ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am indebted to the many scholars named in my bibliography. My thanks in particular to Richard Rhodes whose book The Making of the Atomic Bomb , fired my interest in the subject in the first place, and who gave generously of his time and insights, sitting for an interview early on when I envisioned “Chasing Heisenberg” as a documentary rather than a book. Great thanks, too, to Dr. Brian Schwartz, professor of Physics and co-director of the New Media Lab at the City University of New York, who read sections of the manuscript and expanded my understanding of the physics behind the bomb.

I’m grateful to those who spent time on the phone with me: David C. Cassidy, author of Uncertainty: The Life and Science of Werner Heisenberg , who broadened my understanding of Germany’s premier atomic physicist; Olivia Fermi, who shared wonderful stories about her grandfather, including the fact he read Winnie the Pooh to improve his English; and Cindy Kelly, founder of the Atomic Heritage Foundation, who was my resource without equal when I needed a contact at Los Alamos, The Department of Energy or an expert on a point of physics; and the late David Wald, a cherished friend and colleague, who shared my interest in the bomb and was an invaluable sounding board.

My friends Tom Seligson and John Merrow encouraged me to turn my documentary research into a book. They, along with John Tulenko and my brother Gordon, read many versions of the manuscripts, and offered suggestions, which invariably improved the work.

Finally, I owe more than I can say to my wife Joanne Kaufman, a New York Times and Wall Street Journal columnist and my Editor-in-chief, who read my final manuscript. She kept me on track when I wandered off topic. And, when I insisted certain passages were perfectly clear, prevailed upon me to go back to the computer and make them more “perfectly clear.”