Enrico Fermi cover

Enrico Fermi

by Dan Cooper

A biography of the Nobel Prize-winning physicist whose work led to the discovery of nuclear fission, the basis of nuclear power and the atom bomb. The book begins describing the evolution of physics, with a straightforward language, starting with Newton, Maxwell, Planck and Rutherford among others. The narrative continues with Fermi's early life and the work of atomic scientists, including Fermi's work on the neutron and artificially induced radioactivity. The book also describes Fermi's work on chain reactions at the University of Chicago and his instrumental work building the atomic bomb, all written with many details. After the war, Fermi works on pion experiments and published numerous papers on a variety of interests. The final chapter briefly discusses his illness and death.

Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?