Explaining Atom by Selig Hecht (21 results)
Language: English
Published by The Viking Press, New York, 1947
- Hardcover
Seller: Beautiful Tomes, Moscow, ID, U.S.A.Beautiful Tomes
Contact seller5-star sellerHardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. "Second Printing Before Publication" on copyright page. Blue covers with silver printing; soiled;, with an area on the front that is discolored; spine is quite faded, including the printing. Endpapers contain the periodic table of the elements; previous owner's name on front endpaper. 205 p…p. including index, b/w illustrations; clean, unmarked.
Published by The Viking Press, USA, 1947
- Hardcover
- First Edition
Seller: ABOXABOOKS, Bristol, VT, U.S.A.ABOXABOOKS
Contact seller5-star sellerCondition: Used - Good
US$ 10.00
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Hardcover. Condition: Good. 1st Edition. Assumed first edition. No jacket. Cover edges scuffed and corners bumped. Especially worn top and bottom of spine. Owner's name inside. Otherwise in good condition.
Published by The Viking Press, 1947
- Hardcover
Seller: Library House Internet Sales, Grand Rapids, OH, U.S.A.Library House Internet Sales
Contact seller5-star sellerCondition: Used - Good
US$ 9.00
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Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Moderate edgewear on the boards. Moderate shelf wear. Please note the image in this listing is a stock photo and may not match the covers of the actual item. Book.
Published by Viking, New York, 1949
- Hardcover
Seller: Argosy Book Store, ABAA, ILAB, New York, NY, U.S.A.Argosy Book Store, ABAA, ILAB
Contact seller5-star sellerCondition: Used - Very good
US$ 13.13
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hardcover. Condition: very good. Illustrated. xiii + 205 pages, 8vo, cloth. New York: The Viking Press, 1949. A very good copy lacking dust wrapper.
EXPLAINING THE ATOM. (Dust jacket title: "Explaining the Atom; A remarkable book which actually makes the atom and its energy comprehensible to the intelligent layman, even though he has no scientific background.")
Hecht, Selig, 1892-1947. Matthew Leibowitz (dust jacket designer).
Published by New York: The Viking Press, 1947., 1947
- Hardcover
Seller: David Hallinan, Bookseller, Columbus, MS, U.S.A.David Hallinan, Bookseller
Contact seller5-star sellerSecond printing (as stated upon copyright page). xiv, 205 pages. Hardcover: H 21.5cm x L 14.5cm. Dust jacket with colorful front panel illustration; 2.75cm deep chipping at front panel's lower right; various tears with old tape repairs along with lesser chips and creasing; front flap retains publisher's printed price at top righ…t. Blue cloth; light bumping to spine ends and to boards' top fore-edge corners. Some toning to text block edges. Endpapers toned; past owner's personal bookplate affixed to front flyleaf verso with image transfer onto opposing half-title; interior leaves mostly remain clean. Binding is firm.
Language: English
Published by The Viking Press, 1947
- Hardcover
- First Edition
Seller: Chapter 1, Johannesburg, GAU, South AfricaChapter 1
Contact seller5-star sellerCondition: Used - Very good
US$ 5.00
US$ 28.59 shippingShips from South Africa to U.S.A.Quantity: 1 available
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. First Edition. Name of the previous owner. Publication of 205 pages. The boards are a little shelf rubbed. Internally the pages are clean and complete. The binding is excellent. GK. Our orders are shipped using tracked courier delivery services.
Published by The Viking Press
- Hardcover
Seller: ThriftBooks-Dallas, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.ThriftBooks-Dallas
Contact seller5-star sellerHardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Missing dust jacket; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.
More imagesPublished by The Viking Press, 1949
- Hardcover
Seller: Big Boy Fine Books & Collectibles, Indialantic, FL, U.S.A.Big Boy Fine Books & Collectibles
Contact seller5-star sellerCondition: Used - Very good
US$ 19.38
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Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. 1949 April Stated Sixth Imprint of the 1st Edition. Tight binding clean pages From the estate of Famed Nuclear Fallout Specialist Dr. Max Klinghoffer.
More imagesPublished by The Viking Press
- Hardcover
Seller: ThriftBooksVintage, Tukwila, WA, U.S.A.ThriftBooksVintage
Contact seller5-star sellerHardcover. Condition: Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Good. Wear commensurate with age and use. Clean unmarked copy. Bending and bumping to upper corner of boards and page block. Light scuffing and smudging to boards and spine strip. This could have light cosmetic flaws, but remains in good condition. Dust jacket condition is Good.… This copy is the Revised Edition of the published work. Secure packaging for safe delivery.
Published by Viking, 1947
- Hardcover
Seller: BookDepart, Shepherdstown, WV, U.S.A.BookDepart
Contact seller5-star sellerCondition: Used - Good
US$ 21.09
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Hardcover. Condition: Good. Hardcover; fading and edge wear to exterior; fading to pages; otherwise in good condition with clean text, firm binding.
Published by The Viking Press, New York, 1954
- Hardcover
Seller: Ground Zero Books, Ltd., Silver Spring, MD, U.S.A.Ground Zero Books, Ltd.
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US$ 25.00
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Hardcover. Condition: Good. xviii, 237, [1] pages. Periodic Table illustrated on endpapers. Illustrations. Some footnotes. Index. Some pencil marks and erasure residue. Cover has noticable wear and soiling. Selig Hecht (1892 - 1947) was an American physiologist who studied photochemistry in photoreceptor cells. Hecht was born in… Austria, and immigrated to the USA at an early age. His studies and talents led to Columbia University making him professor of biophysics in 1928. Hecht began his study into light sensitivity with clams (Mya arenaria) and insects. His specialty was photochemistry, the kinetics of the reactions initiated by light in the receptors. He made contributions to the knowledge of dark adaptation, visual acuity, brightness discrimination, color vision, and the mechanism of the visual threshold. According to biographer Pirenne, Hecht was a "brilliant lecturer and expositor." When World War II ended with the use of atomic weapons which had been developed in secret by the Manhattan Project, Hecht was concerned that the American public was uninformed about the development of this new source of energy. He wrote a book Explaining the Atom (1947), to educate the public. He wrote, "So long as one supposes this business is mysterious and secret, one cannot have a just evaluation of our possessions and security. Only by understanding the basis and development of atomic energy can one judge the legislation and foreign policy that concern it." In a review in the New York Times (4/27/1947), Stephen Wheeler wrote that it was "by all odds the best book on atomic energy so far to be published for the ordinary reader." Similarly, James J. Jelinek wrote that it was an "invaluable contribution to the layman." He credits Hecht with "conveying to the layman the intellectual drama" of the development. Jelinek asserts that the book is "profoundly provocative in its political and sociological implications." After Hecht died, a second edition was issued in 1959 by Eugene Rabinowitch. Eugene Rabinowitch (1901-1973) was a Russian-born American biophysicist who is best known for his work in relation to nuclear weapons, especially as a co-author of the Franck Report and a co-founder in 1945 of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, a global security and public policy magazine, which he edited until his death. When Rabinowitch arrived in New York City, he was assisted by Selig Hecht. During World War II, Rabinowitch worked in the Metallurgical Laboratory (or "Met Lab"), the Manhattan Project's division at the University of Chicago. At that time he was a member of the Committee on Political and Social Problems, chaired by James Franck. Rabinowitch wrote (with help from Leó Szilárd) what became known as the Franck Report. The report recommended that nuclear energy be brought under civilian rather than military control and argued that the United States should demonstrate the atomic bomb to world leaders in an uninhabited desert or barren island before using it in combat. The social and ethical concerns expressed in the Franck Report translated into the guiding principles of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, founded by Rabinowitch and fellow physicist Hyman Goldsmith. Over the years, Rabinowitch wrote more than 100 articles for the magazine, most of them editorials. Before the war, Rabinowitch passionately pursued research in photosynthesis, a field in which he was to become a leader. After World War II, Rabinowitch taught and researched botany as a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, continuing his photosynthesis work and publishing the three-volume Photosynthesis and Related Processes, as well as many other books. Revised and Enlarged Edition, with Four Additional Chapters.
- Softcover
Seller: ThriftBooks-Dallas, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.ThriftBooks-Dallas
Contact seller5-star sellerCondition: Used - Fair
US$ 49.61
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Paperback. Condition: Fair. No Jacket. Readable copy. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.
Published by Viking, 1947
- Hardcover
- First Edition
Seller: Austin Book Shop LLC, Richmond Hill, NY, U.S.A.Austin Book Shop LLC
Contact seller4-star sellerCondition: Used - Very good
US$ 27.50
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Hard Cover. Condition: Very Good. Frayed DJ. First Edition. 205pp Illus ".actually makes the atom and it's energy comprehensible to the intelligent layman.".
Published by Viking, 1955
- Hardcover
Seller: Virginia Martin, aka bookwitch, Concord, CA, U.S.A.Virginia Martin, aka bookwitch
Contact seller5-star sellerCondition: Used - Good
US$ 30.00
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Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Dj. Octavo, hardcover, pages very age toned else good in blue boards with red lettering and decorations. First published in 1947, this revised edition from 1955 has 4 additional chapters by Eugene Rabinowitch. 237 pp. preface to first and revised editions; prologue; then 12 chapters explaining the…atom with many drawings and illustrations. Book is unmarked. Book.
Published by Viking Press, 1964
- Softcover
Seller: POQUETTE'S BOOKS, DEWITT, MI, U.S.A.POQUETTE'S BOOKS
Contact seller4-star sellerCondition: Used - Good
US$ 35.00
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Paperback. Condition: Good. DISCHARGED LIBRARY USED. Paperback, CLEAR PLASTIC COVER OVER(good condition), Paperback, outside cover shows age related minimum too tolerable signs of use, binder is in good condition. Main Text and Pages of Main Text in good to very good condition. No signs of water damages, no writing, no underlini…ng, no markings, and no highlighting. Standard Library Markings. THANK YOU!!.
Published by London: Collins/Comet Books, 1957., 1957
- Softcover
Seller: Salopian Books, Shrewsbury, SAL, United KingdomSalopian Books
Contact seller5-star sellerAssociation member: IOBA
Condition: Used - Good
US$ 1.38
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Soft cover. Condition: Good. Paperback book in good condition. General wear to covers. Creasing to spine. Inscription inside front cover. Pages tanned throughout. 12mo. 191pp.
Published by The Viking Press, New York, 1947
- Hardcover
Seller: Sea Chest Books, Tucumcari, NM, U.S.A.Sea Chest Books
Contact seller5-star sellerCondition: Used - Very good
US$ 44.00
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Cloth. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. Fourth Printing. Fourth printing, in October 1947, of a title first published in April of that same year. Very good condition in blue cloth with slightly tanned pages. The book is firm, square and unmarked in a very good dust jacket with a bit of edgewear and two sho…rt closed tears at the top edge of the front panel. In an archival protector. This book was written to make "the atom and its energy comprehensible to the layman, even though he has no scientific backround". xiv, 205 pp. Science, Atomic Energy, Education, History of Science. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.
Language: English
Published by Scientific Book Club
- Hardcover
Seller: Optimon Books, Gravesend, KENT, United KingdomOptimon Books
Contact seller5-star sellerCondition: Used - Good
US$ 75.63
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Hardcover. Condition: Good. THERE ARE NO TARIFFS OR CUSTOMS DUTIES ON BOOKS. Hailed as the most lucid book on the subject at the time of original publication in 1947, proving that atomic energy could really be understood in everyday terms. Index. Blue boards with black lettering. Pictorial dust jacket (torn), price unclipped. Co…rners bumped. Owner inscription. Illustrated in b&w. Edges spotted. Firm binding.
Language: English
Published by The Viking Press, New York, 1966
- Softcover
Seller: gearbooks, The Bronx, NY, U.S.A.gearbooks
Contact seller5-star sellerCondition: Used - Very good
US$ 96.29
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Trade Paperback. Condition: Very Good. 2nd Printing Jan 1966. 237 pp. Solidly bound copy with moderate external wear, crisp pages and clean text. Rudolph De Harak (Cover Design) (illustrator).
Published by Viking,, NY:, 1947
- Hardcover
- First Edition
Seller: Grendel Books, ABAA/ILAB, Springfield, MA, U.S.A.Grendel Books, ABAA/ILAB
Contact seller5-star sellerCondition: Used - Very good
US$ 75.00
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Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First edition. Bumped upper corner, else very good in a very good (moderate edge wear with a few small chips) dust jacket.
More images- Hardcover
- Signed
Seller: Max Rambod Inc, Woodland Hills, CA, U.S.A.Max Rambod Inc
Contact seller5-star sellerdj. Hecht, Selig. Explaining the Atom, signed and inscribed by Theodore Van Kirk, framing the atomic bombing of Hiroshima within a longer intellectual history of atomic theory and modern physics. As navigator of the Enola Gay during the August 6, 1945 mission, Van Kirk contributed directly to the operational execution of nuclear… warfare, and his inscription frames that event as the culmination of developments beginning with ancient atomism and extending through 20th-century scientific breakthroughs. By referencing figures such as Democritus and Einstein alongside the Manhattan Project, the inscription integrates scientific theory with wartime application, offering a condensed narrative linking philosophical origins of atomic thought to its realization in military technology. Hecht, Selig. Explaining the Atom. New York: Viking Press, 1947. 205 pages. Hardcover with dust jacket. Signed and extensively inscribed on the inside title page by Theodore Van Kirk. The inscription reads: "'Page 9; In 400 B.C., Deocritus theoryed the existence of atoms. In 1905 Einstein theorized E=MC squared. In 1943 Oppenheimer heads the Manhattan Project. In 1945 our 'Enola Gay' crew drops the atomic bomb on Hiroshima - Theodore 'Dutch' Van Kirk Navigator - Enola Gay August 6, 1945." The text presents a chronological sequence of scientific and historical developments, culminating in Van Kirk's own role in the Hiroshima mission. Published in the immediate postwar period, Explaining the Atom aimed to make atomic science accessible to a broad audience at a time when nuclear technology had reshaped global politics and warfare. Van Kirk's inscription reflects how participants in the atomic mission interpreted their actions within a broader scientific and historical continuum, linking abstract theory to its most consequential application. The juxtaposition of popular scientific exposition with firsthand annotation from a mission participant offers a layered artifact for the study of nuclear history, scientific communication, and the integration of intellectual and military developments in the mid-20th century. Dust jacket shows moderate wear; volume itself remains clean and well-preserved with strong, legible inscription. Overall very good. Signed.
