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From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)

Three related story lines starting in World War II are given fine treatment in an account that chronicles the formation of and work on the Manhattan Project, the Allies’ efforts to sabotage Germany’s atomic bomb development, and the Soviet’s attempts to discover and steal details of U.S. plans for the atomic bomb. Each element is fascinating, from the secrecy and wide array of personalities on the Manhattan Project, to the heroics of Norwegian partisans whose sabotage of Germany’s heavy-water production and shipment disrupted German efforts to develop a bomb, to the intrigue of the Soviet spying. It’s the stuff of Hollywood movies, but real. Author Steve Sheinkin reveals the complexities of politics, of personalities, and of logistics in a work that follows the timeline through to the dropping of the first atomic bomb on Japan, and the growing feeling of dismay and dread that followed. At Los Alamos, celebrations turned sober as the reality of what had been unleashed sunk in. An epilogue includes Manhattan Project leader Robert Oppenheimer’s frustrated efforts after the war to end the arms race by requesting the U.S. government halt weapons development. Sheinkin offers a comprehensive list of sources detailing the immense amount of research he conducted. It’s unfortunate that his notes on quotation sources fail to document page numbers, and that he doesn’t acknowledge that the use of the term KGB is anachronistic for the time period, but it’s an incredibly arresting nonfiction thriller nonetheless. (Age 13 and older)

CCBC Choices 2013 © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2013. Used with permission.

From Horn Book

Starred review from January 1, 2023
Sheinkin's work of award-winning narrative nonfiction (Bomb, rev. 11/12) is here sharpened by the author's own graphic adaptation -- and portrayed through Bertozzi's skillful cartooning -- amplifying the drama, intrigue, and brutality irrevocably linked with the dawn of the atomic age. In five chapters, roughly spanning the years of WWII, Sheinkin cogently interconnects a massive cast of world leaders, scientists, military personnel, spies, and civilians across a mostly chronological account of the Manhattan Project. Unique for this new edition, Sheinkin chose the post-war interrogation of Harry Gold (a Philadelphia factory worker who spied for the Soviets) as the narrative's through line. This clever bit of storytelling permits the omniscient narrator to seamlessly move between key events as they are discussed during Gold's hardboiled questioning. The Golden Age-style illustrations generally adhere to an efficient three-tier, nine-panel page layout yet regularly shift in size, shape, and number to underscore significant moments and ideas. Notably, a stark white page is used to depict the detonation of the Little Boy atomic bomb over Hiroshima. Back matter includes an author's note describing Sheinkin's adaptation process, while an informative epilogue ends on a slightly more ominous note than the original: "How does this story end? We don't know -- because it's still going on. And, like it or not, you're in it." Patrick Gall

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

From School Library Journal

Starred review from December 16, 2022

Gr 5 Up-The world is at war, when suddenly a massive scientific discovery threatens to change weapons and warfare forever. Multiple powers race to be the first to create a super weapon, steal information, sabotage the efforts of others, and even illicitly share information with the enemy. This is the story of the brilliance, lies, plots, and astonishing risks taken to create the most dangerous weapon the world has ever seen-the atomic bomb. The atomic bomb may be one of the most controversial inventions of all time, and this graphic novel adaptation of Sheinkin's Bomb (2012) handles the complex and ultimately unsettling history with honesty and openness. Gripping and fast-paced, the story also brings to light little-known characters such as the Norwegian commandos who prevented Germany from making their own atomic weapons. The science is explained simply, and Bertozzi's full-color illustrations seamlessly unite with the text for an immersive reading experience. Sheinkin does not shy away from the horror of these events, hauntingly moving from the passionate focus of the scientists at work to images and facts that highlight the devastating human toll of their creation. A swear word is included once, but it is in keeping with historical record and it isn't gratuitous. Back matter includes an epilogue and author's note with additional information on some of the historical figures in the book. VERDICT Sheinkin and Bertozzi take the story of one of the most significant events in recent world history and make it accessible to all readers, regardless of background knowledge. Recommended for purchase in all libraries where graphic works are popular.-Emily Beasley

Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

From Horn Book

January 1, 2013
While comprehensive in its synthesis of the political, historical, and scientific aspects of the creation of the first nuclear weapon, this account focuses on an extremely alluring angle: the spies. Sheinkin maintains the pace of a thriller without betraying history or skipping over the science; writing with journalistic immediacy, he eschews editorializing. Photos help readers organize the events and players. Bib., ind.

(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

From Horn Book

Starred review from November 1, 2012
While comprehensive in his synthesis of the political, historical, and scientific aspects of the creation of the first nuclear weapon, Sheinkin focuses his account with an extremely alluring angle: the spies. The book opens in 1950 with the confession of Harry Gold -- but to what? And thus we flash back to Robert Oppenheimer in the dark 1930s, as he and readers are handed another question by the author: But how was a theoretical physicist supposed to save the world? Oppenheimer's realization that an atomic bomb could be created to use against Nazi Germany is coupled with the knowledge that the Germans must be working from the same premise, and the Soviets are close behind. We periodically return to Gold's ever-deepening betrayals as well as other acts of espionage, most excitingly the two stealth attacks on occupied Norway's Vemork power plant, where the Germans were manufacturing heavy water to use in their own nuclear program. As he did in the 2011 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award winner The Notorious Benedict Arnold (rev. 1/11), Sheinkin here maintains the pace of a thriller without betraying history (source notes and an annotated bibliography are exemplary) or skipping over the science; photo galleries introducing each section help readers organize the events and players. Writing with journalistic immediacy, the author eschews editorializing up through the chilling last lines: It's a story with no end in sight. And, like it or not, you're in it. Index. roger sutton

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

From School Library Journal

Starred review from October 1, 2012

Gr 5 Up-"Harry Gold was right: This is a big story." So begins this depiction of the "creation-and theft-of the deadliest weapon ever invented." As he did in The Notorious Benedict Arnold (Roaring Brook, 2010), Sheinkin has again brought his superior talent for storytelling to bear in what is truly a gripping account of discovery, espionage, and revolutionary changes in both physics and the modern world. This fascinating tale, packed with a wide cast of characters, focuses mainly on three individuals: spy for the Soviets Harry Gold, leader of the Manhattan Project J. Robert Oppenheimer, and Knut Haukelid, who sabotaged German bomb efforts while working for the Norwegian resistance. Sheinkin skillfully combines lucid, conversational snapshots of the science behind the atomic bomb with a fast-paced narrative of the remarkable people who made it possible and attempted to steal it. Handsomely designed and loaded with archival photos and primary-source documents, the accessible volume lays out how the bomb was envisioned and brought to fruition. While the historical information and hard facts presented here will likely be new to the intended audience, they in no way overwhelm readers or detract from the thoroughly researched, well-documented account. It reads like an international spy thriller, and that's the beauty of it.-Brian Odom, Pelham Public Library, AL

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

From Booklist

September 1, 2012
Grades 7-10 Using some of the same narrative techniques he used in the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfictionwinning The Notorious Benedict Arnold (2010), Sheinkin shapes the story of the Manhattan Project into a dense, complicated thriller that intercuts the action with the deftness of a Hollywood blockbuster. There are more characters than readers will be able to handle, but they'll follow the three main threads. The first is a tale of spy versus spy, as Soviet informants infiltrate America's Los Alamos laboratory. The second tracks the heroism of Knut Haukelid as he parachutes into Norway to destroy Germany's heavy water plant. Most amazing is Robert Oppenheimer's assemblage of the greatest scientific minds in the U.S. (aka the world's largest collection of crackpots ), who under great duress design the most lethal weapon in history. Sheinkin's prose understandably favors plot machinations over character, and positioning photos in the back matter feels anticlimactic. Nonetheless, the painstakingly sourced narrative crackles and drives home the strange mix of pride and horror felt by the scientists who had just won the warbut lost something of equal worth.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)

From Publisher's Weekly

Starred review from August 13, 2012
In his highly readable storytelling style, Sheinkin (The Notorious Benedict Arnold) weaves together tales of scientific and technological discovery, back-alley espionage, and wartime sabotage in a riveting account of the race to build the first atomic weapon. The famous (Robert Oppenheimer) and infamous (spy Harry Gold) headline an enormous cast of characters, which also includes Norwegian resistance fighter Knut Haukelid, whose secret wartime missions prevented Hitler from acquiring an atom bomb. B&w portraits of key players appear in photo-
montages that begin each of the book's four sections. Sheinkin pulls from numerous sources to supply every chapter with quotations that swiftly move the narrative forward. Suspenseful play-by-play moments will captivate, from the nuclear chain reaction test at the University of Chicago to the preparations for and dropping of the first bomb over Hiroshima. In a "genie out of the bottle" epilogue, details of the Cold War's escalating arms race and present-day weapons counts will give readers pause, especially Sheinkin's final thoughts: "It's a story with no end in sight. And, like it or not, you're in it." A must-read for students of history and science. Ages 10â€"up. (Sept.) â— 

From Kirkus

Starred review from August 1, 2012
In late December 1938, German chemist Otto Hahn discovered that uranium atoms could be split, and just a few months later the race to build an atomic bomb was on. The story unfolds in three parts, covering American attempts to build the bomb, how the Soviets tried to steal American designs and how the Americans tried to keep the Germans from building a bomb. It was the eve of World War II, and the fate of the world was at stake, "[b]ut how was a theoretical physicist supposed to save the world?" It's a true spy thriller, ranging from the football stadium at the University of Chicago to the mountains of Norway, from the deserts of New Mexico to laboratories in East Tennessee, and all along the way spies in the United States were feeding sensitive information to the KGB. Groups of photographs are sprinkled throughout the volume, offering just enough visual support for the splendid character development in the writing, and thorough documentation is provided in the backmatter. It takes a lot of work to make a complicated subject clear and exciting, and from his prodigious research and storytelling skill, Sheinkin has created a nonfiction story young people will want to read. A superb tale of an era and an effort that forever changed our world. (source notes, quotation notes, acknowledgments, photo credits, index) (Nonfiction. 10 & up)

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