The problem I tend to run into with books on this topic is the demonization of the scientists involved. And, certainly, the atomic bomb is beyond horrible. Yet, somehow, the focus of this is always on the scientists involved, that they were arrogant in doing such a thing, or naive, or foolish, while the people in charge of deciding how, when, where, and why to deploy the actual weapon don’t seem to get the same focus. “The scientists,” people say “Should have known it would be used as soon as it was ready.” The blame rests on them, while being taken off of the politicians and strategists, because it’s expected of them.
Not to say I think they’re blameless, but imagine you’re an atomic physicist at the time. Your field is obscure, and theoretical. Everyone is pitching in whatever they can, including their lives to a war… and suddenly you’re told that your skills can uniquely contribute, and in a way where maybe no one has to die at all. You can help your country, or at least the one you happen to be living in, do research no one else ever could, and maybe even save some lives.
That’s become what I really need out of books on the creation of the atomic bomb. Not absolution of the people who made it, but rather to remember that the blame for it can lie across the board, rather than normalizing the behavior of everyone involved in making such a weapon, save for one specific group.
