From the bestselling author of Chernobyl comes a sweeping history of the geopolitics behind the nuclear arms race, from the first atomic bomb to today

On 16 July 1945, the Nuclear Age began with the explosion of the first atomic bomb and the words of J. Robert Oppenheimer: ‘Now I am become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds.’

While the threat of mutually assured destruction kept a lid on a simmering and tense geopolitical landscape, events like the Chernobyl disaster and near-misses like the Cuban Missile Crisis showed that total destruction was only ever one malfunction, mistake, or miscommunication away. Now, as governments re-arm their nuclear arsenals, treaties designed to limit the acquisition and use of nuclear weapons fall away, and nuclear weapons come increasingly within reach of non-state actors, we are on the brink of a renaissance of the nuclear industry.
In The Nuclear Age, acclaimed historian Serhii Plokhy paints an intricate picture of a world governed by fear. From the first artificial splitting of the atom in 1917 and the race to create the first atomic bomb in World War II, through the fraught arms race of the Cold War, to the imperialism, neo-colonial motivation and wars being waged today, the threat posed by nuclear weapons is as pertinent as ever.

As he examines the motivations of key players, Plokhy confronts the crucial question of our age: what can we learn from the first nuclear arms race that can help us to stop the new one?

When asked what problem he hoped scientists will have solved by the end of the century, Professor Stephen Hawking replied ‘I would like nuclear fusion to become a practical power source. It would provide an inexhaustible supply of energy, without pollution or global warming.’ But what is nuclear fusion, and could it really be the answer to the climate emergency? Fusion exists already in the stars that fill our universe with light, but can we harness that power here on earth? This is the question The Star Builders seeks to answer.

In his compelling new book, Dr Arthur Turrell makes the case for cutting-edge new techniques in nuclear energy – innovations that would allow us to recreate the power of the stars on our own planet. Filled with the remarkable stories of the scientists and entrepreneurs who have dedicated their lives to a seemingly impossible dream, The Star Builders is an unmissable insight into the future of life – and space – on our planet.

How Technology Works demystifies the machinery that keeps the modern world going, from simple objects such as zip fasteners and can openers to the latest, most sophisticated devices of the information age, including smart watches, personal digital assistants, and driverless cars. It includes inventions that have changed the course of history, like the internal combustion engine, as well as technologies that might hold the key to our future survival, including solar cells and new kinds of farming to feed a growing population.

All the way through the book, step-by-step explanations are supported by simple and original graphics that take devices apart and show you how they work. The opening chapter explains principles that underpin lots of devices – from basic mechanics to electricity to digital technology. From there on, devices are grouped by application – such as the home, transport, and computing – making them easy to find and placing similar devices side by side.

How Technology Works is perfect for anyone who didn’t have a training in STEM subjects at school or is simply curious about how the modern world works.