https://padlet.com/oknabiel86/edj11up5e1p5 en-us 2017-07-11 00:23:24 UTC 2025-12-03 11:31:41 UTC hello@padlet.com oknabiel86 https://padlet.com/oknabiel86/edj11up5e1p5/wish/178431432 The "Father of the Atomic Bomb" lays out his vision for the atomic bomb to Leslie Groves, leader of the Manhattan Project, on October 8, 1942.]]> 2017-07-11 00:27:59 UTC https://padlet.com/oknabiel86/edj11up5e1p5/wish/178431432 oknabiel86 https://padlet.com/oknabiel86/edj11up5e1p5/wish/178431798 I was ]]> 2017-07-11 00:34:06 UTC https://padlet.com/oknabiel86/edj11up5e1p5/wish/178431798 oknabiel86 https://padlet.com/oknabiel86/edj11up5e1p5/wish/178431799 2017-07-11 00:34:06 UTC https://padlet.com/oknabiel86/edj11up5e1p5/wish/178431799 oknabiel86 https://padlet.com/oknabiel86/edj11up5e1p5/wish/178431800 2017-07-11 00:34:06 UTC https://padlet.com/oknabiel86/edj11up5e1p5/wish/178431800 oknabiel86 https://padlet.com/oknabiel86/edj11up5e1p5/wish/178431801 From my history courses, I was familiar with the United States' bombings of  Hiroshima and Nagasaki. However, I had NO idea that so many integral players were behind the execution of making the atomic bomb, first with uranium and then with plutonium. The fact that Albert Einstein wrote President Roosevelt a letter informing him of the capabilities for uranium to be made into a bomb was completely new to me.]]> 2017-07-11 00:34:06 UTC https://padlet.com/oknabiel86/edj11up5e1p5/wish/178431801 oknabiel86 https://padlet.com/oknabiel86/edj11up5e1p5/wish/178432654 2017-07-11 00:50:13 UTC https://padlet.com/oknabiel86/edj11up5e1p5/wish/178432654 oknabiel86 https://padlet.com/oknabiel86/edj11up5e1p5/wish/178432874 One of the most thrilling parts of Sheinkin's book was undoubtedly the late night/early morning mission by Haukelid and the other Gunnerside men to destroy Germany's supply of heavy water, used in the construction of their atomic bomb. 
I found myself holding my breath as the team scaled the gorge and crossed the icy river to Vemork, the heavy water plant. ]]> 2017-07-11 00:55:02 UTC https://padlet.com/oknabiel86/edj11up5e1p5/wish/178432874 oknabiel86 https://padlet.com/oknabiel86/edj11up5e1p5/wish/178433312 2017-07-11 01:04:24 UTC https://padlet.com/oknabiel86/edj11up5e1p5/wish/178433312 oknabiel86 https://padlet.com/oknabiel86/edj11up5e1p5/wish/178433313 Sheinkin's recount of the bombing of Hiroshima was chilling. In history classes, it is easy to hear about Hiroshima and tuck it into a tidy box of American historical events, but the fact remains: Americans dropped a bomb on Hiroshima that killed as many as 146,000 people- from direct impact or illness/radioactive poisoning in its wake. 
Descriptions from Japanese survivors such as Shintaro Fukuhara left me feeling nauseous: "I cannot describe the countless tragic things I saw" (p. 196).]]> 2017-07-11 01:04:24 UTC https://padlet.com/oknabiel86/edj11up5e1p5/wish/178433313 oknabiel86 https://padlet.com/oknabiel86/edj11up5e1p5/wish/178433920 To be honest, I had some difficulty becoming fully engaged with this text. The subject matter was not one I would have chosen for myself, and at times I found the storyline tedious and slow-moving. However, Part 4 was when I could not put the book down. The suspense created was enough to keep me glued to the pages to find out what happens to the many integral characters (Soviet spies, Los Alamos scientists, KGB operatives).]]> 2017-07-11 01:14:36 UTC https://padlet.com/oknabiel86/edj11up5e1p5/wish/178433920 oknabiel86 https://padlet.com/oknabiel86/edj11up5e1p5/wish/178434369 This question was one that I wrestled with throughout the text.
The race to build the atomic bomb is a subject that I believe would engage students. Personally, I found the text to be a bit tedious and hard to follow in the beginning as Sheinkin introduces all of the main players. However, the last quarter of the book had me fully engaged and I think students would feel similarly.
The part which causes me to hesitate to recommend this to young readers is vivid descriptions of the aftermaths of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The text describes victims' blackened skin as "hanging in strips", which is unsettling for any adult to picture let alone a student.
However, Sheinkin does an impeccable job at painting historical events as suspenseful acts of crime and intrigue, and for that alone I would recommend this text to mature readers.]]> 2017-07-11 01:20:12 UTC https://padlet.com/oknabiel86/edj11up5e1p5/wish/178434369 oknabiel86 https://padlet.com/oknabiel86/edj11up5e1p5/wish/178434612 2017-07-11 01:22:56 UTC https://padlet.com/oknabiel86/edj11up5e1p5/wish/178434612 oknabiel86 https://padlet.com/oknabiel86/edj11up5e1p5/wish/178434715 2017-07-11 01:24:06 UTC https://padlet.com/oknabiel86/edj11up5e1p5/wish/178434715