The Bomb

No less than the discovery of fire, the bomb marks a dividing line in human history between all that came before it, and everything that follows. For the first time, humans acquired the ability to destroy themselves, and we are still struggling to learn how to live with this awesome power.

To create the bomb, a vast industrial complex is built with cities appearing out of nowhere. Thousands of workers are recruited, but are told only enough to do their own job, nothing more. Yet despite the urgency of the crisis, a huge pool of potential talent is virtually ignored. Women are typists and secretaries, and run schools and libraries. But scarcely any scientists or engineers are women.

See how a power play by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev backfired, sparking a dangerous confrontation with the U.S. — the Cuban Missile Crisis. Over fifty years later, we still don’t know everything about what happened; many Soviet records are still secret. But this much is clear: October 1962 was the closest the world has ever come to thermonuclear war.

In 1946, fear and faith in science collide. For the first time, Americans begin to learn more about the bomb. One in-depth essay about the experiences of the people in Hiroshima creates a sensation and has enormous impact, causing many to rethink nuclear weapons. At the same time, the new Atomic Age is promising miraculous progress in all areas of life, thanks to the wonders of the atom.