Trinity

More about the book

"Trinity" explores the test explosion of the atomic bomb in New Mexico on July 16, 1945, and delves into the lives of Rudolf Peierls, his intellectual son Klaus Fuchs, and the security services of Britain, the USA, and the USSR. Set against the backdrop of pre-war Nazi Germany, World War II, and the Cold War, it reveals how Peierls welcomed Fuchs into his family and laboratory, only to face betrayal. The narrative details Fuchs's transformation into a spy, his motivations, and the sensitive information he relayed to Soviet contacts during his time with Peierls at the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos in 1944. Author Frank Close, a distinguished nuclear physicist, uniquely combines scientific explanation with espionage. After returning to Britain undetected in August 1946, Fuchs became pivotal in the UK's nuclear weapons development. Close captures the tense atmosphere at Harwell, the nuclear physics lab near Oxford, and the complex relationships among key figures. He presents new evidence regarding the critical VENONA decryptions and illustrates how MI5 and the FBI's errors gradually tightened the noose around Fuchs. The Soviet Union's first nuclear explosion in August 1949 shocked the world, and by 1951, a US Congressional Committee labeled Fuchs as the most damaging spy in history. This account provides a comprehensive look at these pivotal events and the tragic figure at their center.