Enrico Fermi : the obedient genius /

This book covers the life and work of the last great experimental and theoretical physicist, Enrico Fermi, whose name is forever associated with exploiting the nucleus of an atom's power for both peaceful and destructive purposes. The author divides Fermi's life into chronological phases. As the physicist migrated from Italy to the United States, the author recounts Fermi's growth and development in the two countries. Several chapters deal with Fermi's evolution as a physicist who dealt with a diversity of topics--from quantum mechanics to nuclear physics to cosmology. Other chapters cover Fermi's social interactions with famous colleagues, such as Bohr, Einstein, Heisenberg, and Pauli. The appendixes provide original documentation of historic interest, including Einstein's letter to President Roosevelt on the German nuclear program. There are copious footnotes, an extensive bibliography, some diagrams, and very few equations. The book straddles a middle ground between physics and the man, and so lacks scientific depth and detail. Yet, it serves to illuminate Fermi's indelible contributions to the field of physics. No other scientist is so intimately associated with the quest to decipher the fundamental nature of matter. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through professionals and practitioners. --Nanjundiah Sadanand, Central Connecticut State University