"This superb and exciting work of nonfiction would be a fine tonic for any jaded adolescent who thinks history is "boring." It's also an excellent primer for adult readers who may have forgotten, or never learned, the remarkable story of how nuclear weaponry was first imagined, invented and deployed--and of how an international arms race began well before there was such a thing as an atomic bomb."--"The Wall Street Journal""This is edge-of-the seat material that will resonate with YAs who clamor for true spy stories, and it will undoubtedly engross a cross-market audience of adults who dozed through the World War II unit in high school."--BCCB, starred..".reads like an international spy thriller, and that's the beauty of it."--"School Library Journal," starred"[a] complicated thriller that intercuts action with the deftness of a Hollywood blockbuster." --"Booklist" "A must-read..."--"Publishers Weekly," starred "A superb tale of an era and an effort that forever changed our world."--"Kirkus," starred

Steve Sheinkin is the award-winning author of several fascinating books on American history, including "The Notorious Benedict Arnold," which won the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults and the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award for nonfiction. His recent book "Bomb" was a Newbery Honor Book, ""National Book Award finalist, and winner of the Sibert Award as well as theYALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults. He lives in Saratoga Springs, NY.