A Bit of History

I've had quite a fascination with the history of nuclear physics, especially as it relates to the development of the first atomic weapons. I guess this comes from years of teaching Grade 10 Science where one of the topics was Uranium --> mining --> uses --> science of --> history...etc. For many years I always showed an excellent video called Race for the Bomb which did a great job of explaining the physics and of introducing the main characters in the Manhattan Project. Sadly, as one CBC musicologist used to say, that video is now in "cutout limbo". I don't have a copy any longer and I wish I had. It's one of the best shows I've seen.

A long introduction to my main comments about a book I just finished reading: American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer. Unlike many books I read, this one took almost 4 weeks to finish, but was very interesting, giving more insights into the life of the Father of the Atomic Bomb. I was especially struck, once again, by the paranoia that existed in the USA in the decades following WWII, characterized especially by the McCarthy witch-hunts. Oppenheimer was swept up in all of that. The idea that someone is a traitor if they don't agree with their country's policies; whether scientists must avoid comment on sensitive issues if they want to continue working, and especially how one can be tarred with the communist or "liberal" brush unless one is clearly seen as a reactionary knuckle-dragging Neanderthal. Where illegal wiretaps and surveillance can use the power of the state to silence independent thought. I always thought that Americans (and Canadians) lived in a democracy where we had freedom of association, thought, speech, and so on. This book might make you think about that more than you've been accustomed to.