Just wanted to say thank you for this comment, fascinating and perfect example of the beauty of HN. Relatively fresh off The Making of the Atomic Bomb and while fusion was not at all a focus, this (incomplete) impression is exactly what I came away with.
Is there any chance you'd recommend any books related to these topics? The walk through decades of revelations in physics was the most enjoyable aspect of that book, I'd love to continue building on that story.
Well if you liked "The Making of the Atomic Bomb" I can strongly recommend the follow up "Dark Sun" that covers both the Soviet atomic bomb program and the development of the H-bomb by the US.
Not sure how I missed that Rhodes wrote a continuation! The clarity of writing about physics for a layperson has been wonderful, glad to find there's more. Much appreciated.
One of the points I took away from that book being that "H-bomb" weapon design is as much about fission as fusion - most designs being fission-fusion-fission with most energy coming from the latter fission stage.
That book is absolutely great. As the sibling comment mentions, the Dark Sun is also great.
Here are some more books I read on this topic. One was written by someone who was very close to the Ulam and Teller inner circle: "Building the H Bomb" by Kenn Ford. Another one is "Sun in a Bottle: The Strange History of Fusion and the Science of Wishful Thinking" by Charles Seife. And finally, you can't go wrong with any book written by James Mahaffey.
Is there any chance you'd recommend any books related to these topics? The walk through decades of revelations in physics was the most enjoyable aspect of that book, I'd love to continue building on that story.