Basic Books
Basic Laws of Matter (revised edition), Harrie S. W. Massey and Arthur R. Quinton, Herald Books, Bronxville, New York, 1965, 178 pp., $3.75. Grades 7-9. A nontechnical presentation of atoms and the laws governing their behavior.
Biography of Physics, George Gamow, Harper & Row, Publishers, New York, 1961, 338 pp., $6.50 (hardback); $2.75 (paperback). Grades 9-12. A history of theoretical physics.
Discoverer of X Rays: Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, Arnulf K. Esterer, Julian Messner, New York, 1968, 191 pp., $3.50. Grades 7-10. This interesting biography includes a brief, but very helpful, pronouncing gazetteer of the German, Swiss, and Dutch names in the text.
Ernest Rutherford: Architect of the Atom, Peter Kelman and A. Harris Stone, Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1969, 72 pp., $3.95. Grades 5-7. A well-done biography of this famous atomic scientist. Many of the drawings illustrate theoretical ideas very well for the elementary grades. A glossary is included.
Enrico Fermi: Atomic Pioneer, Doris Faber, Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1966, 86 pp., $3.95. Grades 5-8. A biography of the man who built the first reactor.
Giant of the Atom: Ernest Rutherford, Robin McKown, Julian Messner, New York, 1962, 191 pp., $3.50. Grades 7-12. The life and accomplishments of a great physicist.
The History of the Atomic Bomb, Michael Blow, American Heritage Publishing Company, Inc., New York, 1968, 150 pp., $5.95. Grades 5-9. This sumptuously illustrated history provides an informative explanation of nuclear physics in addition to comprehensive coverage of the bomb’s development and use.
Inside the Atom, Isaac Asimov, Abelard-Schuman, Ltd., New York, 1966, 197 pp., $4.00. Grades 7-10. This comprehensive, well-written text explains nuclear energy and its applications.
Madame Curie: A Biography, Eve Curie, translated by Vincent Sheean, Doubleday and Company, Inc., New York, 1937, 385 pp., $5.95 (hardback); $0.95 (paperback). Grades 9-12. This superb biography, which won the 1937 National Book Award for Nonfiction, illustrates dramatically the full spectrum of Marie Curie’s life.
Men Who Mastered the Atom, Robert Silverberg, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, New York, 1965, 193 pp., $3.49. Grades 7-9. Atomic energy history is told through the work of pioneer scientists from Thales to present-day researchers.
The Neutron Story, Donald J. Hughes, Doubleday and Company, Inc., New York, 1959, 158 pp., out of print. Grades 7-9. A substantial and interesting account of neutron physics.
Niels Bohr: The Man Who Mapped the Atom, Robert Silverberg, MacRae Smith Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1965, 189 pp., $3.95. Grades 8-12. An exciting, suspenseful, and humorous biography of one of the pioneers in atomic energy. Includes a glossary and references.
The Questioners: Physicists and the Quantum Theory, Barbara Lovett Cline, Crowell Collier and MacMillan, Inc., New York, 1965, 274 pp., $5.00 (hardback); available in paperback with the title Men Who Made A New Physics: Physicists and the Quantum Theory, New American Library, Inc., New York, $0.75. Grades 9-12. An exceptionally well-delineated and personable account of the development of the quantum theory by physicists in the first quarter of this century.
The Restless Atom, Alfred Romer, Doubleday and Company, Inc., New York, 1960, 198 pp., $1.25. Grades 9-12. A stimulating nonmathematical account of the classic early experiments that advanced knowledge about atomic particles.
Roads to Discovery, Ralph E. Lapp, Harper and Row, Publishers, New York, 1960, 191 pp., out of print. Grades 10-12. Historical survey of nuclear physics beginning with Roentgen’s discovery of X rays and concluding with the discoveries of the rare elements.
Secret of the Mysterious Rays: The Discovery of Nuclear Energy, Vivian Grey, Basic Books, Inc., Publishers, New York, 1966, 120 pp., $3.95. Grades 4-8. This outstanding history of nuclear research from Roentgen to Fermi is dramatically presented. The uncertainty of the unknown, the accidental discovery and the often lengthy and tedious research are woven in this story of scientists from around the world who pooled their knowledge and experience to unlock “the secrets of the mysterious rays”.
Wilhelm Roentgen and the Discovery of X Rays, Bern Dibner, Franklin Watts, Inc., New York, 1968, 149 pp., $2.95. Grades 5-8. This detailed biography, illustrated with line drawings, historical photographs, and papers, is a fine addition to Watts’ “Immortals of Science” Series.
Working with Atoms, Otto R. Frisch, Basic Books, Inc., New York, 1965, 96 pp., $4.95. Grades 9-12. Dr. Frisch presents a history of nuclear energy research and provides experiments for the reader. He gives a personal account of the pioneering work in which he and Lise Meitner explained the splitting of uranium and introduced the term “nuclear fission”.