Overview

Explore the scientific crescendo of the Manhattan Project through newly contextualized and never-before-seen photographs from Los Alamos National Laboratory's legacy collections—some just declassified. Twenty-one days before the world learned of the atomic bomb upon its wartime use against Japan, a team of scientists led by J. Robert Oppenheimer detonated the first nuclear device on a remote stretch of New Mexico desert, in an operation codenamed Trinity. Both a military proof test and an elaborate, well-documented scientific experiment, the trial shot on July 16, 1945, brought under the control of humankind a new fire: the energy of the atom. In this expertly curated journey through the beginning of the atomic age, hundreds of carefully restored photographs, still frames, and once-secret documents bring new and vivid focus to a watershed moment in science and history. Written for all to understand, Trinity weaves steadily through subplots and surprises as it traces the evolving, looming backdrop of a world at war. It shadows the humans and gadgets cast into the ruggedness of the test operation; dissects a fiery mushroom cloud unfurling frame by frame, frozen in time; and follows soldiers, scientists, and two atomic bombs across the Pacific Ocean to Tinian Island, onto the strike planes Enola Gay and Bockscar, and to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the two Japanese cities devastated on August 6 and 9, 1945. Inviting readers into the clandestine spaces where a new era began—behind the cameras, the bunker doors, the gates and guard posts—Trinity strives, grieves, celebrates, and ponders. It artfully captures that irreplicable summer when scientists invented urgently in the waning months of the ""before""—and the tension between violence and progress, hope and fear, that persists into the after.

Full Product Details

9780226848402

Table of Contents

Reviews

""The great mushroom cloud of an atomic or hydrogen bomb detonation has been called 'a thing of terrible beauty.' Indeed, at its most dramatic, Seyl’s illustrated history of the inaugural atomic bomb test, and beyond, possesses a hypnotic, terrifying majesty. The experience of reading this book is both admiring and unsettling. . . . A singular event captured in ordinary—and extraordinary—images."" * Kirkus Reviews * ""Stunning. . . . To honor the complexity of the Manhattan Project, great care is taken to communicate the manifold, intricate procedures of the Trinity test in an inclusive, understandable fashion. Exceptional descriptions reveal the labyrinthine procedures and mind-boggling feats of logistics, forming digestible, enlightening paragraphs that respect the complexity of the operation itself. Indeed, the sheer breadth of the book’s coverage is staggering. Images of maps, schematics, laboratories, staff at work, the testing grounds, classified documents, handwritten notes, and leading-edge recording equipment can all be found within, each with its own informative caption. It is the most comprehensive visual record of the Trinity detonation ever assembled, containing restored images of the blast that have only just become public. . . . Trinity is an amazing photographic history of the revolutionary test that kicked off the atomic age."" * Foreword Reviews * ""A history of the culmination of the Manhattan Project, documented through hundreds of carefully restored photographs, some recently declassified."" * The Bookseller, ""Books Spotlight: University Presses"" * “Fascinating and timely. These images bring to life an important, indeed transformative, moment in modern history, with implications for politics and world affairs as well as for science and technology. Trinity is a valuable project of historical documentation.” -- Philip Ball, author of ""Beyond Weird: Why Everything You Thought You Knew About Quantum Physics Is Different"" “As the world continues to come to terms with the hope and peril of our new age, eighty years after it began, Trinity stands as a clear dividing line for humanity. We see in its receding light an age-old prophecy, that mastery of nature comes with a price.” -- Charles Oppenheimer, Founder and Co-Executive Director, The Oppenheimer Project, from the afterword

""As the world continues to come to terms with the hope and peril of our new age, eighty years after it began, Trinity stands as a clear dividing line for humanity. We see in its receding light an age-old prophecy, that mastery of nature comes with a price.""--Charles Oppenheimer, Founder and Co-Executive Director, The Oppenheimer Project, from the afterword

""The great mushroom cloud of an atomic or hydrogen bomb detonation has been called 'a thing of terrible beauty.' Indeed, at its most dramatic, Seyl’s illustrated history of the inaugural atomic bomb test, and beyond, possesses a hypnotic, terrifying majesty. The experience of reading this book is both admiring and unsettling. . . . A singular event captured in ordinary—and extraordinary—images."" * Kirkus Reviews * ""Stunning. . . . To honor the complexity of the Manhattan Project, great care is taken to communicate the manifold, intricate procedures of the Trinity test in an inclusive, understandable fashion. Exceptional descriptions reveal the labyrinthine procedures and mind-boggling feats of logistics, forming digestible, enlightening paragraphs that respect the complexity of the operation itself. Indeed, the sheer breadth of the book’s coverage is staggering. Images of maps, schematics, laboratories, staff at work, the testing grounds, classified documents, handwritten notes, and leading-edge recording equipment can all be found within, each with its own informative caption. It is the most comprehensive visual record of the Trinity detonation ever assembled, containing restored images of the blast that have only just become public. . . . Trinity is an amazing photographic history of the revolutionary test that kicked off the atomic age."" * Foreword Reviews * “This illustrated history of the world’s first atomic test features hundreds of fully restored photographs and still frames from the Trinity site during the setup, execution, and aftermath of the test. Most images are drawn from the archives of Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. These visual artifacts form magnificent, often two-page spreads that depict scientists and soldiers, diagrams, maps, documents, buildings, industrial equipment, and nuclear devices. Hundreds of scientists and soldiers monitored the test while hundreds of cameras and scientific instruments recorded the explosion and aftermath. Cameras also recorded events at Tinian Island, where two atomic bombs were prepped for deployment, and documented the devastation wrought by the bombing of Japan.” * Library Journal * ""A history of the culmination of the Manhattan Project, documented through hundreds of carefully restored photographs, some recently declassified."" * The Bookseller, ""Books Spotlight: University Presses"" * “Fascinating and timely. These images bring to life an important, indeed transformative, moment in modern history, with implications for politics and world affairs as well as for science and technology. Trinity is a valuable project of historical documentation.” -- Philip Ball, author of ""Beyond Weird: Why Everything You Thought You Knew About Quantum Physics Is Different"" “As the world continues to come to terms with the hope and peril of our new age, eighty years after it began, Trinity stands as a clear dividing line for humanity. We see in its receding light an age-old prophecy, that mastery of nature comes with a price.” -- Charles Oppenheimer, Founder and Co-Executive Director, The Oppenheimer Project, from the afterword

Author Information

Emily Seyl is a science writer and editor at Los Alamos National Laboratory’s National Security Research Center.

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