{"product_id":"destroyer-of-worlds-the-deep-history-of-the-nuclear-age-frank-close-hardcover","title":"Destroyer of Worlds: The Deep History of the Nuclear Age -- Frank Close, Hardcover","description":"\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe thrilling and terrifying seventy-year story--\"kinetic, dramatic, and compulsively readable\" (Patchen Barss)--of the physicists that deciphered the atom and created the hydrogen bomb \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e A \u003ci\u003eGuardian \u003c\/i\u003eBest Book of the Year\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Although Henri Becquerel didn't know it at the time, he changed history in 1896 when he left photographic plates and some uranium rocks in a drawer. The rocks emitted something that exposed the plates: it was the first documented evidence of spontaneous radioactivity. So began one of the most exciting and consequential efforts humans have ever undertaken. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e As Frank Close recounts in \u003ci\u003eDestroyer of Worlds\u003c\/i\u003e, scientists confronting Becquerel's discovery had three questions: What was this phenomenon? Could it be a source of unlimited power? And (alas), could it be a weapon? Answering them was an epic journey of discovery, with Ernest Rutherford, Enrico Fermi, Irene Joliot-Curie, and many others jockeying to decipher the dance of particles in a decaying atom. And it was a terrifying journey as well, as Edward Teller and others pressed on from creating atom bombs to hydrogen bombs so powerful that they could destroy all life on earth. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The deep history of the nuclear age has never before been recounted so vividly. Centered on an extraordinary cast of characters, \u003ci\u003eDestroyer of Worlds\u003c\/i\u003e charts the course of nuclear physics from simple curiosity to potential Armageddon. \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/strong\u003e Frank Close\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/strong\u003e Basic Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublished:\u003c\/strong\u003e 6\/10\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 352\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/strong\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWeight:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.25 lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e 9.3\" H x 6.1\" L x 1.4\" W\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eISBN:\u003c\/strong\u003e 9781541605893\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Flowerburst","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50769100669232,"sku":"9781541605893","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0879\/2712\/8368\/files\/9781541605893_6f7deff8-676d-43c7-9a98-c3e2e0f508f0.jpg?v=1775345195","url":"https:\/\/flowerburst.co\/products\/destroyer-of-worlds-the-deep-history-of-the-nuclear-age-frank-close-hardcover","provider":"Flowerburst","version":"1.0","type":"link"}