{"product_id":"the-los-alamos-primer-the-first-lectures-on-how-to-build-an-atomic-bomb-updated-with-a-new-introduction-by-richard-rhodes-9780520344174","title":"The Los Alamos Primer: The First Lectures on How to Build an Atomic Bomb, Updated with a New Introduction by Richard Rhodes","description":"More than seventy years ago, American forces exploded the first atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, causing great physical and human destruction. The young scientists at Los Alamos who developed the bombs, which were nicknamed Little Boy and Fat Man, were introduced to the basic principles and goals of the project in March 1943, at a crash course in new weapons technology. The lecturer was physicist Robert Serber, J. Robert Oppenheimer's prot g , and the scientists learned that their job was to design and build the world's first atomic bombs. Notes on Serber's lectures were gathered into a mimeographed document titled \u003ci\u003eThe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eLos Alamos Primer, \u003c\/i\u003e which was supplied to all incoming scientific staff. The \u003ci\u003ePrimer \u003c\/i\u003eremained classified for decades after the war. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Published for the first time in 1992, the \u003ci\u003ePrimer \u003c\/i\u003eoffers contemporary readers a better understanding of the origins of nuclear weapons. Serber's preface vividly conveys the mingled excitement, uncertainty, and intensity felt by the Manhattan Project scientists. This edition includes an updated introduction by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Richard Rhodes. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e A seminal publication on a turning point in human history, \u003ci\u003eThe Los Alamos Primer\u003c\/i\u003e reveals just how much was known and how terrifyingly much was unknown midway through the Manhattan Project. No other seminar anywhere has had greater historical consequences. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eRobert Serber\u003c\/b\u003e (March 14, 1909 - June 1, 1997) was an American physicist who participated in the Manhattan Project. Serber's lectures explaining the basic principles and goals of the project were printed and supplied to all incoming scientific staff, and became known as \u003ci\u003eThe Los Alamos Primer\u003c\/i\u003e. The \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ecalled him \"the intellectual midwife at the birth of the atomic bomb.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eRichard Rhodes\u003c\/b\u003e won a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award for \u003ci\u003eThe Making of the Atomic Bomb\u003c\/i\u003e. He subsequently published three further volumes of nuclear history: \u003ci\u003eDark Sun\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eArsenals of Folly\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Twilight of the Bombs\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"University of California Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50630080463122,"sku":"9780520344174","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_038088de-0155-4a6b-9154-bc601f57e675.jpg?v=1732742719","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-los-alamos-primer-the-first-lectures-on-how-to-build-an-atomic-bomb-updated-with-a-new-introduction-by-richard-rhodes-9780520344174","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}