Richard Rhodes is an American journalist and historian whose work delves into the profound intersections of science, war, and human history. He terms his non-fiction writings "verity," distinguishing them through meticulous research and a drive to understand the complex dynamics of technological advancement and its consequences. His approach is characterized by a deep commitment to historical accuracy and a compelling narrative style that illuminates pivotal moments. Through his writing, Rhodes seeks to unravel the intricate stories behind humanity's most significant scientific and military endeavors.
A Pulitzer Prize-winning author presents this fully authorized--and timely-biography of the Harvard biologist and naturalist who has become a leading voice on the crucial importance to all life of biodiversity and has worked tirelessly to synthesize the fields of science and the humanities in a fruitful way
This updated edition of this essential collection of historic writings by the pre-eminent scientists and historians who bore witness to the birth of the modern nuclear age, now includes President Barack Obama's 2016 statement at Hiroshima, all-new writings from Japanese survivors of the atomic bomb, and a new foreword by Cynthia C. Kelly.
"Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award-winning author Richard Rhodes reveals the fascinating history behind energy transitions over time--wood to coal to oil to electricity and beyond. People have lived and died, businesses have prospered and failed, and nations have risen to world power and declined, all over energy challenges. Ultimately, the history of these challenges tells the story of humanity itself. ... Human beings have confronted the problem of how to draw life from raw material since the beginning of time. Each invention, each discovery, each adaptation brought further challenges, and through such transformations, we arrived at where we are today. In Rhodes's singular style, Energy details how this knowledge of our history can inform our way tomorrow."--Amazon
Celebrated historian Richard Rhodes explores the Spanish Civil War through the stories of the reporters, writers, artists and doctorswho witnessed it
Born in Berlin in 1909, Karl Ulrich Schnabel—son of the pianist Artur Schnabel and the singer Therese Behr—studied with his father as well as with Leonid Kreutzer at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik. He gave his debut in 1926. Apart from his remarkable international solo career, he formed the Schnabel Piano Duo, first with his wife Helen, and later with the Canadian pianist Joan Rowland. After the war, Karl Ulrich Schnabel became famous as teacher of piano master classes around the world. Leon Fleisher, Claude Frank, Richard Goode and Peter Serkin were among his students. Karl Ulrich Schnabel died in 2001. His archive is held at the Akademie der Künste, Berlin. Richard Rhodes was born in Devonshire, England, in 1929 and was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, where he obtained an Honours Degree in Modern History. A member of the English Bar, he practised international law in South America, Paris and Geneva, where he lives today. About his experiences in South America as oil executive he wrote the satirical novel Gushing. He is married to Luba, the daughter of the conductor Leopold Stokowski. For more than 30 years Rhodes took lessons with Karl Ulrich Schnabel. In his preliminary notes, the author writes: „As a musician, Karl Ulrich Schnabel had a sensibility to and understanding of great music that I have never encountered in anyone else. That is why I decided to write this book.“
The final volume in Richard Rhodes's prizewinning history of nuclear weapons offers the first comprehensive narrative of the challenges faced in the post-Cold War age. The past twenty years have transformed our relationship with nuclear weapons drastically. With extraordinary depth of knowledge and understanding, Richard Rhodes makes clear how the five original nuclear powers--Russia, Great Britain, France, China, and especially the United States--have struggled with new realities. He reveals the real reasons George W. Bush chose to fight a second war in Iraq, assesses the emerging threat of nuclear terrorism, and offers advice on how our complicated relationships with North Korea and South Asia should evolve. Finally, he imagines what a post-nuclear world might look like, as only he can.
Describes the lesser-known technological talents of actress Hedy Lamarr and the collaborative work with avant-garde composer George Antheil that eventually led to the development of spread-spectrum radio, cell phones, and GPS systems.
The riveting secret history of the nuclear arms race and the end of the Cold War, by the Pulitzer-winning author of The Making of the Atomic Bomb.
Focusing on the nuclear arms race and the Cold War, this gripping narrative by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Rhodes explores the historical tensions and pivotal moments that shaped global politics. Through detailed research and compelling storytelling, Rhodes examines the motivations, decisions, and consequences faced by leaders and scientists during this critical period, providing insight into the complexities of nuclear proliferation and its lasting impact on international relations.
John James Audubon came to America as a dapper eighteen-year-old eager to make his fortune. He had a talent for drawing and an interest in birds, and he would spend the next thirty-five years traveling to the remotest regions of his new country–often alone and on foot–to render his avian subjects on paper. The works of art he created gave the world its idea of America. They gave America its idea of itself. Here Richard Rhodes vividly depicts Audubon’s life and career: his epic wanderings; his quest to portray birds in a lifelike way; his long, anguished separations from his adored wife; his ambivalent witness to the vanishing of the wilderness. John James Audubon: The Making of an American is a magnificent achievement.