Book post: Bomb

Book cover from Macmillan

Sheinkin, S. (2012). Bomb: The race to build—and steal—the world’s most dangerous weapon. New York, NY: Roaring Brook Press.

*Winner of the 2013 Sibert Medal*

Bomb is a nonfiction book all about the creation of the atomic bomb during World War II. It follows the stories of Americans, Brits, Soviets, Norwegians, and Germans, focusing on how the discoveries were made and how spies found out the Americans' secrets. I love that it makes the entire ordeal seem personal by telling the stories of specific people involved, like Robert Oppenheimer and Harry Gold, for example. This is a great book for learning about World War II history, so it would make a great history text, but it also teaches some science (physics and chemistry). I think this could be an excellent text for a collaborative project for world/American history and chemistry/physics.