Genius in the Shadows: A Biography of Leo Szilard, the Man Behind the Bomb

(Paperback)

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Well-known names such as Albert Einstein, Enrico Fermi, J. Robert Oppenheimer, and Edward Teller are usually those that surround the creation of the atom bomb. One name that is rarely mentioned is Leo Szilard, known in scientific circles as father of the atom bomb. The man who first developed the idea of harnessing energy from nuclear chain reactions, he is curiously buried with barely a trace in the history of this well-known and controversial topic.

Born in Hungary and educated in Berlin, he escaped Hitlers Germany in 1933 and that first year developed his concept of nuclear chain reactions. In order to prevent Nazi scientists from stealing his ideas, he kept his theories secret, until he and Albert Einstein pressed the US government to research atomic reactions and designed the first nuclear reactor. Though he started his career out lobbying for civilian control of atomic energy, he concluded it with founding, in 1962, the first political action committee for arms control, the Council for a Livable World.

Besides his career in atomic energy, he also studied biology and sparked ideas that won others the Nobel Prize. The Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, where Szilard spent his final days, was developed from his concepts to blend science and social issues.

Reviews

A wonderful book about this endlessly fascinating man . . . one of the most entertaining stories in recent years. . . . A keeper. --Dick Teresi
In this comprehensive study, science writer Lanouette and Silard, the subject's brother, cast welcome light on the physicist's career and character . . . readers will find Szilard to be a 'curious and human character' whose engagement with his work and its consequences was so profound that it can make other figures of the era seem hollow.
Lanouette's book is eminently readable. . . . An excellent book spiced with telling anecdotes about a strange man who influenced world history. --Max F. Perutz
Lanouette's exhaustively researched and artfully written account of one of the most underrated figures of the atomic age establishes Szilard as both a curmudgeon and a posthumously honored prophet. --Gregg Herken
William Lanouette . . . has written the most sensitive and lively biography. . . . The book gives an excellent picture of the man, and makes most interesting reading. I strongly recommend it. --Hans Bethe
"A wonderful book about this endlessly fascinating man . . . one of the most entertaining stories in recent years. . . . A keeper." --Dick Teresi
"In this comprehensive study, science writer Lanouette and Silard, the subject's brother, cast welcome light on the physicist's career and character . . . readers will find Szilard to be a 'curious and human character' whose engagement with his work and its consequences was so profound that it can make other figures of the era seem hollow."
"Lanouette's book is eminently readable. . . . An excellent book spiced with telling anecdotes about a strange man who influenced world history." --Max F. Perutz
"Lanouette's exhaustively researched and artfully written account of one of the most underrated figures of the atomic age establishes Szilard as both a curmudgeon and a posthumously honored prophet." --Gregg Herken
"William Lanouette . . . has written the most sensitive and lively biography. . . . The book gives an excellent picture of the man, and makes most interesting reading. I strongly recommend it." --Hans Bethe

Author Bio

William Lanouette has written about atomic energy and arms control for more than two decades. Publications he has written for include the Atlantic, the Economist, New York Magazine, and the Washington Post. He holds a BA in English from Fordham University and an MSc and a PhD in politics (comparative government) from the London School of Economics. He lives in Washington, DC.