A World Destroyed

The birth of atomic energy took place during the Manhattan Project--a top-secret program to build the atom bomb during WWII. The U.S. had never had such a valuable political secret, and attempts to control it started years before anyone knew if the planned bomb would explode. The territorial negotiations between scientists and the military and the dialogues among the U.S., Britain, and the U.S.S.R. mark the beginning of the Cold War. Narrator Patrick Cullen does not interpret beyond the printed page. He does no accents and doesn't even suggest the voices of the famous characters Roosevelt and Churchill. He pauses at the start of quotations but not at the end, leaving listeners wondering where the writer's narrative resumes. In addition, the book's poor organization deals it a grievous blow the narrator cannot correct. J.A.H. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine