In Brighter than a Thousand Suns, I was surprised to read about the scientists crusade against the military use of atomic power after World War II. Again Szilards name came to the front, this time not to keep atomic secrets from the Germans, but this time, to prevent the American military from taking control of atomic power for combat means.
It was interesting to read about the scientists attitudes toward the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; attitudes ranged from proud of their accomplishment to guilt and horror at the culmination of all their work and research.
Even more interesting was the public indifference that came about towards atomic power. People didnt seem to care what the effects of atomic warfare would be, or how the military was approaching the use and production of atomic weaponry.
Scientists attitudes toward the construction of a "Super" bomb (a thermonuclear bomb) differed from their attitudes toward the fission bomb. While many scientists had been concerned with creating a fission bomb before the Germans, most scientists after the war were opposed to the creation of a thermonuclear bomb, and would rather that both the U.S. and Russia agree to not develop them.
It was interesting to note the first mention of computer calculations assisting the scientists in the development of the bomb, especially the acronym of the computer used on the thermonuclear bomb project: MANIAC.
Hoffmans Einstein makes surprisingly little mention of Einsteins attitude toward the bomb, except to say that the use of the bomb weighed upon Einsteins conscience.