Not another story of the doomed Oppenheimer; Else relies on his own remarkable interviews from almost half a century ago but doesn’t focus on the scientist, and he declines to 'relitigate the decision to drop the bomb' on Japan ... Much to its credit, the book unspools an unhurried, capacious story of human society’s collective journey to the brink of annihilation, and of the individuals and movements that have, so far, held us back from the edge ... A major work.
Priscilla, a single shot there during Operation Plumbbob, forms the stupefying centerpiece of Else’s book. He’s a limber writer, equally alive to atrocity and irony.
Through absorbing, sharp-eyed prose, the book traces the entire history of atomic bombs ... The historical and scientific narrative is punctuated by personal stories ... Gripping.
