Synopses & Reviews
Trinity, the debut graphic book by the gifted illustrator Jonathan Fetter-Vorm, depicts in vivid detail the dramatic history of the race to build and the decision to drop the first atomic bomb. This sweeping historical narrative traces the spark of invention from the laboratories of nineteenth-century Europe to the massive industrial and scientific efforts of the Manhattan Project. Along the way, Fetter-Vorm takes special care to explain the fundamental science of nuclear reactions. With the clarity and accessibility that only a graphic book can provide, Trinity transports the reader into the core of a nuclear reaction—into the splitting atoms themselves.
The power of the atom was harnessed in a top-secret government compound in Los Alamos, New Mexico, where some of the greatest scientific minds in the world gathered together to work on the bomb. Fetter-Vorm showcases J. Robert Oppenheimer, Enrico Fermi, and General Leslie Groves, the fathers of the atomic bomb, whose insights unleashed the most devastating explosion known to humankind. These brilliant scientists wrestled daily with both the difficulty of building an atomic weapon and the moral implications of actually succeeding.
When the first bomb finally went off at a test site code-named Trinity, the world was irreversibly thrust into a new and terrifying age. With powerful renderings of the catastrophic events at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Fetter-Vorm unflinchingly chronicles the far-reaching political, environmental, and ethical effects of this new discovery. Richly illustrated and deeply researched, Trinity is a dramatic, informative, and thought-provoking book on one of the most significant and harrowing events in history.
Review
“Fetter-Vorms work . . . is altogether exemplary. And the writings as good as the art, making this a strong primer on the A-bombs development.” —Booklist
“Succeeds as both a graphic primer and a philosophical meditation.” —Kirkus (starred review)
Review
“Trinity illuminates a turning-point in human history, and does so with admirable pace, grace, and skill.” —Cory Doctorow, Boing Boing
“Succeeds as both a graphic primer and a philosophical meditation.”
—Kirkus (starred review)
“Fetter-Vorms work . . . is altogether exemplary. And the writings as good as the art, making this a strong primer on the A-bombs development.”
—Booklist
"The story behind the weapon that ended World War II and changed the nature of international conflicts forever, Trinity covers both the scientific, technical side of building the bomb and the very human side of realizing what its existence would mean for mankind."
—Mashable
“A succinct, compelling, and dramatically illustrated history of the making of the atomic bomb, Trinity is an excellent primer for students and younger readers.”
—Cynthia C. Kelly, founder and president of the Atomic Heritage Foundation and editor of The Manhattan Project
“The story of J. Robert Oppenheimer and the creation of the first atomic bomb lies deep in our collective imagination. Jonathan Fetter-Vorms graphic novel honors the physics, the politics, and the human drama of this contemporary morality tale in a manner that is as informative as it is entertaining.”
—John Adams, Pulitzer Prize winner and composer of Doctor Atomic
“The story of the Manhattan Project has rarely been told with this much clarity and alertness to moral nuance.”
—Joseph Kanon, author of Los Alamos
“A hugely important story told with virtuosity and heart, Jonathan Fetter-Vorms Trinity is a standard-bearer for great comics.”
—Nick Bertozzi, Harvey Award-winning author of The Salon and the Rubber Necker series
Review
* andquot;An excellent chronicle of the tragedy for a broad audience; children, teens, and adults will all be moved.andquot;
andmdash;Kirkus, starred review
Synopsis
In Trinity, the illustrator Jonathan Fetter-Vorm tells the history of the race to build and the decision to drop the first atomic bomb, and the ethical debates that followed. He sets the stage with early research in Europe, which began prior to World War I and accelerated rapidly as World War II approached. He takes special care to explain the process of a nuclear chain reaction, transporting the reader into a splitting atom in the vivid way that only a graphic book can. The action then shifts to Los Alamos, and Fetter-Vorm showcases the strong personalities of the physicists under the supervision of the Manhattan Project leader J. Robert Oppenheimer and high-level military personnel. These men and women wrestled daily with both the difficulty of building an atomic weapon and the moral implications of actually succeeding. When the first bomb finally went off at a test site code-named Trinity, the world was irreversibly thrust into a new and far more dangerous age. Richly illustrated and deeply researched, Trinity is dramatic, informative, and thought-provoking.
Synopsis
“Succeeds as both a graphic primer and a philosophical meditation.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)Trinity, the debut graphic book by Jonathan Fetter-Vorm, depicts the dramatic history of the race to build and the decision to drop the first atomic bomb in World War Two. This sweeping historical narrative traces the spark of invention from the laboratories of nineteenth-century Europe to the massive industrial and scientific efforts of the Manhattan Project, and even transports the reader into a nuclear reaction—into the splitting atoms themselves.
The power of the atom was harnessed in a top-secret government compound in Los Alamos, New Mexico, by a group of brilliant scientists led by the enigmatic wunderkind J. Robert Oppenheimer. Focused from the start on the monumentally difficult task of building an atomic weapon, these men and women soon began to wrestle with the moral implications of actually succeeding. When they detonated the first bomb at a test site code-named Trinity, they recognized that they had irreversibly thrust the world into a new and terrifying age.
With powerful renderings of WWII's catastrophic events at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Fetter-Vorm unflinchingly chronicles the far-reaching political, environmental, and psychological effects of this new invention. Informative and thought-provoking, Trinity is the ideal introduction to one of the most significant events in history.
Synopsis
Marking the10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, this companion to The Great American Dust Bowl combines lively drawings and authoritative memoir in graphic novel formand#160;to recount one of the most destructive and devastatingand#160;natural disastersand#160;in our Americanand#160;history.
Synopsis
On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrinaand#39;s monstrous winds and surging water overwhelmed the protective levees around low-lying New Orleans, Louisiana. Eighty percent of the city flooded, in some places under twenty feet of water. Property damages across the Gulf Coast topped $100 billion. One thousand eight hundred and thirty-three people lost their lives. The riveting tale of this historic storm and the drowning of an American city is one of selflessness, heroism, and courageandmdash;and also of incompetence, racism, and criminality.
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Don Brownandrsquo;s kinetic art and as-it-happens narrative capture both the tragedy and triumph of one of the worst natural disasters in American history. A portion of the proceeds from this book has been donated to Habitat for Humanity New Orleans.
About the Author
Don Brown is the award-winning author and illustrator of many picture book biographies. He has been widely praised for his resonant storytelling and his delicate watercolor paintings that evoke the excitement, humor, pain, and joy of lives lived with passion. School Library Journal has called him and#8220;a current pacesetter who has put the finishing touches on the standards for storyographies.and#8221; He lives in New York with his family.