Book details

  • Genre:fiction
  • Sub-genre:Historical / World War II
  • Language:English
  • Pages:264
  • Paperback ISBN:9798350967111

The Heisenberg Deception

By Ronald M. Green

Overview

This novel is a work of historical fiction and a science/ethics/thriller that examines why German scientists, led by the great Nobel Prize-winning physicist Werner Heisenberg, failed to develop an atomic bomb for Hitler. Drawing on real historical events and scientific facts, the novel imagines that the Allies undertake a vast deception effort. They soon learn, however, that their lies are challenged by Nazi espionage and shocking scientific developments.
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Description

In September 1941, the great German physicist Werner Heisenberg travels to Copenhagen to meet with his mentor Niels Bohr. Heisenberg asks Bohr to carry a message to British and American scientists: if they slow their development of an atomic bomb, he, as head of the German program, will do the same. In response to what they regard as a morally offensive and unworkable offer, the Allies set up a special committee that appears to accept Heisenberg's offer while undertaking a program of systematic deception. They will misinform Heisenberg about Allied intentions, reinforce his scientific errors, and feed him disinformation. Sticking to the program isn't easy, and the Allies' soon learn that their lies are challenged by Nazi espionage and unexpected—even shocking—scientific developments.
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About The Author

Ronald M. Green, PhD, is the Emeritus Professor for the Study of Ethics and Human Values at Dartmouth College. Over a long career, he has taught and written about issues in science and ethics, notably bioethics. In "The Heisenberg Deception" he brings ethical insight and imagination to nuclear science and to one of the leading questions of the history of atomic bomb development: Why did the Germans, with all their scientific talent, never develop the bomb?
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