Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World's Most Dangerous Weapon

The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes (1987)

This history of the atomic bomb project, from early scientific discoveries to the detonation of nuclear weapons over Japan, won the Pulitzer Prize and other awards. The book contains some of the action-thriller tone familiar to readers of Bomb.  

• The Making of the Atomic Bomb on SuperSummary

Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown by Steve Sheinkin (2021)

The author of Bomb won four awards with this continuation of the story of nuclear weapons. The postwar arms race between Russia and the US reached a terrifying climax during the Cuban Missile Crisis—a 1962 confrontation between the two superpowers that nearly started World War III.

The Manhattan Project: An Interactive History from the US Department of Energy

This extensive collection of articles traces atomic power and weapons from scientific discoveries of the 1890s to the end of World War II. The site includes photos and diagrams and is divided into several topic sections: Events, People, Places, Processes, Science, and Resources.