The Woman Who Split the Atom

April 1, 2022

Gr 4 Up-The story of a brilliant physicist's life intertwined with Nazi Germany and the development of the nuclear bomb. Lise Meitner loved physics, and her discoveries were some of the most respected and celebrated in the 20th century. Her story of discovering nuclear fission develops as Nazi Germany comes to power and invades Europe. Lise, a Jew, must escape Germany and leave her lab behind. Eventually, other scientists and governments use her discovery to build the first nuclear bomb, devastating her. The book recounts how German scientists also sought to build a bomb, which would have changed the outcome of WWII. The book concludes with Meitner's later years and her long overdue recognition by the scientific community. One-page comic drawings introduce each chapter and bring further life to the story. Moss presents a spectacular story of history, science, and women's struggle for respect through the narrative of Meitner's life. The writing style is captivating and the book is a quick page-turner. A time line, glossary of physics terms, scientist profiles, bibliography, and index enhance the story and point students to further learning. VERDICT An excellent biography that is a first purchase and deserves a place on every nonfiction book list for children.-Kate Rao

Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from April 18, 2022
Moss’s (America’s Tea Parties: Not One but Four!) accessible biography paints a searing portrait of Jewish physicist Lise Meitner’s (1878–1968) most famous and controversial achievement. For most of her career, Meitner worked and lived in relative obscurity due to sexism and antisemitism. Her partner—fellow physicist Otto Hahn, with whom she collaborated for 30 years—frequently devalued her discoveries and took credit for her work, including the splitting of the atom in 1938. Caught in the machinations of WWII and fearing for his reputation, Hahn ends his partnership with Meitner, but colleagues in Copenhagen and Stockholm rescue her from Berlin and Nazi persecution. In the years following the war, Meitner, who had not anticipated the weaponization of her scientific discovery, worked with the United Nations and scientists such as Albert Einstein toward nuclear peace. Moss’s engagingly illustrated panels begin each chapter, bolstering the narrative by offering a direct emotional connection to Meitner’s work and thoughts. Short, easily digestible chapters capture a little-known pioneer in her field caught in dangerous times, and address nuclear implications that still resonate today. Includes an author’s note, photographs, a glossary of physics terms, and more. Ages 10–14.

July 1, 2022
This absorbing and well-paced biography of Austrian-born trailblazing physicist Lise Meitner begins by exploring Meitner's path from college student to struggling laboratory scientist (prevented, as a woman, from gaining employment as a university professor in Berlin). With the coming of WWII, the narrative kicks into high gear as Moss depicts the Jewish Meitner's delayed decision to finally flee Germany and the dramatic escape that follows. It is in the relative safety of neighboring Sweden that Meitner makes her most significant discovery, concluding that atoms can be split and that the resulting "fission" releases massive amounts of energy. The implications of this discovery would emerge shortly thereafter with the Manhattan Project. Moss provides readers with comprehensible descriptions of her subject's scientific work; equally important to Meitner's story is the depiction of the conditions under which she finds herself working during Hitler's rise to power. Chapters are preceded by single-page comics showing significant moments in the unfolding narrative. These welcome breaks serve many functions, including moving Meitner's story along, depicting scientists at work in their labs, and helping readers better understand the many pressures Meitner was under. Extensive back matter includes a timeline, profiles of the various scientists mentioned in the narrative, a glossary, an index, and chapter-by-chapter source notes. A perfect accompaniment to Sheinkin's Bomb (rev. 3/17); see also Atkins's Hidden Powers: Lise Meitner's Call to Science (rev. 5/22). Eric Carpenter

(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from February 1, 2022
A scorching profile of a brilliant physicist whose proper recognition was long delayed thanks to sexism, antisemitism, and personal betrayal. In a career much like her older contemporary Marie Curie's, Meitner was a relentless researcher subjected to rabid prejudice against women in the sciences. Nevertheless, she was rewarded some grudging, minimal support through her world-changing discoveries. She had the further obstacles of being Jewish in Hitler's Germany--and of working closely and fruitfully for decades with Otto Hahn, who, as Moss carefully documents, then pressured her to quit the Berlin institute he headed rather than shield her from the Nazis, neglected to mention in his lecture after being awarded a Nobel Prize that she had provided the essential insights about nuclear fission that explained his experimental results, and repeatedly dismissed her as bitter. Despite being a Nobel also-ran no fewer than 48 times, Meitner made multiple attempts to mend fences with Hahn, even while taking him to task for joining the postwar German apologists. Meanwhile, she twice narrowly escaped capture on her flight from the Third Reich, worked with Allied intelligence during the war, and went on to become a pacifist who, like Einstein, was horrified at the way nuclear energy was weaponized. She cuts a small, neat, shy figure in the scene-setting graphic panels that open each chapter, but her intellect and determination shine on every page. A bright tale of a life dedicated to science, well stocked with dramatic moments and discoveries. (author's note, timeline, glossary, biographical profiles, notes, bibliography, image credits, index) (Biography. 11-14)

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Starred review from February 15, 2022
Grades 5-9 *Starred Review* Lise Meitner, a young Jewish Austrian woman with a doctorate in physics, moved to Berlin in 1907 in hopes of doing significant work, but she was disappointed that the university lagged in accepting women as equals. Still, her radium research with chemist Otto Hahn yielded discoveries including a radioactive element. Reluctant to leave Germany despite growing Nazi persecution, Meitner escaped to Sweden in 1938. Later that year, when Hahn wrote asking for help interpreting an inexplicable result in an experiment related to their research, she realized the anomaly's significance, explained it to him, and coined the term nuclear fission. Hahn received the Nobel Prize for nuclear fission but failed to credit Meitner for her work or her pivotal insight. She was dismayed when nuclear fission led to the atomic bomb. Moss' approach to this biography is notable in several ways, from the organization of facts into a very readable narrative to surprisingly clear explanations of Meitner's scientific work and its significance. Even the back matter is uncommonly useful. Each chapter opens with a single graphic-novel-style page that conveys background information to readers while setting the scenes, depicting key individuals, and moving the story forward dramatically. Pair this book with Jeannine Atkins' Hidden Powers (2022), a biographical novel in verse, for a complementary approach to Meitner's compelling story.

COPYRIGHT(2022) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

July 1, 2022
This absorbing and well-paced biography of Austrian-born trailblazing physicist Lise Meitner begins by exploring Meitner's path from college student to struggling laboratory scientist (prevented, as a woman, from gaining employment as a university professor in Berlin). With the coming of WWII, the narrative kicks into high gear as Moss depicts the Jewish Meitner's delayed decision to finally flee Germany and the dramatic escape that follows. It is in the relative safety of neighboring Sweden that Meitner makes her most significant discovery, concluding that atoms can be split and that the resulting "fission" releases massive amounts of energy. The implications of this discovery would emerge shortly thereafter with the Manhattan Project. Moss provides readers with comprehensible descriptions of her subject's scientific work; equally important to Meitner's story is the depiction of the conditions under which she finds herself working during Hitler's rise to power. Chapters are preceded by single-page comics showing significant moments in the unfolding narrative. These welcome breaks serve many functions, including moving Meitner's story along, depicting scientists at work in their labs, and helping readers better understand the many pressures Meitner was under. Extensive back matter includes a timeline, profiles of the various scientists mentioned in the narrative, a glossary, an index, and chapter-by-chapter source notes. A perfect accompaniment to Sheinkin's Bomb (rev. 3/17); see also Atkins's Hidden Powers: Lise Meitner's Call to Science (rev. 5/22).

(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)