Moving from the recruitment of Robert Oppenheimer to the building of Los Alamos to the testing of the bombs and Hiroshima and the eventual arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union, this excellent non-fiction book cleverly interweaves three story lines.  The first is the Americans’ attempt to build the atomic bomb.  The second is the Soviets’ attempt to steal the plans for the bomb.  The third is an attack on Germany’s heavy water plants in an attempt to prevent Hitler from building an atomic bomb.  Full of material that illuminates a period of history few middle school and high school students may be familiar with, this engaging read will keep them interested.  I’ve also recommended it to adults, because it provides real insight into the scientists that built the bomb, their motivations for building it and the motivations of some scientists to ensure that the United States wasn’t the only country in the world with this most powerful weapon.  Photographs are included.

Winner of YALSA Award for Excellence in Non-fiction for Young Adults, the Silbert Medal, a Newbery honor and a National Book Award finalist.