member of the physics community. By then, he had already had an adventurous life. Born in Italy, he worked with the nuclear pioneer Enrico Fermi in Rome, contributing to work on radioactivity which before long became vital in the design of nuclear reactors. This is one reason for the title of Close’s book, since the “half life” of a sample of radioactive material is the time it takes for half of the atomic nuclei in the sample to decay into other elements. In 1936, Pontecorvo moved to Paris to join the internationally renowned team working under Frédéric and Irène Joliot Curie, who had already won the Nobel Prize for their work.
Pontecorvo was very much a rising star in the physics firmament, but he was also politically active, among the left-wing community in Paris. In 1940, when the Germans invaded France, he was in double danger as a left-wing Jew, and soon also became an enemy alien when Italy joined the war. He managed to escape via Spain and Portugal to the USA (an odyssey in itself), where he applied his expertise in industry until being recruited into the British-Canadian nuclear project at Chalk River, a counterpart to the work on an “atomic pile” being undertaken by Enrico Fermi (another refugee from Fascism) and his team in Chicago. At this point, the plot begins to thicken. Unknown to the British, the American authorities were unhappy about Pontecorvo’s left-wing sympathies. But this did not stop him being a member of a team that visited Chicago to discuss the progress with Fermi’s nuclear reactor there, gleaning information of immense value to the British-Canadian project. And, perhaps, he was also passing information about nuclear reactor design (although not about nuclear weapons) to the Soviet Union.
After the war, Pontecorvo made ground-breaking contributions to the theory of neutrinos, and moved to Harwell, having become a British citizen, in January 1949. Everything seemed to be going swimmingly. But just a year later, while on a family holiday in Italy, Pontecorvo, together with his wife and children, disappeared. There is no evidence that this was pre-planned. Milk and papers had been cancelled for the duration of the holiday, but with instructions for deliveries to start again the day they were scheduled to return. Clothes were hanging in the wardrobes. The speculation was that the family had gone to the USSR, but this was only confirmed when Pontecorvo resurfaced there in 1955. But what had spooked him?
It seems that the CIA had firmed up their suspicions about Pontecorvo, although still without any real evidence, and had written to the British warning them not to trust him. The letter referred to “possible communist or pro-communist tendencies”, and named Pontecorvo along withy another physicist and a biologist. This was at the time Kim Philby, the notorious double agent, was the MI6 man in Washington, liasing with the CIA. Close infers that Philby tipped off Moscow, and Moscow tipped off Pontecorvo while he was in Italy and engineered his “escape”.
The irony is that without hard evidence Pontecorvo would never have been convicted in Britain. All the Americans had was a suggestion that Pontecorvo was at least a fellow traveller and was friendly with communists. Most probably, in Britain he would no longer have been allowed access to secret work, but could have taken up a post as a professor at a university. The only real evidence we have that Pontecorvo had been spying is the fact that he did defect. So his second “half life” began as a result of a misconception.
Close is able to describe the rest of his subject’s life and the details of the “escape” in detail, thanks to the availability of documents and interview subjects made possible by the collapse of the Soviet Union. Quite apart from the personal story of Pontecorvo, this gives a fascinating insight into science behind the Iron Curtain in the 1950s and 1960s, when researchers such as Pontecorvo had no choice but to publish in Russian language journals that were scarcely read in the West, and there was no internet or email. Because some of his most important work was overlooked as a result, Pontecorvo missed out on receiving a share of the Nobel Prize, which he thoroughly deserved for his work on neutrinos.
Close, of course, gives us a clear insight into the physics, without going into any depth that might frighten non-scientists. But that is what we have come to expect from him. The unexpected delight here is the enthralling insight into the life and times of a scientist, not just his scientific work. I hope this will not be a one-off. There are plenty of other potential subjects for such a treatment, not least Pontecorvo’s contemporary Klaus Fuchs. I live I hope.
John Gribbin is a Visiting Fellow in Astronomy at the University of Sussex
His latest book, Before the Big Bang, is available as a Kindle Single
Frank Close used to be a research physicist who wrote rather good books on the side. Latterly, his research activity has declined, and he has devoted rather more time to writing even better books. On the evidence of Half Life, which is undoubtedly his best book so far, it is a pity for us that he did not give up the day job sooner. No longer a physicist who writes, he is now a writer with a background in physics, in the same way that after “retiring” Dick Francis became a writer with a background in horse racing.
Indeed, the story told here, of the divided life of the Italian physicist Bruno Pontecorvo, could have formed the basis of a Dick Francis type of action thriller, or a John Le Carré scientific spy story. For the first (roughly) half of his life, up until 1950, Pontecorvo was a respectable and respected member of the physics community. By then, he had already had an adventurous life. Born in Italy, he worked with the nuclear pioneer Enrico Fermi in Rome, contributing to work on radioactivity which before long became vital in the design of nuclear reactors. This is one reason for the title of Close’s book, since the “half life” of a sample of radioactive material is the time it takes for half of the atomic nuclei in the sample to decay into other elements. In 1936, Pontecorvo moved to Paris to join the internationally renowned team working under Frédéric and Irène Joliot Curie, who had already won the Nobel Prize for their work.
Pontecorvo was very much a rising star in the physics firmament, but he was also politically active, among the left-wing community in Paris. In 1940, when the Germans invaded France, he was in double danger as a left-wing Jew, and soon also became an enemy alien when Italy joined the war. He managed to escape via Spain and Portugal to the USA (an odyssey in itself), where he applied his expertise in industry until being recruited into the British-Canadian nuclear project at Chalk River, a counterpart to the work on an “atomic pile” being undertaken by Enrico Fermi (another refugee from Fascism) and his team in Chicago. At this point, the plot begins to thicken. Unknown to the British, the American authorities were unhappy about Pontecorvo’s left-wing sympathies. But this did not stop him being a member of a team that visited Chicago to discuss the progress with Fermi’s nuclear reactor there, gleaning information of immense value to the British-Canadian project. And, perhaps, he was also passing information about nuclear reactor design (although not about nuclear weapons) to the Soviet Union.
After the war, Pontecorvo made ground-breaking contributions to the theory of neutrinos, and moved to Harwell, having become a British citizen, in January 1949. Everything seemed to be going swimmingly. But just a year later, while on a family holiday in Italy, Pontecorvo, together with his wife and children, disappeared. There is no evidence that this was pre-planned. Milk and papers had been cancelled for the duration of the holiday, but with instructions for deliveries to start again the day they were scheduled to return. Clothes were hanging in the wardrobes. The speculation was that the family had gone to the USSR, but this was only confirmed when Pontecorvo resurfaced there in 1955. But what had spooked him?
It seems that the CIA had firmed up their suspicions about Pontecorvo, although still without any real evidence, and had written to the British warning them not to trust him. The letter referred to “possible communist or pro-communist tendencies”, and named Pontecorvo along withy another physicist and a biologist. This was at the time Kim Philby, the notorious double agent, was the MI6 man in Washington, liasing with the CIA. Close infers that Philby tipped off Moscow, and Moscow tipped off Pontecorvo while he was in Italy and engineered his “escape”.
The irony is that without hard evidence Pontecorvo would never have been convicted in Britain. All the Americans had was a suggestion that Pontecorvo was at least a fellow traveller and was friendly with communists. Most probably, in Britain he would no longer have been allowed access to secret work, but could have taken up a post as a professor at a university. The only real evidence we have that Pontecorvo had been spying is the fact that he did defect. So his second “half life” began as a result of a misconception.
Close is able to describe the rest of his subject’s life and the details of the “escape” in detail, thanks to the availability of documents and interview subjects made possible by the collapse of the Soviet Union. Quite apart from the personal story of Pontecorvo, this gives a fascinating insight into science behind the Iron Curtain in the 1950s and 1960s, when researchers such as Pontecorvo had no choice but to publish in Russian language journals that were scarcely read in the West, and there was no internet or email. Because some of his most important work was overlooked as a result, Pontecorvo missed out on receiving a share of the Nobel Prize, which he thoroughly deserved for his work on neutrinos.
Close, of course, gives us a clear insight into the physics, without going into any depth that might frighten non-scientists. But that is what we have come to expect from him. The unexpected delight here is the enthralling insight into the life and times of a scientist, not just his scientific work. I hope this will not be a one-off. There are plenty of other potential subjects for such a treatment, not least Pontecorvo’s contemporary Klaus Fuchs. I live I hope.
John Gribbin is a Visiting Fellow in Astronomy at the University of Sussex
His latest book, Before the Big Bang, is available as a Kindle Single
February 23, 2015
It would be easy from the title of this book to suspect that physics professor Frank Close is writing about... well, radioactive half lives, but the subtitle tells us this is really on a more complex topic: 'The divided life of Bruno Pontecorvo, physicist or spy'. (I feel there ought to be a question mark at the end of that.)
Frank Close is a familiar name, with a string of excellent books focusing on specific topics in physics like Antimatter, The Infinity Puzzle and my particular favourite, Neutrino. This last title is particular apt, as neutrinos feature heavily in Half Life too, but this is a very different beast. In Half Life we get a scientific biography of Bruno Pontecorvo, the Italian physicist who worked on nuclear reactors during the Second World War, moved to Harwell in the UK soon after, but then, in 1950, mysteriously disappeared without trace. Five years later he appeared in the Soviet Union where he lived and worked for the rest of a long life.
What's very welcome about this book is that it gives us the chance to put Pontecorvo in his place in the annals of physics. Arguably he would have been a Nobel Prize winner if he hadn't disappeared into Russian obscurity, and he continued to do important work at Dubna, particularly around neutrino theory. But Pontecorvo's disappearance meant that a) speculation about this dominated any popular writing about him and b) his scientific work didn't really get the credit he deserved.
There are really three strands here - Pontecorvo's life, his work and the nature of his relationship with the Soviet Union - and Close covers them all in some detail in over 300 pages before you reach the notes. Apart from finding out more about Pontecorvo's work on neutrinos there is some fascinating material on his time in Fermi's lab in Italy. I hadn't realised, for instance, that Fermi and his team took out a patent on the slow neutron process that made nuclear chain reactions practical. One of the reasons that some of Pontecorvo's former colleagues gave him the cold shoulder after his defection was that his disappearance damaged their lawsuit for a large payment from the US government.
I'd still say that the Neutrino book is the best way to read up on these fascinating particles - here the scence parts tend to be a bit disjointed, because some aspects of the development involved messy overlaps and the chronology flips back and forth, and the science is fitted around the people part. But you will certainly gain some insights. There is also the key mystery that has never been solved - was Pontecorvo a Soviet spy who defected when he was in danger of being revealed, or just a naive communist who thought he was heading for a better life?
Close isn't able to provide us with a definitive answer to that question, but he pieces together evidence that gives a strong suggestion of Pontecorvo's role, which Close admits was totally different to his own expectation. (You'll have to read the book to get the answer.) The detective work is painstaking, perhaps giving us rather more detail than we really want. But the story of the key few days when the Pontecorvos (his wife and children disappeared with him) gave every appearance of being on an enjoyable European motoring holiday before things suddenly become strange is told very well.
This was a part of the history of physics that has never been properly explored in popular science, with a good mix of biography and the key science behind it. While I can't go as far as one of the quotes on the back which refers to it as a 'gripping scientific spy mystery' - the grip is mostly quite loose - it is essential reading for anyone who wants to get a good feel for what Fermi's team did before the war, the machinations of wartime science spying and the development of neutrino theory. Close does a great job of putting Pontecorvo in his proper place in the history of physics, and (as much as is possible) draws back the curtain of mystery that has always covered his relationship with the Soviet Union.
Frank Close is a familiar name, with a string of excellent books focusing on specific topics in physics like Antimatter, The Infinity Puzzle and my particular favourite, Neutrino. This last title is particular apt, as neutrinos feature heavily in Half Life too, but this is a very different beast. In Half Life we get a scientific biography of Bruno Pontecorvo, the Italian physicist who worked on nuclear reactors during the Second World War, moved to Harwell in the UK soon after, but then, in 1950, mysteriously disappeared without trace. Five years later he appeared in the Soviet Union where he lived and worked for the rest of a long life.
What's very welcome about this book is that it gives us the chance to put Pontecorvo in his place in the annals of physics. Arguably he would have been a Nobel Prize winner if he hadn't disappeared into Russian obscurity, and he continued to do important work at Dubna, particularly around neutrino theory. But Pontecorvo's disappearance meant that a) speculation about this dominated any popular writing about him and b) his scientific work didn't really get the credit he deserved.
There are really three strands here - Pontecorvo's life, his work and the nature of his relationship with the Soviet Union - and Close covers them all in some detail in over 300 pages before you reach the notes. Apart from finding out more about Pontecorvo's work on neutrinos there is some fascinating material on his time in Fermi's lab in Italy. I hadn't realised, for instance, that Fermi and his team took out a patent on the slow neutron process that made nuclear chain reactions practical. One of the reasons that some of Pontecorvo's former colleagues gave him the cold shoulder after his defection was that his disappearance damaged their lawsuit for a large payment from the US government.
I'd still say that the Neutrino book is the best way to read up on these fascinating particles - here the scence parts tend to be a bit disjointed, because some aspects of the development involved messy overlaps and the chronology flips back and forth, and the science is fitted around the people part. But you will certainly gain some insights. There is also the key mystery that has never been solved - was Pontecorvo a Soviet spy who defected when he was in danger of being revealed, or just a naive communist who thought he was heading for a better life?
Close isn't able to provide us with a definitive answer to that question, but he pieces together evidence that gives a strong suggestion of Pontecorvo's role, which Close admits was totally different to his own expectation. (You'll have to read the book to get the answer.) The detective work is painstaking, perhaps giving us rather more detail than we really want. But the story of the key few days when the Pontecorvos (his wife and children disappeared with him) gave every appearance of being on an enjoyable European motoring holiday before things suddenly become strange is told very well.
This was a part of the history of physics that has never been properly explored in popular science, with a good mix of biography and the key science behind it. While I can't go as far as one of the quotes on the back which refers to it as a 'gripping scientific spy mystery' - the grip is mostly quite loose - it is essential reading for anyone who wants to get a good feel for what Fermi's team did before the war, the machinations of wartime science spying and the development of neutrino theory. Close does a great job of putting Pontecorvo in his proper place in the history of physics, and (as much as is possible) draws back the curtain of mystery that has always covered his relationship with the Soviet Union.
May 30, 2015
What makes this book so strong is that it mixes, in I think just the right proportions, a very interesting historical biography with a good description of Potecorvo's scientific work. The personal story is obviously riveting: was he a spy? why did he go over to the USSR? I liked that the author stuck strictly to the facts; we are left with a good sense of the probable answer to the question in the book's subtitle, but it is also clear that there is ambiguity.
It is clear from reading the book that the author is a physicist. The discussion of Potecorvo's scientific life is just as interesting as the the discussion of his political life. And, just as there is no pedantic description of the political situation at that time, there is never pedantic or over-simplified explanation of the science. That being said, the scientifically uninitiated reader may have trouble following some of the physics without having to look some things up elsewhere.
The largest weakness in the book is the way that some of the early chapters are organized. In particular, they read as if they may have been rearranged during revision without going through to make sure that everything was still presented in a logical order. For example, at one point we are told that Pontecorvo is thinking of moving to "Harwell", and only in the next chapter are we told what Harwell is (the British nuclear lab). In another case, we are told that the authorities are thinking of moving Potecorvo to Liverpool and then, all of sudden, it is implied that this is already a done deal.
It is clear from reading the book that the author is a physicist. The discussion of Potecorvo's scientific life is just as interesting as the the discussion of his political life. And, just as there is no pedantic description of the political situation at that time, there is never pedantic or over-simplified explanation of the science. That being said, the scientifically uninitiated reader may have trouble following some of the physics without having to look some things up elsewhere.
The largest weakness in the book is the way that some of the early chapters are organized. In particular, they read as if they may have been rearranged during revision without going through to make sure that everything was still presented in a logical order. For example, at one point we are told that Pontecorvo is thinking of moving to "Harwell", and only in the next chapter are we told what Harwell is (the British nuclear lab). In another case, we are told that the authorities are thinking of moving Potecorvo to Liverpool and then, all of sudden, it is implied that this is already a done deal.
May 12, 2016
I had the good fortune to attend Frank Close's two lectures at Abingdon School where he discussed the research for this book. My son attends Abingdon School, my husband used to work at the Atomic Energy Authority in Harwell and I am very interested in the Cold War, having written a fictional book about the Berlin Wall, so I was greatly interested in hearing about Bruno Pontecorvo, a possible atomic spy. Frank Close is a wonderful speaker and entertaining presenter. The book is incredibly well researched and he tells the story of Bruno Pontecorvo's life and work in an engaging way. Frank Close is, of course, a physicist himself and whilst I'm sure he did his best to explain the science in a clear fashion, nevertheless I personally found the chapters on scientific research hard to digest. Close does a good job of explaining why someone escaping from Fascist Europe would be so committed to Communism and the book gives a good insight into the Canadian arm of the Manhattan Project and the paranoid behaviour of the KGB. Not an easy read at times, but engaging and satisfying nonetheless.
February 12, 2020
Excellent book that is espionage/history and biography, with a good amount of physics thrown in. Some folks are put off by some of the physics details, but I love it!
February 17, 2015
Marxist, Scientist, Prospector, Spy
Frank Close notes in the preface to Half-Life two previous works on Bruno Pontecorvo: one by Simone Turchetti called The Pontecorvo Affair and another by Miriam Mafai entitled Il lungo freddo. The former tracks the political consequences of Pontecorvo’s defection to the USSR while the latter is a political idealization of Pontecorvo’s communist convictions. Close’s Half-Life is the concluding elucidation of this peculiar life at the crossroads of history, politics, and science. As a physicist, Close’s own scientific account of Pontecorvo’s career contributions and his efforts in the discovery of the neutrino complete the trifold schema of Pontecorvo’s illustrious and contentious career.
Divided into two basic parts, Frank Close recounts Bruno’s life before and after his defection to Moscow. As a scientist writing for a lay audience, Close does an excellent job depicting the early years of Pontecorvo’s work alongside Nobel laureates such as Enrico Fermi, known for his work on the first nuclear reactor developed in Chicago, or Frédéric Joliot-Curie, known for his groundbreaking research in radioactivity.
Pontecorvo lived a life in exile: His leftist inclinations and Jewish background impelled him to flee Italy as fascism gained steam under Mussolini. Later, the Nazi invasion of France forced the Pontecorvos to the United States. Later, he was recruited for top secret research in Canada at Chalk River during the war. The narrative momentum is impressive, but it’s near the end of the war where Close flounders. While Pontecorvo doesn’t work on the Manhattan project, his research is inextricably bound up with it, but just when the reader expects a pay off, an insight upon the detonations at Nagasaki and Hiroshima, Close glides by. A sorely missed opportunity, Close passed the chance to speak to how this major historic event may have effected Pontecorvo’s attitudes and the entire field of nuclear physics.
The narrative pivots directly into the foggy, confused world of the early Cold War and Close deftly plants opposing fractals of evidence, suspending the reader in uncertainty; could the playful, charismatic Bruno really be a Soviet spy? We’re given accounts of other nuclear spies who were well known to Pontecorvo, raising all boats with a rising tide of covert intrigue. This second surge sails the reader toward Pontecorvo’s mysterious and seemingly panicked exile to the USSR. It is this event, mired in mystifications, which poses as the personal and political node of the remaining narrative as the Pontecorvos struggle with their new lives under Stalinist Russia.
Close’s scientific narrative is top notch Although the hefty descriptions of advanced quantum physics is decidedly challenging for the uninitiated, Close does render it digestible. The political dimension, both throughout the second World War and during the Cold War is the secondary engine which drives the reader forward. Nonetheless, there is a serious disjunction in Half-Life–the personal dimension is inevitably lost between the distant, scientific aperture, and the paranoid, obscured political mask. This personal element, seemingly essential in fully illustrating either a political or scientific life, is sacrificed for the obscurantist, mystery angle.
In the final analysis, a reader may exhaust oneself in jumping back and forth between increasingly complicated scientific descriptions and episodes of the cloak and dagger which occasionally fail to gain buoyancy. Close’s candid scientism while admirable, does not serve him in the effective construction of narrative intensity. One feels in completing the book as one may in putting on identical but mismatched shoes: capable of striding through ones day with perfect effectiveness, but somehow feeling as though something is amiss, but you can’t imagine what–
(This review and others are also available at scrivenerscreed.com)
Frank Close notes in the preface to Half-Life two previous works on Bruno Pontecorvo: one by Simone Turchetti called The Pontecorvo Affair and another by Miriam Mafai entitled Il lungo freddo. The former tracks the political consequences of Pontecorvo’s defection to the USSR while the latter is a political idealization of Pontecorvo’s communist convictions. Close’s Half-Life is the concluding elucidation of this peculiar life at the crossroads of history, politics, and science. As a physicist, Close’s own scientific account of Pontecorvo’s career contributions and his efforts in the discovery of the neutrino complete the trifold schema of Pontecorvo’s illustrious and contentious career.
Divided into two basic parts, Frank Close recounts Bruno’s life before and after his defection to Moscow. As a scientist writing for a lay audience, Close does an excellent job depicting the early years of Pontecorvo’s work alongside Nobel laureates such as Enrico Fermi, known for his work on the first nuclear reactor developed in Chicago, or Frédéric Joliot-Curie, known for his groundbreaking research in radioactivity.
Pontecorvo lived a life in exile: His leftist inclinations and Jewish background impelled him to flee Italy as fascism gained steam under Mussolini. Later, the Nazi invasion of France forced the Pontecorvos to the United States. Later, he was recruited for top secret research in Canada at Chalk River during the war. The narrative momentum is impressive, but it’s near the end of the war where Close flounders. While Pontecorvo doesn’t work on the Manhattan project, his research is inextricably bound up with it, but just when the reader expects a pay off, an insight upon the detonations at Nagasaki and Hiroshima, Close glides by. A sorely missed opportunity, Close passed the chance to speak to how this major historic event may have effected Pontecorvo’s attitudes and the entire field of nuclear physics.
The narrative pivots directly into the foggy, confused world of the early Cold War and Close deftly plants opposing fractals of evidence, suspending the reader in uncertainty; could the playful, charismatic Bruno really be a Soviet spy? We’re given accounts of other nuclear spies who were well known to Pontecorvo, raising all boats with a rising tide of covert intrigue. This second surge sails the reader toward Pontecorvo’s mysterious and seemingly panicked exile to the USSR. It is this event, mired in mystifications, which poses as the personal and political node of the remaining narrative as the Pontecorvos struggle with their new lives under Stalinist Russia.
Close’s scientific narrative is top notch Although the hefty descriptions of advanced quantum physics is decidedly challenging for the uninitiated, Close does render it digestible. The political dimension, both throughout the second World War and during the Cold War is the secondary engine which drives the reader forward. Nonetheless, there is a serious disjunction in Half-Life–the personal dimension is inevitably lost between the distant, scientific aperture, and the paranoid, obscured political mask. This personal element, seemingly essential in fully illustrating either a political or scientific life, is sacrificed for the obscurantist, mystery angle.
In the final analysis, a reader may exhaust oneself in jumping back and forth between increasingly complicated scientific descriptions and episodes of the cloak and dagger which occasionally fail to gain buoyancy. Close’s candid scientism while admirable, does not serve him in the effective construction of narrative intensity. One feels in completing the book as one may in putting on identical but mismatched shoes: capable of striding through ones day with perfect effectiveness, but somehow feeling as though something is amiss, but you can’t imagine what–
(This review and others are also available at scrivenerscreed.com)
March 28, 2015
Award-winning author and physicist Frank Close spins an outstanding biography. A story of the fascinating atomic physicist, Bruno Pontecorvo, who worked on the Manhattan Project and ultimately defected to the Soviet Union. The book’s suspense surrounds theft of materials and blueprints for atomic bomb making and double agent Kim Philby’s warnings to the Soviets about Bruno Pontecorvo’s imminent pursuit by the FBI. Additionally, Bruno Pontecorvo kept logbooks his first five years in the USSR which reveal Russian science approaches to a hydrogen bomb.
Bruno Pontecorvo brought neutrino particles to the world stage of science amidst the dawn of the Cold War. The legacy of Pontecorvo is enigmatic and complicated because he missed out on the international recognition and accolades through his defection at age 37 with wife and three children in tow to obscurity within the confines of Soviet protection. The defection was not discovered for five years after his disappearance and it was met with intrigue and criticism. His later attempts to travel abroad for a critical experiment or enter CERN in Geneva were refused and his work was then relegated simply to Russian science journals.
The Half Life idea is explained as a play on words both in atomic energy and by the split lifestyles of Bruno Pontecorvo the ingenius scientist vs Bruno Maximovitch the secret Communist. The book is finely researched with intensity around the mysterious life and politics surrounding Bruno Pontecorvo.
Bruno Pontecorvo brought neutrino particles to the world stage of science amidst the dawn of the Cold War. The legacy of Pontecorvo is enigmatic and complicated because he missed out on the international recognition and accolades through his defection at age 37 with wife and three children in tow to obscurity within the confines of Soviet protection. The defection was not discovered for five years after his disappearance and it was met with intrigue and criticism. His later attempts to travel abroad for a critical experiment or enter CERN in Geneva were refused and his work was then relegated simply to Russian science journals.
The Half Life idea is explained as a play on words both in atomic energy and by the split lifestyles of Bruno Pontecorvo the ingenius scientist vs Bruno Maximovitch the secret Communist. The book is finely researched with intensity around the mysterious life and politics surrounding Bruno Pontecorvo.
February 28, 2017
This is a fascinating book for those of us interested in those who spied - or, in this case - may have spied for the Soviet Union when we were allies during WW II. The author, a physicist, is very careful in supplying evidence that Bruno Pontecorvo delivered important scientific information to the USSR, or maybe didn't as this has never been definitely proven. However we do know that he abruptly left Italy for the Soviet Union with his family in 1950. Although he continued to do very important work, he was cut off from most of his fellow physicists and their work. I - a total non scientist - was interested in the personal story - his devotion to both physics and communism - and eventual disillusionment. The impact on his family, disastrous for his wife, not so bad for his kids. Though I made little or no effort to understand the science, even I could see that scientific writing was clear and very thoughtful, geared for both the scientist and the layperson.
June 7, 2015
This book displays Pontecorvo, the brilliant physicist in a better light than I had anticipated at the beginning. I love that this book reads like Shakespeare, but it is true life. What's a true tale to tell.
This could be the finest personal account of a scientist I have read thus far. . . .Very captivating with plenty of not so difficult science to blaze the trail throughout the scenario. Fabulous Read.
Audio
Smiles, Kelly
This could be the finest personal account of a scientist I have read thus far. . . .Very captivating with plenty of not so difficult science to blaze the trail throughout the scenario. Fabulous Read.
Audio
Smiles, Kelly
February 8, 2021
A well-researched book on someone who at first glance seems to be a historical sidelight, but whom the author believes (with evidence) could have been a Nobel prize winner, had he not defected to the Soviet Union.
The mystery that the book traces is whether Bruno Pontecorvo ever have nuclear secrets to the Soviets before he defected. The answer is, there's no firm reference, though there is a circumstantial case.
What I liked most about this book was how it integrated history and science, and it showed a side of the development of nuclear technology that is left out of most American accounts. They tend to focus on events on US soil like Fermi's Chicago pile and the Manhattan Project. However, as Close's book illustrates, the first cousin reactor would probably have been in Europe were it not for the advance of fascism. The importance of Canadian and British science, too, is highlighted here.
One thing I'm inclined to disagree with Close about is Oleg Gordievsky's assessment of Pontecorvo. Despite not being able to provide hard evidence, Gordievsky's high rank in the KGB should give his statements considerable weight.
The mystery that the book traces is whether Bruno Pontecorvo ever have nuclear secrets to the Soviets before he defected. The answer is, there's no firm reference, though there is a circumstantial case.
What I liked most about this book was how it integrated history and science, and it showed a side of the development of nuclear technology that is left out of most American accounts. They tend to focus on events on US soil like Fermi's Chicago pile and the Manhattan Project. However, as Close's book illustrates, the first cousin reactor would probably have been in Europe were it not for the advance of fascism. The importance of Canadian and British science, too, is highlighted here.
One thing I'm inclined to disagree with Close about is Oleg Gordievsky's assessment of Pontecorvo. Despite not being able to provide hard evidence, Gordievsky's high rank in the KGB should give his statements considerable weight.
August 19, 2018
Interessantissimo libro che rievoca la vita scientifica e personale di Bruno Pontecorvo, fisico della scuola di via Panisperna, che enormi contributi ha dato alla fisica nucleare e a quella del neutrino con maggior assiduità. Nonostante Pontecorvo sia effettivamente stato uno dei fisici più influenti del XX secolo, egli è noto ai più solo per essere il fisico che nel 1950 scompare per cinque anni per poi riapparire in Unione Sovietica. Nota l'adesione di Pontecorvo al comunismo, la domanda è sempre stata perché fece questo passo? Per convinzione di poter aiutare quel paese nel suo sviluppo oppure per sfuggire a un possibile arresto come spia?
L'autore, Frank Close, è anch'egli un fisico nucleare e ricostruisce con molti dettagli scientifici la carriera di Pontecorvo così come arriva a suggerire che ci sono due passaggi di informazione nucleari tra occidente e URSS di cui non si conosce l'autore e che visti tempi e condizioni potrebbero essere stati compiuti da Bruno Pontecorvo, ma non c'è alcuna prova.
Bel libro, teso e interessante. Un buon ripasso di fisica nucleare.
L'autore, Frank Close, è anch'egli un fisico nucleare e ricostruisce con molti dettagli scientifici la carriera di Pontecorvo così come arriva a suggerire che ci sono due passaggi di informazione nucleari tra occidente e URSS di cui non si conosce l'autore e che visti tempi e condizioni potrebbero essere stati compiuti da Bruno Pontecorvo, ma non c'è alcuna prova.
Bel libro, teso e interessante. Un buon ripasso di fisica nucleare.
January 7, 2019
An incredibly well researched book, which masterfully weaves together three complementary threads. We witness the dawn of the atomic age and Prof. Close outlines major breakthroughs in physics, in a way attainable to most readers with a basic scientific background. We are shown how leading scientists during the 30’s feel obliged to choose between fascism and communism and then, after the defeat of Nazi Germany, are subject to a moral quandary whether to allow the West to be the sole possessor of the atomic bomb. Finally, we gain an insight into how a brilliant, ebullient, peripatetic, young family man is buffeted between his love of science, love for his family and dedication to his political beliefs. Supported by evidence gained from letters, diaries, institutional archives and personal interviews, Prof. Close provides a fact-based analysis of the life of Bruno Pontecorvo, along with his personal opinion on whether this exceptional physicist actually did spy for the Soviet Union. It all makes for a compelling read!
August 15, 2017
Bruno Pontecorvo was an important twentieth-century physicist, a student of Enrico Fermi, a member of the Manhattan Project, and central to neutrino research and the development of the Standard Model of particle physics. You might have two responses to this information. First, you might ask, “Standard Model? What is that?” In that case, this biography written by a physicist is not for you. The author assumes at least a passing familiarity with for quantum mechanics and particle physics. Second, you might ask, “Why I haven’t I heard of him?” or even, “Why didn’t he receive a Nobel Prize.” In this latter case, Half-Life by Frank Close is the book you’ve been looking for.
If you have an interest in the high-energy physics in the latter part of the twentieth century, and the cold war, this is the book for you.
For a complete review: http://1book42day.blogspot.com/2017/0...
If you have an interest in the high-energy physics in the latter part of the twentieth century, and the cold war, this is the book for you.
For a complete review: http://1book42day.blogspot.com/2017/0...
May 30, 2017
Bruno Pontecorvo was mostly known for his disappearance from the atomic research center in Harwell, UK, and his subsequent public appearance in the Soviet Union five years later. The author Frank Close tried to fill in some of the gaps in previous biographies of Pontecorvo, particularly on his scientific contributions. The author did a commendable job of explaining the science to laymen in this book.
Pontecorvo has made many contributions to neutrino physics. Most historians have credited him for laying out how to use chlorine to detect neutrinos from the sun. Close set the record straight; the ideas originated from others (Maurice Pryce and Jules Guéron, who were then colleagues of Pontecorvo at the Chalk River atomic lab in Canada).
This is a well-written book and the science is clearly explained. Highly recommended.
Pontecorvo has made many contributions to neutrino physics. Most historians have credited him for laying out how to use chlorine to detect neutrinos from the sun. Close set the record straight; the ideas originated from others (Maurice Pryce and Jules Guéron, who were then colleagues of Pontecorvo at the Chalk River atomic lab in Canada).
This is a well-written book and the science is clearly explained. Highly recommended.
July 5, 2020
This book is about physicist Bruno Pontecorvo. He is a fantastic individual who, in the 40s, developed radical breakthroughs in the understanding of subatomic particles. At the height of his career, he defected to the USSR. Why? That is what Frank Close worked so hard to uncover.
Frank worked many long hours to get all the details of this secretive person. This is all made more difficult because Bruno worked on classified material, the investigators wrote classified reports, and he went out of his way to put on a false persona.
His life’s story is interesting, and there are many unexpected turns. I found it to be an enjoyable read, however, I hoped the book would be more like a spy adventure. Instead, it reads like a physics textbook. Still, I enjoyed it and recommended it to a friend who enjoys physics.
Frank worked many long hours to get all the details of this secretive person. This is all made more difficult because Bruno worked on classified material, the investigators wrote classified reports, and he went out of his way to put on a false persona.
His life’s story is interesting, and there are many unexpected turns. I found it to be an enjoyable read, however, I hoped the book would be more like a spy adventure. Instead, it reads like a physics textbook. Still, I enjoyed it and recommended it to a friend who enjoys physics.
April 9, 2018
Frank came to give a colloquium on this very subject, and I bought a copy of the book (signed!) from him. Already knowing what was going to happen from the colloquium, I wasn't sure what else I'd get from the book, but it was well worth the investment. It's the story of Bruno Pontecorvo, and his defection to the USSR, but also interwoven with some fascinating nuclear physics along the way.
I learnt a lot more about Bruno as a result, and also some physics I didn't know up to now. So win win for me.
I learnt a lot more about Bruno as a result, and also some physics I didn't know up to now. So win win for me.
September 15, 2021
Εξαιρετικό βιβλίο.. Με στοιχεία φιλμ νουάρ και κατασ��οπευτικού θρίλερ δίνεται μέσα από την ζωή ενός κορυφαίου φυσικού η ιστορία της ανάπτυξης πυρηνικής τεχνολογίας από τις δυο εν-εξελίξει υπερδυνάμεις. Από τον Μεσοπόλεμο στον Β' Παγκόσμιο Πόλεμο και το Μanhattan Project, από την έναρξη του Ψυχρού Πολέμου έως την λήξη του η ιστορία της σύγχρονης Φυσικής (πυρηνικής και στοιχειωδών σωματιδίων) αλλά και του 20ου αιώνα δοσμένη μέσα από τους πρωταγωνιστές της σε μια περίοδο εκρηκτικών αλλαγών.
Εντυπωσιακά μεθοδική και τεκμηριωμένη η έρευνα του συγγραφέα-επίσης φυσικού -.
Εντυπωσιακά μεθοδική και τεκμηριωμένη η έρευνα του συγγραφέα-επίσης φυσικού -.
April 4, 2020
I enjoyed this book, but found the sub-title mildly misleading. Having known nothing of Bruno Pontecorvo's fascinating life, the title and subtitle imply he led a split life of a nuclear physicist and/or spy, whereas he actually was a physicist, who may or may not (no firm conclusion can be reached) been a spy for a few early years. That aside, I found his story fascinating and especially liked the mix of pre-, peri- and post-war physics as well as the historical narrative.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 1, 2024
Bruno Pontecorvo, a caltivating life. A scientist of this calibre would have been praised and held as an icon. However, his crossing to the other side of the Iron Curtain in 1950 meant that his life and work was reduced to the question of: “was he a spy?”. Meticulously researched and engaging, Close does a wonderful job at telling the story of this towering figure of science, who is hardly known nowadays.
May 7, 2019
Half biography and half quantum physics text book, gets really thick going at times, but worth persevering with
July 2, 2020
Interesante, intrigante y divulgativo.
October 8, 2020
Another superb book from Frank Close dealing with a Cold War atomic spy, I could not put it down.
March 8, 2015
I Spy
The evolution of science throughout the world has always been an important and exciting process. However, in the mid 1900s, science embarked on a new journey that changed the use of science and the nature of war. The height of the Cold War arms race coincided with the creation of uranium and plutonium that would be used to create nuclear reactors. Bruno Pontecorvo was an Italian physicist who played a large role in many of these new discoveries. Aside from purely the scientific aspects of the Cold War, Half-Life delves into the spy network that goes hand-in-hand with the Cold War era, with which Pontecorvo was also rumored to be a part of.
Pontecorvo had to learn how to balance his family, science, and fame (both in the scientific community as well as in the regards of being targeted by the media for being an alleged spy). In doing this, he faced many regrets and frustrations. One of the biggest messages that Half-Life carries is the impact of decisions on freedom. Having been caught up in the spy ring, Pontecorvo fled to the USSR for protection, but ended up negatively impacting his family and loosing his freedoms of travelling and having access to a nuclear reactor for experiments. Throughout the book, the theme regarding the morality of atomic weapons is also prevalent.
Half-Life is very well written, and Close does an extraordinary job of explaining both the science behind the discoveries and relevant evidence as well as of the situations and circumstances of Pontecorvo’s life. Learning about the scientific history of the atomic and hydrogen bombs as well as of nuclear reactors and the discovery of new particles such as neutrinos made the book very interesting and relevant. Pontecorvo, himself, also had a very full, interesting life, making Half-Life worth the read. There were certain sections of the book that were more interesting than others, specifically when the Pontecorvos were making their trek to the USSR, or when a new discovery was made. However, at the same time, there were parts of the story that tended to be dry. This mostly occurred with stories of other people who would tie in somehow, but it left me a little lost and confused. The specific details in this book were easy to forget and get lost over.
I would definitely recommend this read to anyone who has an interest in the chemistry and physics behind nuclear physics and related topics. However, in order to understand much of the content of this book and be able to relate to it and enjoy it, it is necessary to have at least a basic understanding. Even though Close explains the science well, it would be way too easy to get lost and be uninterested without an excitement for and understanding of physics. I have not read any other of Close’s books, but would recommend The Infinity Puzzle or Neutrino, as Close makes the science very understandable. Overall, I give Half-Life 3 out of 5 stars.
The evolution of science throughout the world has always been an important and exciting process. However, in the mid 1900s, science embarked on a new journey that changed the use of science and the nature of war. The height of the Cold War arms race coincided with the creation of uranium and plutonium that would be used to create nuclear reactors. Bruno Pontecorvo was an Italian physicist who played a large role in many of these new discoveries. Aside from purely the scientific aspects of the Cold War, Half-Life delves into the spy network that goes hand-in-hand with the Cold War era, with which Pontecorvo was also rumored to be a part of.
Pontecorvo had to learn how to balance his family, science, and fame (both in the scientific community as well as in the regards of being targeted by the media for being an alleged spy). In doing this, he faced many regrets and frustrations. One of the biggest messages that Half-Life carries is the impact of decisions on freedom. Having been caught up in the spy ring, Pontecorvo fled to the USSR for protection, but ended up negatively impacting his family and loosing his freedoms of travelling and having access to a nuclear reactor for experiments. Throughout the book, the theme regarding the morality of atomic weapons is also prevalent.
Half-Life is very well written, and Close does an extraordinary job of explaining both the science behind the discoveries and relevant evidence as well as of the situations and circumstances of Pontecorvo’s life. Learning about the scientific history of the atomic and hydrogen bombs as well as of nuclear reactors and the discovery of new particles such as neutrinos made the book very interesting and relevant. Pontecorvo, himself, also had a very full, interesting life, making Half-Life worth the read. There were certain sections of the book that were more interesting than others, specifically when the Pontecorvos were making their trek to the USSR, or when a new discovery was made. However, at the same time, there were parts of the story that tended to be dry. This mostly occurred with stories of other people who would tie in somehow, but it left me a little lost and confused. The specific details in this book were easy to forget and get lost over.
I would definitely recommend this read to anyone who has an interest in the chemistry and physics behind nuclear physics and related topics. However, in order to understand much of the content of this book and be able to relate to it and enjoy it, it is necessary to have at least a basic understanding. Even though Close explains the science well, it would be way too easy to get lost and be uninterested without an excitement for and understanding of physics. I have not read any other of Close’s books, but would recommend The Infinity Puzzle or Neutrino, as Close makes the science very understandable. Overall, I give Half-Life 3 out of 5 stars.
March 2, 2016
In 1950, as the reality of Cold War was beginning to sink in to an exhausted post-war Britain, scientists at Harwell in Oxfordshire were working on Britain’s nuclear programme. Its scientists along with American allies had proved the devastating practical application of atomic research five years earlier in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In 1950, one of its most brilliant researchers, Bruno Ponticorvo left his Abingdon home with his family ostensibly for a holiday in his native Italy and then vanished completely only to reappear five years later in Moscow.
Frank Close is a celebrated physicist himself and a resident of Abingdon and has long taken a keen interest in the case. Was Ponticorvo a spy? He weighs the evidence, chases down ‘lost’ MI5 documents, speaks to friends and family and concludes that it is the likeliest explanation.
But he does much more than this in a book that explains to the layman the principles behind building a nuclear bomb at a time when the atomic nucleus was not fully understood. He retells the story of the quest to get heavy water - a key component of nuclear reactors - out of French laboratories after the country’s fall to the Nazis. He looks at Ponticorvo’s research in the United States and in England for which his contemporaries built on his insights to win Nobel prizes while on the other side of the Iron Curtain, Ponticorvo did his science under close Soviet guard.
Close has a rare ability among science writers to contextualise the research within the wider political realities it was taking place - and his sleuthing clearly comes as a result of persistence and old fashioned shoe-leather reporting. It makes for an excellent read.
Frank Close is a celebrated physicist himself and a resident of Abingdon and has long taken a keen interest in the case. Was Ponticorvo a spy? He weighs the evidence, chases down ‘lost’ MI5 documents, speaks to friends and family and concludes that it is the likeliest explanation.
But he does much more than this in a book that explains to the layman the principles behind building a nuclear bomb at a time when the atomic nucleus was not fully understood. He retells the story of the quest to get heavy water - a key component of nuclear reactors - out of French laboratories after the country’s fall to the Nazis. He looks at Ponticorvo’s research in the United States and in England for which his contemporaries built on his insights to win Nobel prizes while on the other side of the Iron Curtain, Ponticorvo did his science under close Soviet guard.
Close has a rare ability among science writers to contextualise the research within the wider political realities it was taking place - and his sleuthing clearly comes as a result of persistence and old fashioned shoe-leather reporting. It makes for an excellent read.
April 29, 2015
Partly a review of the physics that lead to development of the atomic bomb and nuclear age, but also a study of the life of one of the leading scientists. Pontecorvo, born into an accomplished Italian Jewish family. He fled Italy from the Fascists and worked with prominent physicists in France, then in the Us and Canada to escape the Nazis. He worked on the Manhattan Project, but in 1950 he and his family mysteriously disappeared with his family. Five years later it was learned that he had gone to the Soviet Union. The physicist or spy question is not really answered by the author.
February 12, 2016
For a biography, this book is seriously lacking in photos, like a photo spread in the middle. I also found it heavy on the science. I think the subtitle could be improved: "The Divided Life of Bruno Pontecorvo, Physicist (and Spy?)"
Read
June 3, 2015Incomplete - I gave up halfway. The crux of the story was interesting, but the level of scientific detail detracted from the overall story for me.
February 13, 2016
Captivating story about uhh t
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