The Impossible Bomb

The Hidden History of British Scientists and the Race to Create an Atomic Weapon

By: Gareth Williams

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Hardcover | 18 October 2025 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Hardcover
480 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
2.35 x 1.52 x 0.42

Hardcover

RRP $51.95

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The remarkable story of the forgotten British scientists who enabled the Manhattan Project to create the atomic bomb

Atomic weaponry is widely understood as a story of American scientific achievement—but scientists working in Britain played a vital role in its development. Including Nobel Prize winners and Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany, these scientists have long since been forgotten. But without their expertise, Robert Oppenheimer's research at Los Alamos would never have succeeded.

Gareth Williams unearths the true story of the top-secret British atomic programme, codenamed "Tube Alloys," established in 1940. These pioneering scientists struggled to convince sceptics in Britain and the USA that an atomic "super-bomb" capable of destroying entire cities was feasible, and could be built in time to influence the outcome of the Second World War. Williams shows how the British atomic programme, despite the often disruptive involvement of political leaders such as Winston Churchill, was vital to the success of the Manhattan Project.

The Impossible Bomb sheds new light on how humanity's deadliest weapons came to exist—and the massive destruction they wrought.

About the Author

Gareth Williams is emeritus professor and former dean of medicine at the University of Bristol. He is the author of over 200 medical papers and 20 books, including Angel of Death: The Story of Smallpox and Unravelling the Double Helix.

Industry Reviews

"A significant contribution to our understanding of 'the most significant international collaboration of the 20th century.' It's eminently readable, too."-Christopher Harding, Telegraph

"Myth-busting."-Kathryn Hughes, Daily Mail

"Williams' book impeccably documents those events, with an excellent selection of photos, timelines, and maps, along with a handy reference list featuring key players. A significant and captivating contribution to the history of science, politics, and warfare."-Kirkus Reviews

"Fast-paced and masterly corrective."-Matthew Jones, BBC History Magazine

"Sparkles with originality."-Richard Moore, author of Nuclear Illusion, Nuclear Reality

"Winston Churchill's wartime military assistant Ian Jacob quipped to him that the Allies won the war 'because our German scientists were better than their German scientists.' Three of these scientific refugees from 1930s Nazi Germany who became British citizens played key roles in the pivotal British contribution to creating the apparently all-American atomic bomb-the subject of Gareth Williams's history, which reveals and brings to life this crucial but unfamiliar drama."-Andrew Robinson, author of Einstein on the Run

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