The Bomb: South Africa's Nuclear Weapons Programme

by Nic von Wielligh, Lydia Von Wielligh-Steyn

In 1993, South African President F.W. de Klerk announced that six-and-a-half nuclear bombs had been secretly built and destroyed. No other country has ever voluntarily destroyed its nuclear arsenal. In this book, nuclear physicist Nic von Wielligh and his daughter Lydia von Wielligh-Steyn tell the gripping story of the splitting of the atom and the power it realizes. It is an account of groundbreaking research and the scientists responsible; it deals with uranium enrichment, the arms race, and South Afria's secret program. The South Africa's Nuclear Weapons Programme is a story of nuclear explosions, espionage, smuggling nuclear materials, and swords that became ploughshares. Professor Waldo Stumpf, the former CEO of the South African Atomic Energy Corporation, called The Bomb, “the only comprehensive work so far on South Africa's part in this historic subject that has been turned into a thoroughly readable story.”

550 pages, Paperback

Published July 27, 2016

Reviews

[Clay W · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hooked with the thriller style intro of a break in to a nuclear storage facility... and I must say, it was all downhill from there.

Part 1 and the intro were well written and interesting! Subsequently everything became a slog with so many players, so many intricate details, and timelines jumping all over the place.

A massive section on A.G. Khan which felt out of place and doubly not as interesting as I'd hoped it would be. I feel this is again just the writing style of the author.

A very peculiar aspect of the book was the author always referring to himself in the third person, felt strange given the context several times.

Ultimately, I knew nothing about the South African nuclear weapons program before this book - and now I feel well informed about it.

Boy oh boy was it a journey to finish though.