This succinct book is timely reading for anyone who wishes to understand the maze of science and secrecy at the heart of Iran's nuclear ambitions. Writing for the general reader, Jeremy Bernstein draws on his knowledge as a physicist to elucidate the scientific principles and technical hurdles involved in creating nuclear reactors and bombs.

Uranium. Round and round -- Frisch, Peierls, and Dirac -- Unintended consequences -- God the merciful, the compassionate -- Plutonium. Reactors -- The delta phase -- Dual use. Unintended consequences redux -- Among the Ayatollahs -- Breakout.