Richard Rhodes

Richard Rhodes is an award-winning American author and journalist. He is best known for his nonfiction works about history and technology, particularly in the fields of science and politics.

Rhodes was born in Kansas in 1937 and grew up in a working-class family. He later attended Washington University in St. Louis, where he studied to be a journalist, graduating in 1959. Rhodes began his career as a reporter, writing for The San Francisco Chronicle, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, and other major publications. After taking a break from journalism to explore his creativity and pursue graduate studies, he returned to writing and began his prolific career in book authorship in the late 1970s.

Rhodes is best known for his 1980 book, The Making of the Atomic Bomb, which won the Pulitzer Prize in Nonfiction and the National Book Award. In it, he traces the history of the development of the atomic bomb from its conception in the 1920s, though the Manhattan Project, to its first use in 1945. Rhodes' other works include adaptations of two of his books for the stage and television—Dark Sun (1995) and Deadly Feasts (1997). He has also published works about the nuclear winter, technology and society, and the space program.

Rhodes' most influential book is arguably his 1986 work, Killing the Spirit: Higher Education in America, which takes a critical look at the state of American higher education and the institutions that drive it. Rhodes argues that the status quo is lacking in terms of quality of teaching, leadership, and academic rigor. He argues that these issues have led to the stagnation of some students and their inability to reach their potential.

Rhodes' writings often explore the difficult ethical issues that have resulted from advances in technology. In Master of the Massacre (2000), he discusses the 1968 My Lai massacre in Vietnam, exploring the ethical questions that arose from the war and how various people, including soldiers, civilians, and politicians, responded.

Rhodes has spoken extensively on topics related to nuclear energy, and he has also published works about the environment and mankind’s impact on it. His The Making of the Atomic Bomb is often credited with renewing interest in the nuclear age and its implications.

Rhodes has been lauded by both the literary and scientific communities for his diverse and thought-provoking works. He has been awarded the National Book Award, the Pulitzer Prize, the National Science Board Award, and the MacArthur Fellowship, among other honors. He continues to write, exploring and often challenging the ethical issues that can arise from technological development and its implications on our greater society.