- Hardcover: 192 pages
- Publisher: Harpercollins Canada (Feb 8 2001)
- ISBN-10: 0060278129
- ASIN: B000C2GNHA
- Product Dimensions: 21.2 x 13.8 x 2.2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 340 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
It's 1945, and 13-year-old Stephen has just reached the gates of the top secret military base in Los Alamos, New Mexico. He has come to join his father, a famous physicist who is working on a covert project for the Allies. Though his father is forbidden to discuss the project in any detail, Stephen can tell by his haunted eyes and shaking hands how worried he and the other scientists are. After a few weeks, Stephen finds that he cannot control his insatiable curiosity. Enlisting the help of his new friend Tilanov, Stephen devises a plan to discover the true nature of "the gadget." But when he finally learns what it is, he also realizes another startling truth--that he has trusted the wrong person with the information and not only his life, but the lives of all Americans, could be in terrible danger.
The greatest strength of The Gadget is how Paul Zindel communicates, in clear and simple prose, how terribly uncertain many of those "in the know" were about dropping the atom bomb, and the idea that no one--not even top scientists--could really predict what the outcome would be. By combining this disconcerting notion with a rapid-fire plot and an Everyman teen protagonist, young adult veteran author Zindel has created a historical fiction that reads like a thrilling action-adventure pulp novel, except, (and this is the best part)--it's all true. Curious readers will also find a World War II chronology, bibliography, and short bios of prominent figures involved in the making of the atom bomb. (Ages 11 to 14) --Jennifer Hubert --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
Zindel maintains the page-turning immediacy of his recent novels (The Doom Stone; Reef of Death) while examining a serious piece of WWII history: the making of the atomic bomb. Through the eyes of 13-year-old Stephen, the son of one of the scientists working in Los Alamos, N.Mex., Zindel reveals the moral dilemmas lurking behind a veil of secrecy. Stephen's father works side by side with Robert Oppenheimer and other renowned physicists. Stephen gets wind of the danger involved in their covert experiments after one of the scientists is hospitalized; the victim, Dr. Soifer, piques Stephen's curiosity and alerts him to the potential disasters that could result from the "Gadget." Stephen befriends Tilanov, whose father also works on the base, and they set out together to find answers about the mysterious project, an investigation that leads to danger and disillusionment. In Stephen, Zindel combines a canny mix of innocence and intelligence, and thus allows readers to examine carefully a complex set of questions about moral and political issues and responsibilities. The novel challenges idealized views of patriotism and unconditional trust. Readers will come away from this story with much food for thought, and can go on to further reading thanks to the book's comprehensive list of historical events and descriptions of figures who played a key role in constructing these first bombs. Ages 11-up.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
Stephen waited until his mother and aunt were out in the kitchen making coffee before he slipped away from the family dinner table. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Stephen waited until his mother and aunt were out in the kitchen making coffee before he slipped away from the family dinner table. Read the first page
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
the sunglasses,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Gadget (Mass Market Paperback)
The book that I read is the gadget by: paul zindel. It all stared when stephen and his cousin where on the roof when the war was going on and the japines came and bombed london and his cousin stared to run and when all of the smoke clered he went to see where his cousin was and he said that he was on the ground like a torwn bleeding doll. Then he had to go live with his dad in new mexico so he could be procted. Then he went to go find some friends where he lived then he staterd to go to school he started to get more friends and that is where he begin to be friends with aliex. If you like to read then you would probley wantto read this book I liked this book alot maby you will like it to.
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Gadget,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Gadget (Mass Market Paperback)
This book is about a boy sent to an army with his dad, but his dad is already there. Sthepen (boy) os only sent there to keep his dad company. But wierd things start happening to Stephen while he is there. You'll just have to read thebook to find out the wierd stuff. This book has alot of action in it and a great WW II.
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Gadget,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Gadget (Mass Market Paperback)
The Gadget is a verey good book.It's adout this kid Stephen and his friend Jackson one night they were on the roof top playing around like kids do and then they heared a loud siren so harried to the door but they never made then there was this loud exelosion then there was nothing left besiades a huge dark black cloud filled with smoke.I think this book is good for peole who like adventures.
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