Richard Rhodes: ?The Making of the Atomic Bomb? May 21, 2006

Richard Rhodes is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Making of the Atomic Bomb, a narrative history of the people and events before and during World War II ?from the discoveries leading to the science of nuclear fission through the Manhattan Project and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The book has been praised by historians and former Los Alamos weapon scientists alike and is considered a general authority on early nuclear weapons history, as well as the development of modern physics. An incident depicted in this seminal work forms the basis for a new play, Louis Slotin Sonata, written by Sloan Science Foundation honoree Paul Mullin. The play will be presented by the Empty Space Theatre in September 2006. The compelling historical events and characters depicted in both works will be brought to life with a performance of a brief excerpt from the play, annotated and described in detail by Rhodes. Downstairs at Town Hall, enter on Seneca Street.