Summary

Chapter 10, “Nuclear Weapons,” is the longest chapter in the book, with 11 subsections. It talks about three main styles of nuclear weapons, and the history of each.

“The Key to an Explosion: The Nuclear Chain Reaction,” explains that specific isotopes of uranium and plutonium are needed to make a nuclear bomb. Most available types will not do, only those with just the right number of neutrons in their nuclei. The energy released from a nuclear explosion comes from the extremely strong bonds that hold nuclear particles together, a process known as fission. All of this energy is rapidly released in the form of so much heat that it vaporizes anything nearby, meaning that more damage is actually done by the initial explosion that by the lingering radiation.

“World War II and the Manhattan Project,” explains the circumstances under which a group of U...