1. After reading this book about the race to build the world’s first atomic bomb, explain how this changes your point of view about nuclear weapons in the world. In the epilogue of Bomb, by Steve Shelinkin, the author made a really good point and wrote about his perspective about nuclear and atomic weapons in the world. At the end of the epilogue it said, “In the end, this is a difficult story to sum up. The making of the atomic bomb is one of history's most amazing examples of teamwork and genius and poise under pressure. But it's also the story of how humans created a weapon capable of wiping our species off the planet. It's a story with no end in sight. And, like it or not, you're in it,”(Shelinkin 236). In this quote, the author is addressing …show more content…
the dangers of atomic bombs and weapons in the world and the negative effects they could cause if only one percent of those bombs were to be exploded. After reading the book, it does change my point of view about atomic weapons because I read about the horrible effects that have happened after the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and now I am pretty aware of the dangers they can cause. Before, I wasn't really worried about them as much, but now I sometimes think about the effects caused from atomic weapons and what they can do to the world. Even some scientist that created the atomic bomb even saw the horrible causes that have happened because of the bomb and Robert Oppenheimer didn't want to continue making atomic bombs because he saw what he has caused. *2.Explain how Soviet spies affected World War II and after the war. During World War II, there were many spies in America working for the Soviet Union, so that they could steal information about the atomic bomb and Steve Sheinkin depicted that in his book, Bomb.
Throughout the book, we see that Soviet spies would deliver their information to KGB agents and in this scene, it said, "The best thing about the reports, Kvasanikov knew, was that the bomb plans from both Hall and Fuchs were nearly identical. That convinced the Soviets the information was correct, allowing them to move ahead quickly with bomb building. No need for the kind of costly trial and error that had taken place at Los Alamos,”(Sheinkin 212). In this quote, Kvasnikov, a KGB agent, was comparing Hall and Fuchs's reports, two scientists working on the atomic bomb, who were secretly giving information about the bomb to the Soviets and sometimes they would use a secret code to contact the Soviets as well. Spies working for the Soviet Union affected World War II because even though they were allied to the U.S., Americans still couldn't give information to them, but there were a few spies who gave information about the atomic bomb to the Soviets. Now the Soviet Union can make exact copies of the atomic bomb from the design stolen from the U.S. Spies working for the Soviets affected the U.S after the war because after the war, the U.S was more aware of them, so they could easily catch them and because of that, the U.S. and the Soviet Union weren’t good friends …show more content…
anymore. 3.Explain the impact of the discovery, creation, and testing of the atomic bomb. The discovery, creation, and testing of the atomic bomb has greatly impacted the world because now countries have the power to wipe out millions over and over again.
In Bomb, the main point is to talk about how this deadly weapon came about and how it changed history forever. Towards the end of the book, after Robert Oppenheimer saw the effects of the bombing on Hiroshima, he realizes the dangers of this deadly weapon, when the scene said, “‘The safety of this nation,' he insisted, ‘cannot lie wholly or even primarily in its scientific or technical powers. It can be based only making future wars impossible.' The only hope, he believed, was for the United States to stop building bombs and to somehow convince the Soviet Union not to start, ”(Sheinkin 214). In this quote, we see that Robert Oppenheimer now sees the horrible effects caused by this bomb and he wants the U.S to avoid making these bombs. This quote shows the impact of the discovery, creation, and testing of the atomic bomb because it shows that this bomb is the most dangerous thing on the planet and it should be stopped from being produced. The impact of the discovery, creation, and testing of the atomic bomb is that the discovery of uranium fission led to theories of making bombs with it, which caused the creation of the uranium atomic bomb by Robert Oppenheimer and his team. Now countries have thousands of nuclear weapons that they can use
anytime. 4. Chose one character and explain how he/she demonstrates the theme of principles in the book. One of the major themes, the essential messages or the morals of a story, of Bomb are principles. One character that demonstrates that theme is President Harry Truman, when it says, “For Truman, that settled it. If the atomic bomb could shock Japan into giving up, it had to be used. ‘It was a question of saving hundreds of thousands of American lives,’ he later explained. ‘I couldn't worry about what history would say about my personal morality. I made the only decision I ever knew how to make. I did what I thought was right,’”(Sheinkin 189). In this quote, we see that President Truman is deciding to drop an atomic bomb on Japan so that they could surrender and the U.S can win the war. He decides to do this because of his principles of protecting his countrymen, but in the end, millions of lives were taken because of his decisions. President Truman demonstrates the theme of principles because when he took the oath after President Roosevelt died, we said that he would try to become his own president, while still staying with Roosevelt's policies, even though sometimes his decisions contradicts them. President Truman had to make a huge decision on whether to use the atomic bomb or not and he decided to use it because he based it on his principles and beliefs. His beliefs were that protecting his people and ending this horrific war was his number one principle for that time. 5. Explain one symbol that is used constantly throughout the book. Throughout Bomb, there is one important symbol, something that represents something else, that is used pretty constantly throughout the book and that symbol is the atomic bomb. The symbol of the atomic bomb represents power and scientific prowess. Towards the end of the book, Oppenheimer says, “‘It is our hope that in years to come we may look at this scroll, and that it signifies, with pride,' Oppenheimer told the crowd. ‘Today that pride must be tempered with profound concern,' he continued. ‘If atomic bombs are to be added as new weapons to the arsenals of a warring world, or to the arsenals of nations preparing for war, then the item will come when mankind will curse the names of Los Alamos and Hiroshima. ‘The people of this world must unite or they will perish,'”(Sheinkin 215). In this quote, Oppenheimer is talking about how even though we have pride in this great accomplishment, we have to consider that if atomic bombs are to be added to arsenals of other nations, then people will start to regret the creation of the atomic bomb. The bomb represents power because after the U.S. used the bomb on Hiroshima, people started to realize the huge dangers of using it, the costs it has, and the power it has if someone were to have one. It also symbolizes scientific prowess because it was a huge scientific accomplishment, seeing that uranium fission could be used to make a massive explosion.
I am reading Bomb by Steve Sheinkin. At the beginning of the book, Oppenheimer, who is the main chemical scientist in the novel, sees the effects of the Great Depression on his pupils when they cannot buy chemistry textbooks. During Oppenheimer’s time as a professor, the Nazis discovered the splitting of the uranium atom. When Albert Einstein found out that about the discovery the Nazis did, he informs President Roosevelt about how the Nazis plan to develop atomic weapons. Harry Gold who is a Communist spy, starts to work with the KGB. And starts to steal ideas and projects from the American Uranium Committee.
Steve Sheinkin, award-winning author, in his novel Bomb: The Race to Build- and Steal- the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon (2012) addresses the topic of nuclear war and proves that no matter what actions are taken (during war) there will be negative outcomes by depicting the characters with anxiety, describing horror-filled battle scenes and revealing the thirst for power during these times. Sheinkin supports his claim by using memorable moments in the novel such as when the bomb is dropped on Hiroshima and the entire city is close to being wiped out; also when Stalin is upset that the Americans completed the atomic bomb which leads to another race of building upwards
Clay Dillow’s “To Catch a Bombmaker” was published by Popular Science in October 2015. This article educated the reader about the FBI’s Terrorist Explosive Device Analytical Center— a key aspect in the fight against terrorism. Dillow focused on ethos and logos to strengthen the validation of his claim concerning the importance of the TEDAC and was successful in persuading the reader to believe in its significance as well. He used expert quotes from FBI agents to give the article credibility; In addition, he presented statistical data in a clear and concise manner and gave many factual cases in which the TEDAC facilitated the government in their pursuit of terrorist and bomb makers. As proven by Dillow in “How to Catch a Bombmaker,” the Terrorist
A young scientist who was very smart and intelligent was the creator of a bomb that killed millions. The bomb was the most powerful weapon that was ever manufactured. He changed the course of World War II. This man is Robert Oppenheimer, creator of the atomic bomb. The book “Bomb” by Steve Sheinkin, is a book that includes teamwork and how Americans made a deadly bomb that changed the course of the war. The book engages the reader through how spies share secret information with enemies. Because the physicists were specifically told not to share any information, they were not justified in supplying the Soviet Union with the bomb technology.
In today’s society, many countries and even citizens of the United States question the U.S. government’s decision to get involved in nuclear warfare. These people deemed it unnecessary and stated that the U.S. is a hypocrite that preaches peace, but causes destruction and death. Before and during World War II the U.S. was presented with a difficult decision on whether or not to develop and use the atomic bomb. The U.S. decided to develop the atomic bomb based on the fear they had for the safety of the nation. In August 1939 nuclear physicists sent manuscripts to Albert Einstein in fear the Germany might use the new knowledge of fission on the uranium nucleus as way to construct weapons.
The atomic bomb created under the Manhattan Project set a new level of psychological panic. It influence media, government, and daily lives of those all around the world. The media was covering stories about protection from a nuclear attack and the government was right next to the reporters helping to further the creation of fear with their messages about preparation.
The terror of nuclear war, the fright of your home being destroyed before your eyes. This was what was facing 16 year old Sorry Rinamu in the novel The Bomb by Theodore Taylor. This historical fiction deals with the problems of Sorry and his small island facing the control of Japan and needs of the United States.
...ar the use of weapons of this magnitude, the American idea of the Japanese people has changed, and we now have set up preventions in the hope of avoiding the use of nuclear weaponry. John Hersey provides a satisfactory description of the atomic bombing. Most writers take sides either for or against the atom bomb. Instead of taking a side, he challenges his readers to make their own opinions according to their personal meditations. On of the key questions we must ask ourselves is “Are actions intended to benefit the large majority, justified if it negatively impacts a minority?” The greatest atrocity our society could make is to make a mistake and not learn from it. It is important, as we progress as a society, to learn from our mistakes or suffer to watch as history repeats itself.
In the world there is little thing called power. Many countries want to have great power, few get it. Powers gave the Soviet Union and the U.S. the ability to dominate in wars. In the 1950’s during the Cold War these two countries had a race to se who could create the most powerful weapon the world has ever seen, the Hydrogen Bomb. Edward Teller, an atomic physicist, and Stanislaw Marcin Ulam, a mathematician, "who together developed the Teller-Ulam design in 1951" for the Hydrogen Bomb (Teller-Ulam Design). Many people had their thoughts about why or why not the Hydrogen Bomb should have been built. What this essay will talk about is why the Hydrogen Bomb was built.
The dropping of the atomic bomb was a major turning point in United Sates history and WW2 specifically, it caused the surrender of Japan and ultimately ended the war which had been going on since 1939 two years prior to U.S. involvement. The dropping of the atomic bomb not only ended the war but lead to a fight over which nation had the most atomic weapons, a terrifying power play between countries. Through the years leading up to the dropping of the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki the United States struggles with preventing the speed of communism and intimidating the Soviet Union. Through WW2 American casualties were also adding up fast. The use of the atomic bombs was a shock strategy the government saw as the most successful was to
The Atomic Age represents the most epic era and composed of diverse controversial issues in the human history. In the late 1945, President Harry Truman informed to drop two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These two bombs quickly yielded the surrender of Japan and the end the World War 2. However, the impact of it led us to debate whether this decision was actually right or so. First off, it would be hard to imagine how Japan would have been surrendered without the atomic bomb. Therefore to save many American lives, President Truman believed that it was his duty to end the war as soon as possible. But the bombs took away innocent lives and killed civilians indiscriminately. “Atomic Age America” written by Martin
The atomic bomb is the subject of much controversy. Since its first detonation in 1945, the entire world has heard the aftershocks of that blast. Issues concerning Nuclear Weapons sparked the Cold War. We also have the atomic bomb to thank for our relative peace in this time due to the fear of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD). The effects of the atomic bomb might not have been the exact effects that the United States was looking for when they dropped Little Boy and Fat Man on Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively (Grant, 1998). The original desire of the United States government when they dropped Little Boy and Fat Man on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was not, in fact, the one more commonly known: that the two nuclear devices dropped upon Hiroshima and Nagasaki were detonated with the intention of bringing an end to the war with Japan, but instead to intimidate the Soviet Union. The fact of Japan's imminent defeat, the undeniable truth that relations with Russia were deteriorating, and competition for the division of Europe prove this without question.
Despite all of the security used by the officials in charge of the “Manhattan Project,” soviet spies managed to leak information to the Soviet Union that allowed them to create a nuclear bomb of their own. Klaus Fuchs, an important scientist to the “Manhattan Project,” managed to move throughout the project and provide crucial information to the Soviets. David Greenglass also provi...
On August 6, 1945, the U.S. dropped the world’s first atomic bomb over Hiroshima. Three days later, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. On August 15th, the Japan announced unconditional surrender in World War II. To this day historians still discuss why the U.S. decided to use the atomic bombs. Orthodox historians argue that the decision to drop the bombs was a military one designed purely to defeat the Japanese. Revisionist historians argue that the bombs were not needed to defeat Japan; the bombs were meant to shape the peace by intimidating the Soviets. After analyzing the documents in The Manhattan Project it has become clear that the U.S. used the bombs during WWII not only to defeat the Japanese, but also to intimidate the Soviet Union
The development and usage of the first atomic bombs has caused a change in military, political, and public functionality of the world today. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki revolutionized warfare by killing large masses of civilian population with a single strike. The bombs’ effects from the blast, extreme heat, and radiation left an estimated 140,000 people dead. The bombs created a temporary resolution that lead to another conflict. The Cold War was a political standoff between the Soviet Union and the United States that again created a new worldwide nuclear threat. The destructive potential of nuclear weapons had created a global sweep of fear as to what might happen if these terrible forces where unleashed again. The technology involved in building the first atomic bombs has grown into the creation of nuclear weapons that are potentially 40 times more powerful than the original bombs used. However, a military change in strategy has came to promote nuclear disarmament and prevent the usage of nuclear weapons. The technology of building the atomic bomb has spurred some useful innovations that can be applied through the use of nuclear power. The fear of a potential nuclear attack had been heightened by the media and its release of movies impacting on public opinion and fear of nuclear devastation. The lives lost after the detonation of the atomic bombs have become warning signs that changed global thinking and caused preventative actions.