Trinity: A Graphic History of the First Atomic Bomb HC
Publisher: Hill and Wang
Release Date: June 5, 2012
Price: $22.00
Creators: Jonathan Fetter-Vorm
Format: 160 pages, Black & White, Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-8090-9468-4
Age Rating: N/A
ICv2 Rating: 4 Stars out of 5

This book of science and history told in graphic form will belong in large library collections or in the hands of anyone interested in either the science of physics or the politics of World War II.  Only briefly does it lapse into partisanship, difficult to avoid in such a difficult subject.

Among other difficult subjects, the book addresses the reasons why Hiroshima and Nagasaki were chosen as targets for the first nuclear weapons, and explains why the two bombs were of different design.  The nature of the research needed to create such weapons, along with the practical aspects of America building the needed infrastructure, are dealt with in a way that remains interesting, even when dealing the mundane details of building a town to house the workers on a secret project.

Fetter-Vorm's art is somewhat stark, fitting the nature of the subject matter, but not making the story grim or gory beyond what is necessary to convey the truths of the matter.  The number of human beings needed to create what was inherently a devastating and inhuman weapon puts the story in needed perspective.  The atomic bomb was not just the work of a few genius scientists, it was the creation of an industrial power throwing its full support behind a weapon of war.

For adults and teens, due to the both technical vocabulary and a few graphic scenes of injuries.

--Nick Smith: Librarian Technician, Community Services, for the Pasadena Public Library in California.