This book provided an interesting insight into the Scottish influence in the west, told sometimes in storybook fashion, but still informative and entertaining. Author also provides good references and other suggested readings that are helpful. I would highly recommend this reading especially for those who want to explore Scottish heritage outside of Scotland.

My rating is really 3 1/2 stars...as the previous reviewiers have stated, this book has a lot of previously unknown information and is really written for the Trinity Test/Site enthusiast. Could be a lot more exciting, but well worth the read and should probably be read before you read R. Rhodes "Making of the Atomic Bomb".

If you read one book about the bomb, read Richard Rhodes's "The Making of the Atomic Bomb". I read Szasz as a refresher a few days before visiting the Trinity site, and found that it had a number of nice bits of information. (The Trinity site can be visited on the first Saturdays of April & October.)

In The Day The Sun Rose Twice, Ferenc Morton Szasz recounts the story of the Trinity Site Nuclear Explosion that occurred on July 16, 1945. The author does an excellent job tracing critical details leading up to this historical process, thus changing American history and in effect, changing the world around us.

The book is broken down into nine chapters beginning with the origins of Los Alamos. However, Szasz begins by discussing the conceptual revolutions of human knowledge during the late nineteenth-early twentieth century.

The illustrations included in the book give the reader incredible insight into the actual events. "The ball of fire," a photograph taken of the nuclear explosion in New Mexico gives the reader a visual effect of the actual event. Photographs of the people offer the reader a little more insight into those involved with the project. The map shows the reader how much of the state of New Mexico was consumed for this project.

Overall, I found the book to be easy to read, although
I knew very little about the subject matter. I did, however, ain a whole new insight into nuclear weapons. My favorite chapter was "The Blast." Szasz spoke to a number of different people from all walks of life who experienced the blast of the Trinity. I chose this book as one of my book reviews for a history class and I found it to be an excellent read.