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Paperback The Curve of Binding Energy: A Journey into the Awesome and Alarming World of Theodore B. Taylor Book

ISBN: 0374515980

ISBN13: 9780374515980

The Curve of Binding Energy

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Format: Paperback

Condition: Very Good

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Book Overview

Theodore Taylor was one of the most brilliant engineers of the nuclear age, but in his later years he became concerned with the possibility of an individual being able to construct a weapon of mass destruction on their own. McPhee tours American nuclear institutions with Taylor and shows us how close we are to terrorist attacks employing homemade nuclear weaponry. This description may be from another edition of this product.
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Customer Reviews

5 customer ratings | 4 reviews

Rated 5 stars
One of the most influential books of the last 30 years

"The Curve of Binding Energy" is the landmark work that changed the American government's collective mind about the possibility of nuclear terrorism. It is fair to say that until nuclear weapon designer Ted Taylor sat down with John McPhee, and until McPhee's articles and book were published, the U.S. government believed that building a nuclear weapon required a regiment of top scientists and an effort on the scale of the...

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Rated 5 stars
Far ahead of its time. Fascinating and perhaps prophetic

I read this book in 1975 and have subsequently reread it several times. The possibilities imagined in this book haven't yet come to pass, mainly, I think, because Ted Taylor is a genius and the terrorists are actually pretty stupid. Dr. Taylor, or someone like him, could build a home-made bomb that would make the events of 9/11 look like a tea party. However, the people motivated to actually carry out events like 9/11 are...

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Rated 5 stars
WAAY ahead of his time

One of the best and brightest, through Mr. McPhee's able penmanship, Mr. Taylor gives a guided tour of the (then) current state-of-the-art. Chock full of facts, figures and references, all verifiable. With the current glut of so-called 'expert' writers in this field, this book is one of the better uses of a tree on this subject ;O). I guarantee that any person interested in the nuclear weapons stockpile-to-target sequence...

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Rated 5 stars
Typically brilliant McPhee

It doesn't matter what McPhee writes about- he's simply the best non-fiction writer of the post-war era. All the best non-fiction writers today- Richard Rhodes comes to mind- owe a debt to the writings of McPhee. He makes literally any subject come alive, and when he has a compelling one like Ted Taylor and nuclear weapons technology and proliferation, the result is compelling, page turning narrative. Buy this book. Buy any...

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