Bomb by Steve Sheinkin

Bomb by Steve Sheinkin
  1. Bibliography
Sheinkin, Steve. Bomb: the Race to Build - and Steal - the World's Most Dangerous
Weapon. Square Fish, 2018. ISBN 1250050642.
  1. Plot Summary
This is the story of the atomic bomb; how it was created, the brilliant minds that risked
their lives for it, and the ones that tried to steal information about it.
This story addresses all sides that raced to create this atomic bomb. It just so
happens that the United States was the first country to develop the atomic bomb,
but Sheinkin also addresses the “What if?” from other countries. What if the
Germans developed the atomic bomb first? What if the world’s most powerful
weapon had fallen into the laps of the Nazis? 
  1. Critical Analysis
Going into this read, I knew absolutely nothing about the atomic bomb, except for
the fact that the United States was the first to drop one on Japan. I didn’t realize
there was a race to build the bomb. I didn’t realize so many people had worked so
many long and countless hours for this weapon. I didn’t even realize that the atomic
bomb was so difficult to create. These are just a few of the things that I learned
from this fantastic read. Not only was this an entertaining read, but it was
informative as well. This is why nonfiction is such a fantastic genre to read. I feel
as though the time and effort I put into reading this was for the better because I
was able to take away so much from the read. Perhaps the best thing I am taking
away is that I was able to draw parallels from the relationship between the United
States and the Soviet Union then, to the relationship between the United States
and Russia now. “Yes, the United States was helping the Soviet Union-but not out
of the kindness of its heart. The United States and Soviet Union had never been
friendly, and nothing had really changed. America’s help to the Soviets was the
product of cold logic.” (Pg. 30). I just find this point of view so interesting, and
true, but mainly because I never considered this before. 
  1. Review Excerpts
  • “A superb tale of an era and an effort that forever changed our world.”
―Kirkus Reviews
  • A 2013 Newbery Honor book
  • “...reads like an international spy thriller, and that's the beauty of it.”
―School Library Journal
  1. Connections
  • This book can be read and tie into a physics or science lesson on atoms.
  • It can be taught with a history lesson over Pearl Harbor, Nagasaki and Heroshima 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

If I Ever Get Out Of Here by Eric Gainsworth

Image
If I Ever Get Out of Here by Eric Gansworth   A.            Bibliography Gansworth, Eric. 2005. New York, NY; Scholastic. ISBN 0545417317   Plot Summary Taking place in the 1970s, this story uses the songs of The Beatles to portray the story of Lewis, an American Indian teenager that is growing up in a time (and place) where his Native American heritage is underappreciated and sets him apart. This coming of age story uses themes of young love, friendship, family, and bullying to tell the story of how despite all the odds, Lewis is able to find some semblance of normalcy and happiness.   Critical Analysis (Including Cultural Markers)             The cultural markers of this story come in the reactions of others to Lewis and his lifestyle. The mistreatment of Lewis can be seen time and time again, all because he is of a different cult...
Read more

Infographics: Information in Picture Form

Image
   Just as the title suggests, infographics are simply images with statics and numbers thrown in. It is generally something that someone can read by just glancing at. Infographics are a good way of informing the public or getting your point across about a certain topic. When creating your own infographic , there are many programs available online to help. For the purpose of this post, I will be comparing three different websites; Easelly , Piktochart , and Infogram , to see which (in my opinion) is easiest and most user friendly with creating an infographic .    All three programs that I played around with to create an inforgraphic required me to create an account. As such, I don't anticipate much Spam mail coming from these sites, however that is a subject for another day. Let's see how each one of these programs stacked up. Easelly ( http://www.easel.ly/ ) This site is terrific because it already has created infographics where one can go in and change the...
Read more

Gingersnap by Patricia Reilly Giff

Image
Gingersnap by Patricia Reilly Giff Bibliography Giff, Patricia Reilly. Gingersnap . Wendy Lamb Book s, 2013. ISBN 0375838910. Plot Summary Jayna is an orphan and has only her older brother Rob to rely on. Rob has been called to the war in the Pacific, and Jayna is left with only her landlady, Celine. Jayna decides to go to New York and try to find any possible family. After finding a French cookbook with a photograph of a bakery among Rob’s things, Jayna goes in search of the Gingersnap bakery. Once there, she finds much more than she could have imagined. Jayna finds answers to her questions, acceptance, and most importantly, family.  Critical Analysis The different recipes scattered throughout the story that related to particular moments in the story add to a unique spin on the story. For example, on page 122, there was a recipe titled “Waiting Soup” that appeared just as Elise mentions that Jayna can stay with her until Rob comes home from th...
Read more