Description
Scarce 1950 first edition of The Effects of Atomic Weapons, prepared for and in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission under the direction of the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory and printed by the U.S. Government Printing Office, June 1950. This was the first comprehensive official handbook on the blast, thermal, and radiation effects of atomic bombs, later superseded by The Effects of Nuclear Weapons but still a key Cold War reference.
This copy comes from the library of nuclear engineer E. J. Tuthill of Brookhaven National Laboratory, an important figure in the development of phosphate-glass technology for immobilizing high-level radioactive waste. His ownership signature appears on the front free endpaper, and a sheet of his handwritten nuclear calculations on yellow paper is laid in, giving the book strong, documented provenance to a working AEC/BNL scientist.
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Publication details: Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, June 1950. Softcover in original printed wrappers with brown cloth spine; approx. x, 456 pp., illustrated throughout with photographs, graphs, charts, and fireball sequence diagrams from early atomic tests.
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Provenance: Signed “E. J. Tuthill” on front free endpaper; laid-in sheet of his manuscript calculations relating to nuclear energy/radiation, likely used while working at Brookhaven Lab on waste-glass projects.
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Content highlights: Detailed chapters on blast and shock in air, underground, and underwater; thermal radiation and incendiary effects; immediate and residual nuclear radiation; damage to structures and equipment; and protective and decontamination measures, all based on Los Alamos research for DoD and AEC in the immediate postwar period.
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Condition: About Very Good-. Covers show general shelf wear with rubbing and fraying to spine ends and along the cloth spine strip; light corner wear and toning to wrappers. Inner hinges show some opening but the text block remains firmly attached and sound. Title page with small penciled notation (“page 336”) and old bookseller label at foot. Text pages lightly toned but generally clean; no markings noted in the body of the text aside from normal age discoloration. Please review all photos for the best sense of condition.
An excellent association copy of this foundational Los Alamos atomic-weapons manual, linking the book directly to a Brookhaven National Laboratory engineer active in early U.S. nuclear-waste research-a strong piece for collections of Manhattan Project, Cold War, and civil-defense material.
