Author(s): Stephanie Cooke

Sociology

From the Manhattan Project to the present energy crisis and what it means for our future, In Mortal Hands is a sweeping chronicle of humanity's attempts to harness the power of the atom. Drawing on unprecedented access to industry insiders and historical documents, Stephanie Cooke charts the intertwined histories of military and civilian nuclear programs from the Second World War to the present day. She describes the development of the first atom bomb, the decision to bomb Hiroshima and the race to develop nuclear programmes during the Cold War. From initial excitement about atomic power's potential to today's anxieties about North Korea and Iran, this is a nuclear history of our age. Along the way, Cooke explores the untold human side of the nuclear story. In frank diaries and letters - many published here for the first time - scientists, policymakers and civilians recorded their private responses to history as it was made. Their eyewitness accounts reveal the mixture of hope and trepidation with which the new technology was greeted. Today, as Australians debate our role as a major exporter of uranium, and as we consider whether nuclear energy holds the answer to climate change, In Mortal Hands is a timely and thought-provoking contribution. Only once we understand the nuclear industry's past can we hope to make wise decisions about its future.