The Bomb: South Africa's Nuclear Weapons Programme

In 1993, South African President F.W. de Klerk announced that six-and-a-half nuclear bombs had been secretly built and destroyed. No other country has ever voluntarily destroyed its nuclear arsenal. In this book, nuclear physicist Nic von Wielligh and his daughter Lydia von Wielligh-Steyn tell the gripping story of the splitting of the atom and the power it realizes. It is an account of groundbreaking research and the scientists responsible; it deals with uranium enrichment, the arms race, and South Afria's secret program. The Bomb: South Africa's Nuclear Weapons Programme is a story of nuclear explosions, espionage, smuggling nuclear materials, and swords that became ploughshares. Professor Waldo Stumpf, the former CEO of the South African Atomic Energy Corporation, called The Bomb, “the only comprehensive work so far on South Africa's part in this historic subject that has been turned into a thoroughly readable story.”

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“Early in the 1990’s former South African President F.W. de Klerk spilled the beans: South Africa had built six nuclear bombs since 1980 and was working on a seventh one. “The Bomb” tells the history of South Africa’s nuclear programme, written by nuclear physicist Nic von Wielligh, who was involved in this project since 1975, and also managed the termination thereof. He is assisted by his clearly talented daughter Lydia. Being factually correct, and written objectively (albeit with a touch of understandable pride concerning the South African achievements before and after the decision to dismantle the programme) add value to the book. At least it shows that there were some aspects of the old South Africa to be proud of. “The Bomb” belongs to the bookshelf of anyone interested in what happened behind the scenes in South Africa before 1990."
Leopold Scholtz, Media24

“The Bomb” is an insider account of the South African nuclear weapons program written by Nic von Wielligh, a nuclear physicist who worked for the South African Atomic Energy Corporation (AEC). He was intimately involved in the nuclear weapons program and held a high-ranking position at the AEC. The book is co-authored by his daughter Lydia von Wielligh-Steyn. It has the advantage of having been written by an insider who possesses knowledge that could not be gained through documents or interviews. This is precisely the book’s major strength: other accounts tell what happened, but Nic von Wielligh goes a step further and illuminates how certain things happened, adding anecdotes when appropriate. The book fills a gap in the literature on the South African nuclear weapons program. It is an in-depth account that treats the case from its humble beginnings to the dismantlement of the nuclear weapons and the single facts have been woven into an exciting story. The no-nonsense approach taken by the authors and their way of presenting the case in a well-structured and informing manner makes it an important contribution."
Außereuropäische Geschichte // BuchrezensionenTitel