The Day the Sun Rose Twice: The Story of the Trinity Site Nuclear Explosion, July 16, 1945

by Ferenc Morton Szasz

Winner of the Western History Association's Robert G. Athearn Award for outstanding book on the twentieth-century American West

Just before dawn on July 16, 1945, the world's first nuclear bomb was detonated at Trinity Site in an isolated stretch of the central New Mexico desert. It may have been the single most important event of the twentieth century. The Day the Sun Rose Twice tells the fascinating story of the events leading up to this first test explosion, the characters and roles of the people involved, and the aftermath of the bomb's successful demonstration.

With J. Robert Oppenheimer, the "father of the atomic bomb," at last getting his Hollywood close-up in Christopher Nolan's new blockbuster film Oppenheimer , readers can discover the background behind the world's first atomic blast in Ferenc Morton Szasz's award-winning history. "Tightly focused, lucidly written, and thoroughly researched," according to the New York Times Book Review , the book provides "a valuable introduction to how our nuclear dilemma began."

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Science, Military Fiction, Read For School

245 pages, Paperback

First published July 5, 1984

Reviews

[RebL · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book at the visitor center at the Valley of Fires Recreation Area near Carizozo when we visited New Mexico in August, 2019. It's an absolutely fascinating look at the Manhattan Project as it unfolded.
I'm sorry now that we never went to the National Atomic Museum while we lived in Albuquerque in the 90s, but we were in our 20s then and didn't know any better.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the daughter of one of the Atomic Scientists, I have a broad collection of books regarding the Manhattan Project and related history. This one, which focuses on the Trinity test in New Mexico, is by far one of the most readable. In spite of it's point of focus and fascinating details, the author manages to discuss practical, philosophical and moral concerns that have become the genuine "fallout" of this technological creation. Excellent book!

[Valerie Zink · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to read this for a NM History class I am taking, and I ended up liking it as I knew next to nothing about the history of this (embarrassing but true). The book is a bit dry, but still interesting as it goes into details about the scientists and the community that was built around them at the time.

[Shirley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Important overview of the Trinity Site Explosion, build up and aftermath. Southwest history book club pick

[Noah Langridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Day the Sun Rose Twice is a concise, complete, and highly informative book detailing the history of the Trinity Test Site, from its roots up to it becoming a historical landmark. For those unfamiliar with the history of the Manhattan Project, the book also includes a detailing history of the making of the bomb. The trinity bomb was a medium-sized reactor built at Oak Ridge produced uranium-235 and plutonium, both of which would be used as vital components in the atomic bomb. The Oak Ridge facility produced the majority of uranium used to build the “Little Boy” bomb that would be dropped over the Japanese city of Hiroshima in August 1945. Some pros of the book were: photographs of the people show the reader who was involved in the project. The map explains the large area in the state of New Mexico consumed for this project. And some cons to the book: was that it has a lot of previously unknown information and is really written for the Trinity Test/Site enthusiast. All in all, I recommend this book as it gives a good background on how the atomic bomb came to be.

[Ninja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Succinct portrayal of the trinity test, some of the minimal surrounding related events of the manhattan bomb project. Reading inspiration was of course the Oppenheimer movie: the book itself really gives Opp only a brief mentions here and there: he's by no means a pivotal focus of the book. General Groves gets a fair mention though.
One of the particularly interesting parts of the book was the discussion on the weather and the weather forecasting. They wanted good weather for the test (as in about ten dot points of favourable conditions from skies to winds and precipitation) and had a meteorologist on hand to pick the day next month that would meet their criteria (and avoid points that weren't favourable). It was very impressive. Riveting stuff.

[Raegan Null · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25⭐️

Really interesting book about the Trinity Explosion in New Mexico. This book walks through the process before and during the development of the atomic bomb and the effects years into the future. The most interesting part of this book was the implications from this development. This book goes over the political as well as the health and well-being that creating and being near the explosion had on scientists and civilians. If you go and watch the new Oppenheimer movie and are wanting to know more, this is a great book to read!

[Duncan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well-written account of the Trinity test that ended up not adding all that much to what I already knew; the exception is the attempts to track the fallout of the test, but that part isn't particularly well told, unfortunately. (It's not really clear whether more could have been done to limit the impact, other than choosing another date when the wind pattern looked more favorable.)

[Mark Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Covering a very specific topic - what happened at the Trinity site, and not much else. Because it was concise and kind of short, it got all the material out there an in an interesting way.

Before reading this book it would help a lot to read on of the popular histories of the Manhattan Project, because Szasz does not really go into that all that much.

So, in a very nerdy way, a very good read.

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trinity Site

As a child of the 40's I found this book to be quite informative. Who knew what we were embarking upon. It gives both sides of the story but of course we know the outcome. We are living in it. A most enjoyable reas

[Carlos Maciel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite liked this book. The information is presented in such an approachable and interesting way that it almost reads like a good historical fiction book, even though it's a work of academic research.

[Carol Naille · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a fanatic about Los Alamos and the Atomic bomb, this was a great book. It explores the buildup to the atomic testing that took place at the Trinity site in New Mexico. Science is fantastic!

[Seth Price · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book does a good job of highlighting the history, events and people that led up to the world's first test of a nuclear weapon.

[BVZM · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5/5 stars. Review is coming, probably. Be patient.
//
3,5 stelle su 5. Recensione in arrivo, probabilmente. Abbiate pazienza.

[Paul F.Stottlemyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Worth reading but shows how dangerous human intelligence is

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book at White Sands National Monument on the recommendation of the park service. White Sands is only 50 miles away from the Trinity Site and I was drawn to the beautiful park for this reason. It is an easy read about the story of the development of the first atomic weapons.

I found the book very immersive and the writing informative. As I read, I felt a sense of awe for the work these great men had endeavored on. The book details the painstaking work the physicists performed to create these first terrifying bombs.

The book limits itself to Los Alamos, the Trinity site and its aftermath but does briefly touch on the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs and the ethical dilemma the bomb created.

After reading this I read a first hand account, published at the AEC web site, by a Catholic Priest who was at Hiroshima when it was dropped on Imperial Japan. His account is frightening and horrifying at the same time.

I would recommend that anyone with even a slight interest in WWII read this book. As a side note, the Trinity Site is only open to the public on the first Saturday in October, if you wish to visit.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is very enjoyable but technical account of the Trinity Site explosion of the first atomic bomb, and it was written by my favorite history professor from the University of New Mexico so it feels like a short story. Szasz had the amazing ability to make any topic enjoyable. He was also brilliant at digging up and sharing anecdotes about his subjects and it only made you want to know more. I majored in history largely because he taught so many great classes.

I don't know what it is, but reading an account of that day, July 16th. From the will it won't it explode because of the calculations or due to the weather, all the way down to the final countdown I get chills.

[Ondrej Urban · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fairly excellent read (4.5stars to be sure) that offers concise discussion of the history immediately leading to and immediately following the first test of a nuclear weapon. Thourough referencing is a huge plus with pretty much every factual statement having a source behind it. Some people might point out a slightly dryer academic style of the book and insistence on giving the information at a high level of detail (one of the ten chapters solely discusses the weather leading up to the test), but all in all, this looks like and excellent introduction to the history and consequences of the 'Gadget' explosion.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this a number of years ago. At the time, the author was a professor at UNM.

It gives an interesting depiction of the Trinity Site nuclear test, but it is mostly about the people involved, from scientists like Feynman to the administrators that kept things going. Also an interesting early history of Los Alamos.

[Scott Rhymer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. And he's on my exams committee.

[Bev Morey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started just before my trip to Trinity Site. Very informative. Worth the read.

[微的痕迹 · Rating 4 out of 5]

14年去白沙的时候读的。