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Genius in the Shadows: A Biography of Leo Szilard, the Man Behind the Bomb
Genius in the Shadows A Biography of Leo Szilard the Man Behind the Bomb Author:William Lanouette The true ?father of the atom bomb? is revealed.Leo Szilard, known in scientific circles as the "father of the atom bomb," has long been overshadowed by such luminaries as Albert Einstein, Enrico Fermi, and J. Robert Oppenheimer. Yet it was Szilard who first developed the idea for obtaining energy from nuclear chain reactions; who codesigned, wit... more »h Fermi, the first nuclear reactor; and who, with Einstein, pressed the US government to begin racing Hitler's Germany for the A-bomb.Shy, witty, and eccentric, Szilard was a "genius in the shadows" whose restless mind and spirit often confounded colleagues but also led them to win Nobel Prizes. Szilard first petitioned to develop nuclear weapons and then lobbied for civilian and international control of the atom. In 1962, he founded the first political action committee for arms control, the Council for a Livable World.With a new introduction by the author, this revised and updated edition of a widely acclaimed biography, named a Notable Book of the Year in 1993 by the New York Times Book Review, gives a captivating portrait of Leo Szilard: his protean mind, political foresight, humor, and conscience. A scientific provocateur and prophet, he still speaks to our own problems with nuclear weapons and biological perils. 45 black/white photographs« less