The First War of Physics (81 page)

228 ‘To throw a reactor down on London.’: Rhodes,
The Making of the Atomic Bomb
, p. 524.

228 ‘They did not need my help …’: Pais,
Niels Bohr’s Times
, p. 496.

229 ‘He made the enterprise seem hopeful…’: Rhodes,
The Making of the Atomic Bomb
, p. 524. This is a quotation from an edited version of a post-war Oppenheimer speech.

229 ‘We must hear all the rumours …’: Conant, p. 207.

229 ‘The sense of betrayal of an ally.’: Brown, p. 262.

232 ‘I think that he really realised that the other person knew …’: Bird and Sherwin, p. 219.

234 ‘So finally they sent me a note …’: Feynman, p. 117.

236 ‘Although Hans did not criticise me directly …’: Goodchild,
Edward Teller
, p. 88.

237 ‘One of the blackest comedies of the war.’: Snow, p. 112.

237 ‘I cannot see what you are talking about…’: Rhodes,
The Making of the Atomic Bomb
, p. 530.

237 ‘We are in a completely new situation …’: Rhodes,
The Making of the Atomic Bomb
, p. 532.

238 ‘He was only too conscious …’: Snow, p. 116.

CHAPTER 12: MORTAL CRIMES

240 ‘Can you tell me the way to Grand Central Station?’ and subsequent quotations: Moss, p. 64.

241 ‘Somewhere in Mexico.’: Albright and Kunstel, p. 79.

243 ‘It appears reasonable …’: Rhodes,
The Making of the Atomic Bomb
, p. 548.

244 ‘We finally arrived at the conclusion …’: Conant, p. 228.

244 ‘I think [Oppenheimer] felt very badly …’: Bird and Sherwin, p. 280.

244 ‘I am old, I am tired, and I am disgusted.’: Conant, p. 210.

244 ‘The two never agreed about anything …’: Rhodes,
The Making of the Atomic Bomb
, p. 543.

246 ‘Oppenheimer lit into me…’: Goodchild, J
. Robert Oppenheimer
, p. 116.

246 ‘Parsons was furious .,.’: Rhodes,
The Making of the Atomic Bomb
, p. 549.

249 ‘But in our country, in spite of great progress …’: Holloway, p. 102

249 ‘Forestalling a fateful competition …’: Pais,
Niels Bohr’s Times
, p. 501.

250 ‘Roosevelt agreed that an approach to the Soviet Union …’: Rhodes,
The Making of the Atomic Bomb
, p. 536.

250 ‘Enquiries should be made regarding the activities of Professor Bohr…’: Rhodes,
The Making of the Atomic Bomb
, p. 537.

251 ‘It seems to me Bohr ought to be confined …’: Pais,
Niels Bohr’s Times
, p. 502.

253 ‘Thinking back to the rather arrogant 19-year-old I then was …’: Albright and Kunstel, p. 89.

253 ‘Do you understand what you are doing?’ and subsequent quotations: Haynes and Klehr, p. 315.

255 ‘Victory shall be ours …’: Rhodes,
Dark Sun
, p. 136.

255 ‘I have been very reticent in my writing …’: Rhodes,
Dark Sun
, p. 137.

256 ‘Most certainly will be glad to be part of the community …’: Rhodes,
Dark Sun
, p. 138.

257 ‘On the basis of theoretical data …’: Albright and Kunstel, p. 109.

CHAPTER 13: ALSOS AND AZUSA

260 ‘No practical utilisation of fission chain reactions …’: Powers, p. 305.

262 ‘We told people generally what to look for …’: Dawidoff, p. 162.

263 ‘Deny the enemy his brain.’: Powers, p. 266.

264 ‘Schwindel.’: Irving, p. 234.

266 ‘Out of their comfortable quarters.’: Powers, p. 339.

269 ‘Colonel, looks like you and I are going to have to reach an understanding’ and subsequent quotations: Pash, pp. 31–2. Pash does not name Berg as the captain on the receiving end of his abuse.

271 ‘For the sake of method.’: Irving, p. 275.

273 ‘Some valuable assets, some liabilities.’: Goudsmit, p. 15.

274 ‘Thank God I didn’t know them personally …’: Irving, p. 305.

275 ‘We found references to “special metal” …’: Goudsmit, p. 69.

275 ‘We’ve got it’ and subsequent quotations: Pash, p. 157.

276 ‘Isn’t it wonderful that the Germans have no atom bomb?’ and subsequent quotations: Goudsmit, p. 76.

277 ‘Gun in my pocket’ and subsequent quotations: Powers, p. 392.

277 ‘If anything Heisenberg said convinced him …’: Powers, p. 393.

277 ‘As I listen, I am uncertain …’: Powers, p. 399.

278 ‘They’re coming on!’: Powers, p. 400.

278 ‘Yes, but it would have been so good …’: Powers, p. 402.

CHAPTER 14: THE FINAL PUSH

279 ‘Welcome to Los Alamos …’: Frisch, p. 150

280 ‘A terrible scientific blunder.’: Rhodes,
The Making of the Atomic Bomb
, p. 552.

281 ‘Like tickling the tail of a sleeping dragon’ and subsequent quotations: Frisch, p. 159.

283 ‘The reactor was not exactly following the script,’: Wheeler, p. 54.

283 ‘It was as if the engine of your car got sick …’: Wheeler, p. 54.

286 ‘On one occasion I was forced to say to Oppie …’: Goodchild,
J. Robert Oppenheimer
, p. 134.

287 ‘Man is a creature whose substance is faith …’: Rhodes,
The Making of the Atomic Bomb
, p. 614.

287 ‘Is there anything I can do for you?’:
www.trumanlibrary.org/eleanor

288 ‘Again and again the officials overseeing research and development …’: Walker, ‘Nuclear Weapons and Reactor Research at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics’.

288 ‘With the heavy stuff’: Irving, p. 315.

290 ‘It is difficult to give such a conclusion a final assessment …’: Sudoplatov, pp. 458–9.

290 ‘Oppenheimer was agitating to get sidewalks …’: Albright and Kunstel, p. 116.

291 ‘All these are very valuable data …’: Sudoplatov, p. 461.

292 ‘Grope in Germany and search there …’: Oleynikov, p. 4.

292 ‘I am glad to have someone here to talk physics with …’: Goudsmit, p. 78.

294 ‘And finally, suddenly and unexpectedly …’: Heisenberg, Elisabeth, p. 105.

294 ‘I felt like an utterly exhausted swimmer …’: Heisenberg, Werner, p. 191.

294 ‘No, I don’t want to leave …’ and subsequent quotations: Goudsmit, p. 112.

295 ‘Sad and ironic.’: Goudsmit, p. 113.

296 ‘Haven’t you brought your children with you?’: Oleynikov, p. 7.

296 ‘Demounting and loading of everything …’: Oleynikov, p. 7.

CHAPTER 15: TRINITY

301 ‘I was rarely as depressed as when we left Byrnes’ house …’: Lanouette, p. 266.

302 ‘The reputation of the United States …’: Rhodes,
The Making of the Atomic Bomb
, p. 640.

304 ‘The Secretary asked what kind of inspection …’ and subsequent quotations: Notes of the Interim Committee Meeting, Thursday 31 May 1945:
www.nuclearfiles.org

306 ‘The Secretary expressed the conclusion, on which there was general agreement…’: Notes of the Interim Committee Meeting, Thursday 31 May 1945:
www.nuclearfiles.org

307 ‘All that these advantages can give us …’ and subsequent quotations are taken from the Report of the Committee on Political and Social Problems (the Franck Report), 11 June 1945, which can be found at:
www.atomicarchive.com

308 ‘In this note it was necessary …’: Compton, p. 236.

309 ‘In spite of such disastrous damage …’: Compton, p. 230.

309 ‘We didn’t know beans about the military situation in Japan …’: Bird and Sherwin, p. 300.

309 ‘We can propose no technical demonstration …’ and subsequent quotations: Science Panel’s Report to the Interim Committee, 16 June 1945,
www.atomicarchive.com

310 ‘The Committee reaffirmed the position …’ and subsequent quotations: Notes of the Interim Committee Meeting, Thursday 21 June 1945,
www.nudearfiles.org

310 ‘Clearly and unmistakably.’: Lanouette, p. 270.

310 ‘I should like to have the advice of all of you …’: Goodchild,
Edward Teller
, p. 103.

311 ‘The material has not been fully worked over …’: Albright and Kunstel, p. 136.

312 ‘I have been guiding you idiots every step …’: Albright and Kunstel, p. 137.

313 ‘Julius sent me’: Rhodes,
Dark Sun
, p. 169.

313 ‘NKGB USSR received data …’: Sudoplatov, p. 475. MLAD is incorrectly identified here as Bruno Pontecorvo.

314 ‘Making little maps …’: Bird and Sherwin, p. 305.

315 You don’t worry about it…’: Rhodes,
The Making of the Atomic Bomb
, p. 657.

316 ‘I’ll take another bottle of whisky.’: Serber, p. 91.

317 ‘And then without a sound …’: Frisch, p. 164.

318 ‘There floated through my mind …’ and ‘Oppie, now we’re all sons of bitches.’: Goodchild, J.
Robert Oppenheimer
, p. 162.

318 ‘A new weapon of unusual destructive force.’: Rhodes,
The Making of the Atomic Bomb
, p. 690.

318 ‘They’re raising the price’ and subsequent quotations: Holloway, p. 117.

CHAPTER 16: HYPOCENTRE

319 ‘I didn’t think we were going to use bacteriological weapons …’: Walker, Stephen, p. 56.

320 ‘Go skimming horribly into the sea …’: Rhodes,
The Making of the Atomic Bomb
, p. 681.

321 ‘The form of life out here is quickly taking shape …’: Serber, p. 105.

322 ‘I was one of those who felt …’: quotation from
The White House Years: Mandate for Change: 1953–1956: A Personal Account
, Doubleday, New York, 1963. See
www.nuclearfiles.org

323 ‘His Majesty the Emperor …’: Magic Diplomatic Summary, No. 1205,13 July 1945, p. 2. National Security Archive,
www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv

323 ‘With regard to unconditional surrender …’: Magic Diplomatic Summary, No. 1214, 22 July 1945, p. 2. National Security Archive,
www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv

324 ‘The equivalent of an unconditional surrender.’: Rhodes,
The Making of the Atomic Bomb
, p. 684.

325 ‘This weapon is to be used against Japan …’: quotation from pages from President Truman’s diary, 17,18 and 25 July 1945,
www.trumanlibrary.org

326 ‘We call upon the government of Japan …’: from the Potsdam Declaration,
www.atomicarchive.com

327 ‘Resolutely fight for the successful conclusion of this war.’: quotation from press conference statement by Prime Minister Suzuki, 28 July 1945,
www.nuclearfiles.org

327 ‘The war has to be brought speedily to a successful conclusion …’: from A Petition to the President of the United States, 17 July 1945,
www.atomicarchive.com

329 ‘The moment has arrived …’: Walker, Stephen, p. 165.

329 ‘It is the most destructive weapon ever produced …’: Walker, Stephen, p. 168.

329 ‘We snickered here and back in the States …’: quotation from Sgt Abe Spitzer Collection, p. 13. Facsimiles of Spitzer’s diary can be found at
www.mphpa.org

331 ‘An elongated trash can with fins.’: Rhodes,
The Making of the Atomic Bomb
, p. 701.

331 ‘There will be a short intermission …’: Walker, Stephen, p. 245.

332 ‘At that moment, a dazzling flash struck my face …’ and subsequent quotations from Shuntaro Hida’s personal memoir: ‘Under the Mushroom-shaped Cloud in Hiroshima’;
www.wcpeace.org

334 ‘We ran up in a hurry …’: from Shuntaro Hida’s personal memoir: ‘Under the Mushroom-shaped Cloud in Hiroshima’;
www.wcpeace.org

336 ‘Does not comprise any demand …’: Zenshiro Hoshina,
Secret History of the Greater East Asia War
, Hara-Shobo, Tokyo, 1975, pp. 139–49. This is a report of the Supreme Council meeting, held in an air-raid shelter beneath the Imperial Palace, which began
at 11:30pm on 9 August 1945. An English translation is available from the National Security Archive,
www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv

336 ‘From the moment of surrender …’: quotation from the Byrnes Note,
www.ibiblio.com

336 ‘Truman said he had given orders to stop atomic bombing …’: Henry Wallace diary entry, Friday, 10 August 1945, p. 2. National Security Archive,
www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv

337 ‘However, the Imperial Army and Navy …’: Magic Diplomatic Summary, No. 1236, 13 August 1945, p. 3. National Security Archives,
www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv

337 ‘Tolerating the intolerable.’: Hiroshi Shimomura,
Account of the End of the War
, Kamakura Bunko, Tokyo, 1948, pp. 148–52. This is an account of the ‘Second Sacred Judgement’. An English translation is available at the National Security Archives,
www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv

337 ‘The enemy now possesses a new and terrible weapon …’: Imperial Rescript on Surrender,
en.wikisource.org

337 ‘There were an awful lot of guys …’: Serber, p. 115.

338 ‘I still remember the feeling of unease, indeed nausea …’: Frisch, p. 176.

338 ‘If atomic bombs are to be added as new weapons …’: Oppenheimer’s acceptance speech is reproduced in
The Oppenheimer Years, 1943–45
, Los Alamos National Laboratory,
www.lanl.gov/history

CHAPTER 17: OPERATION EPSILON

339 ‘I wonder whether there are microphones installed here?’ and subsequent quotations: Bernstein,
Hitlers Uranium Club
, p. 78.

340 ‘If it were only to convince …’: Goudsmit, p. 100.

340 ‘Here was a man …’: Goudsmit, p. 105.

341 ‘That’s impossible …’: Bernstein,
Hitler’s Uranium Club
, p. 53.

343 ‘It’s quite possible that they just don’t want to say anything’ and subsequent quotations: Bernstein,
Hitler’s Uranium Club
, p. 81.

344 ‘I am convinced [the Anglo-Americans) have used these last three months …’ and subsequent quotations: Bernstein,
Hitler’s Uranium Club
, p. 102.

344 ‘But there are many military men in England …’ and subsequent quotations: Bernstein,
Hitler’s Uranium Club
, p. 103.

344 ‘If the Americans have a uranium bomb …’: Bernstein,
Hitler’s Uranium Club
, p. 116.

345 ‘Here is the news …’: BBC Written Archives Centre, reproduced in Bernstein,
Hitler’s Uranium Club
, p. 357.

345 ‘I think it is dreadful of the Americans to have done it…’ and subsequent quotations: Bernstein,
Hitler’s Uranium Club
, pp. 117–18.

347 ‘We wouldn’t have had the moral courage …’ and subsequent quotations: Bernstein,
Hitler’s Uranium Club
, p. 122.