The Bomb: The Weapon That Changed the World

Five stars for research! The authors did their homework; the presentation was accurate down to the minutest details I'm aware of. I even learned a few more.

Unfortunately, too many flaws that I couldn't overlook. First is the narration gimmick: first-person from the perspective of ... self-aware Uranium? It's unclear if it's a particular lump of it, or just one atom, or maybe just the gestalt of all Uranium? I found it annoying. Second, the characters were drawn almost indistinguishably; perhaps unavoidable given the heavy-stroke artwork, but I found it hard to keep track of the dramatis personae.

Third and most painful was the expository dialogue. “Yes, you are a renowned chemist and you are an excellent engineer, as well as being the indispensable president of...”; and “Oh no! Another flat! It's the third one this week!”; and (Groves to Oppenheimer, December 1943): “But do you realize, only a few years ago, the greatest scientific minds in the world thought it would be impossible to isolate Uranium-235 from Uranium-238 without turning the entire country into a gigantic factory...?” Cringeworthy and continuous; not every page, but almost.

Then again, consciousness and communication are particularly strong interests of mine so I may be overly sensitive.