In December 1938, a team of German physicists achieved an astonishing scientific breakthrough: they split the nucleus of a uranium atom. In the United States, news of the discovery sparked fear in the scientific community. Atomic fission could power a devastating new weapon, and Adolf Hitler’s Germany had a head start.

In response, President Roosevelt launched an unprecedented mobilization of American science and industry. The race was on to assemble the team that would design and build the first atomic bomb.

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