The Prometheus Bomb: The Manhattan Project and Government in the Dark

During World War II, the lives of millions of Americans lay precariously in the hands of a few brilliant scientists who raced to develop the first weapon of mass destruction. Elected officials gave the scientists free rein in the Manhattan Project without understanding the complexities and dangers involved in splitting the atom.

The Manhattan Project was the first example of a new type of choice for congressmen, presidents, and other government officials: life and death on a national scale...