Isaac Asimov tells the exciting story of how, bit by bit, scientists unravelled the mystery of power wrapped up in the nucleus of the atom. It took more than a hundred years to accumulate the evidence through he work of many scientists, such as Antoine H. Becquererl, Marie and Pierre Curie, Ernest Rutherford, Ernest O. Lawrence, Lise Meitner, Enrico Fermi, and J. Robert Oppenheimer. In his usual lucid style, Asimov makes a difficult subject understandable.

This is an excellent introduction to the subject for younger readers, and part of the “energy” series of “How Did We Find Out” books that include How Did We Find Out About Energy? and How Did We Find Out About Oil?. Older readers, however, will find this material less copiously illustrated and more extensively discussed in books like Asimov’s New Guide to Science.