Dawn Over Zero: The Story of the Atomic Bomb

by William Leonard Laurence

On August 6, 1945, the world was electrified by the news that an American Army bomber had dropped an atomic bomb, with an explosive power equivalent to 20,000 tons of TNT, on the important Japanese military center of Hiroshima. Three days later another bomb, of improved design and even greater power, was dropped on Nagasaki. The following day, Aug. 10, the Japanese sued for peace.

Newspapers and magazines throughout the world printed many thousands of words about the new weapon and the scientific developments that had made it possible. These stories were based largely on official War Department releases prepared by William L. Laurence, science reporter for The New York Times. At the request of the War Department, Mr. Laurence had been granted a leave by The Times several months earlier.

Mr. William L. Laurence was the only newspaper man permitted by the War Department to go to all the plants and inspect the processes of production of the atomic bomb, the only newspaper man allowed to witness the secret trial of the bomb in New Mexico, and the only newspaper man who witnessed the actual dropping of one of the bombs on Japan, from a plane above Nagasaki.

This book, first published in 1946, is the full story, so far as it may yet be revealed, of the atom bomb, written by the man who is unquestionably the best qualified to write it for the layman.

Genres: History

95 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1946

About the author

born 1888

Reviews

[Judy P. Sprout · Rating 3 out of 5]

RIGHT NOW I am the only person to have rated this book, moo haa haa. Such power!

I would rather have read a compendium of Laurence's news stories than his attempt at a book, because the parts where he's news-ing at us are the best ones. As it was I skimmed some boring parts, mostly where he gets carried away with numbers and lists of names.

The language and idiom is of its time, and often over the top. Lots of editorializing. Take a shot every time he mentions Prometheus. There is serious use of the words "menfolk," "long-hairs," and "short-hairs."

If you're interested in history, this is a good one.

Nuclear power plants, they'll never work. Pff.

[David Campana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting look at the origin of atomic energy

While I received some of this information in my college physics class, this was a good refresher. Interesting to see what small quantities of plutonium and uranium 235 were originally produced. I previously read Countdown 1945 and this was mentioned, so I took a chance to read it.

[David Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

First person accounts of both the trinity test and the drop on nagasaki.

[Grayson]

This was an interesting book. Laurence was a New York Times reporter who ending up covering the development of the atomic bomb while the project was still secret. He saw in person the Trinity test in New Mexico and the drop over Nagasaki.

I read the first edition first published in 1946. Some may find shortcomings in that the book is not a broad historical overview of the Manhattan Project, but seeing as the was published right after the war ended Laurence does a good job of covering all bases. These include early scientific discoveries, the decisions to develop the bomb, the scientific and military personalities, the building of the various sites that produced the atomic material, the test-firing, and the dropping of the bombs themselves. Also interesting is a discussion of the hopes and fears of atomic energy and atomic weapons for the then-future decades.

Perhaps my favorite chapter was an account of a military operation to sabotage German heavy water plants in Norway, a mission that I hadn't read about before.

I have yet to read Richard Rhodes' The Making of the Atomic Bomb from 1986 which should give a better historical overview due to the passage of time. All in all, though, I enjoyed the book. It provides a solid account from the time period of the Manhattan Project.