Bomb: The Weapon That Changed the World

464 pages

English language

Published Aug. 5, 2023 by Abrams, Inc., Abrams ComicArts.

ISBN:: 978-1-4197-5209-4

(1 review)

From the Big Bang to Hiroshima, The Bomb is the multi-award-winning black-and-white graphic novel revealing the incredible story of the most disastrous weapon ever invented, by writers Alcante and Laurent-Frédéric Bollée, and illustrator Denis Rodier.

On August 6, 1945, at 8:15 in the morning, an explosive charge of more than 15 kilotons fell on the city of Hiroshima. Tens of thousands of people were pulverized, and everything within four square miles was instantly destroyed. A deluge of flames and ash had just caused Japan’s greatest trauma and changed the course of modern warfare and life on Earth forever. The world was horrified by the existence of the bomb—the first weapon of mass destruction. But how could such an appalling tool be invented?

To answer this question, this illustrated history returns to the origins of its main component, uranium, and sheds light on the scientific discoveries around this element and its …

From the Big Bang to Hiroshima, The Bomb is the multi-award-winning black-and-white graphic novel revealing the incredible story of the most disastrous weapon ever invented, by writers Alcante and Laurent-Frédéric Bollée, and illustrator Denis Rodier.

On August 6, 1945, at 8:15 in the morning, an explosive charge of more than 15 kilotons fell on the city of Hiroshima. Tens of thousands of people were pulverized, and everything within four square miles was instantly destroyed. A deluge of flames and ash had just caused Japan’s greatest trauma and changed the course of modern warfare and life on Earth forever. The world was horrified by the existence of the bomb—the first weapon of mass destruction. But how could such an appalling tool be invented?

To answer this question, this illustrated history returns to the origins of its main component, uranium, and sheds light on the scientific discoveries around this element and its uses both civilian and military. Sifting through the history, from Katanga to Japan, through Germany, Norway, the USSR, and New Mexico, The Bomb is a succession of incredible but true stories.

Alcante, Bollée, and Rodier have created an exhaustive and definitive work of nonfiction that details the stories of the unsung players as well as the remarkable men and women who are at the crux of its history and the events that followed.

2 editions

Eduardo Santiago reviewed Bomb: The Weapon That Changed the World by Ivanka Hahnenberger

Review of 'Bomb' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

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 …

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.