Dark Sun
the Making of the Hydrogen Bomb
by Richard Rhodes · first published 1995
41% recommend48% neutral11% critical
Why HN recommends it
Detailed history of the hydrogen bomb's development, covering Edward Teller, Los Alamos, atomic espionage, and early Cold War politics; a natural follow-on to The Making of the Atomic Bomb for readers wanting more.
Common criticism: A few critics find it weaker and less polished than its predecessor.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
In this work of history, science and politics, Richard Rhodes, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Making of the Atomic Bomb, tells for the first time the secret story of how and why the hydrogen bomb was made; traces the path by which "the Bomb", the supreme artifact of twentieth-century science and technology, became the defining issue of the Cold War; and reveals how close the world came to nuclear destruction before the United States and the former Soviet Union learned the lesson of nuclear stalemate - a stalemate, Rhodes makes clear, that forced the superpowers to tenuous truce for m
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…and understanding this light introduction to modern nuclear weapons. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermonuclear_weapon (the rhodes books, Making of the Atomic Bomb is required background reading, as is Dark Sun, if you want to get into the backstore). In particular: The NIH experiment recapitulates many of the design aspects of a thermonuclear weapon, but does so in a highly controlled lab environment. I'm…
on “Nuclear fusion milestone passed at US lab” ↗…Prometheus", is fantastic. A fast, smart read. Oppenheimer obviously also appears in Richard Rhodes' utterly superb "The Making of the Atomic Bomb", though he only becomes a main character in the sequel, "Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb", which is also great. Oppenheimer was a highly skilled physicist, but Rhodes attributes his ability to lead the Manhattan Project to his gifts as a "synthesizer" of…
on “The Eccentric Father of the Atomic Bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer (2019)” ↗I agree -- this is a terrific book, very rewarding read. A subsequent work on the same general topic, Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb, is also an excellent book: http://www.nytimes.com/books/99/09/19/specials/rhodes-dark.h...
on “WWII Atomic Bomb Project Had More Than 1,500 "Leaks"” ↗…program seems uncontroversial. Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_atomic_bomb_project Richard Rhodes is probably the definitive source for this history in The Making Of The Atomic Bomb and Dark Sun. Both excellent reads. I don't say this to discount the abilities of the Soviet scientists working on the problem; it's an incredible achievement even with the extra "stolen" knowledge. But keep in mind…
on “A Soviet vision of the future: the legacy and influence of Tekhikia–Molodezhi” ↗…perhaps the finest non-fiction book I've had the pleasure of reading. I love the way he is able to create a narrative that goes all the way back to H. G. Wells to find its roots. Rhodes' follow-up, "Dark Sun: The Making Of The Hydrogen Bomb", basically continues the story where TMAB left off. The narrative gets a bit more fractured and factual, focused on the question of how to safeguard nuclear weapons and…
on “The dubious distinction, and literary legacy, of Leo Szilard” ↗Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb by Richard Rhodes is the follow up to The Making of the Atomic Bomb and is even more interesting as it tells the story of the Soviet bomb project at the same time as the…
on “Almost Everything in "Dr. Strangelove" Was True” ↗Rhodes also wrote Dark Sun (The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb) which is a fantastic follow on read to The Making of the Atomic Bomb. http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Sun-Making-Hydrogen-Bomb/dp/06848...
on “Declassified photos from Tinian Island as the B-29 “Enola Gay” was being loaded” ↗Its sequel, Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb [1] is also great. It deals with Edward Teller's hydrogen bomb, the nuclear spies (Fuchs, the Rosenbergs, etc.), the beginning of the cold war, Oppenheimer's ambitious…
on “Declassified photos from Tinian Island as the B-29 “Enola Gay” was being loaded” ↗…blanket, not the fusion reaction. In a "neutron bomb", or "enhanced radiation warhead", neutrons are the desired product rather than explosive yield, so these typically omit the U casing. Richard Rhodes' "Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb" provides an excellent description and paper bibliography.
on “The Visible Atomic Bomb” ↗…decent diagrams - from the original Ivy Mike Sausage style cylindrical secondaries through to very modern designs like the W88: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermonuclear_weapon I can also recommend "Dark Sun" by Richard Rhodes for more details.
on “A Hydrogen Bomb by any other name” ↗Yes, I was wondering the same. What were Edward Teller's secrets? This reminds me to finally finish reading "Dark Sun" by Richard Rhodes. I think "The Making of the Atomic Bomb" was one of the best non-fiction books I have ever read.
on “Teller Reveals His Secrets (2012)” ↗…read. It deals with many of the issues raised in the comments here, and with politics, industrial development, economics, military capabilities, and the history of modern physics. Rhodes also wrote "'Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb', which told the story of the atomic espionage during World War II, the debates over whether the hydrogen bomb ought to be produced, and the eventual creation of the bomb…
on “The Third Atomic Bomb” ↗Dark Sun - Richard Rhodes
on “10 Great Tech Books” ↗I recommend Rhodes’ “Making of” and Dark Sun with American Prometheus and the Los Alamos Primer for people seeking a thorough initial introduction to the Manhattan Project and little bit of postscript. Indulging myself a bit here. Essentially all…
on “Richard Rhodes wrote a classic book about Oppenheimer and the atomic bomb” ↗Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb - Rhodes Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness - Thaler & Sunstein Factorization Methods for Discrete Sequential Estimation - Bierman
on “Ask HN: What are you reading right now?” ↗