A book about many things related to fission and fusion, including the author's own part in replicating (and disproving) the spectacle of cold fusion in 1989. Told by one who knows his subject and includes great footnotes and references, this collection of incidents is recommended.

Some of the many incidents documented here include atomic action outside the United States around WWII, a would-be fusion reactor in Argentina, attempted murder using isotopes, and A.Q. Khan's nuclear nonsense in and around Pakistan. Among my favorite bits were research into a nuclear powered rocket (primarily for exploration of Mars), atomic weapons (including Soviet hand weapons!) and the breakdown of what really happened at Roswell NM (project Mogul).

But the strongest part of the book is how Mahaffey and the Georgia Institute of Technology were skeptical, then fooled, and then finally debunked cold fusion. The descriptions of what was happening are complete and accessible, and in addition were great reading. Though it looks like his other books cover many of the same topics, I still look forward to reading at least one of them soon.