Nuclear Weapons: What You Need to Know

by Jeremy Bernstein

Nuclear Weapons is a history of nuclear weapons. From their initial theoretical development at the start of the twentieth century to the recent tests in North Korea, the author seeks to, at each point in the narrative, describe the basic science of nuclear weaponry. At the same time, he offers accounts and anecdotes of the personalities involved, many of whom he has known firsthand. Dr. Bernstein writes in response to what he sees as a widespread misunderstanding throughout the media of the basic workings and potential impact of nuclear weaponry.

Genres: Science, Politics

312 pages, Hardcover

First published October 15, 2007

Reviews

[Mochalina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always had a lifelong obsession with physics and science and noticed this book while walking around a Barnes and Noble about 10 years ago and knew right away from the description that I would be interested. This book reminds me of the Asimov book about the history of quantum physics. That is the primary topic and interest of this book, and if you like a semi-easy read about details of particle physics and the practical history of the people behind it then I highly recommend this book. This is definitely not a dumbed down book, and that's probably why there are not more reviews on this book. If you are educated and in the fields of engineering or science then you will not be disappointed by this book. I am aware that Richard Rhodes has also written many books about nuclear weapons and physics, and all of his books are on my reading list but I just haven't got around to them yet so I reserve judgement for now.

[Ralph Burton · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this book would be far more of a political work discussing why we should never use these weapons and what the effects would be; that’s what you really need to know. The ideal global scenario is global disarmament. Instead Bernstein tells the story of how science came up with this weapon. Great, but it’s not what you need to know. I’m sure even those scientists would agree.

[Dan Cohen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A flawed but interesting book. Bernstein refers to the excellent Richard Rhodes books that cover much of the same ground and gives some reasons why he still thought it was worth writing this book, but I have to say that Rhodes' books are better. Having said that, Bernstein's quirky style has much to recommend it, and his descriptions of personal experiences are in places riveting. I particularly enjoyed the description of his visit to a nuclear weapons test site. Bernstein also covers some of the science in more detail than Rhodes, and the book is a much shorter read, so may be more appropriate for someone with limited time. Read... Enjoy.

[Nick Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good overview of the history of the development of atomic physics and nuclear weapons, with general coverage of recent proliferation. This would have received four stars but for the scattered references to Wikipedia for general lists. Though the author is well-versed in this field and worked from a wide variety of professional publications on the subject, I don't trust even references to lists such as those of current nuclear powers that sometimes includes Chuck Norris.