By
Laura Fermi
I am sure most readers, if not all, will thank the author for a most informative and delightful book.
Five stars out of five stars
In this book, the reader learns not only the life of Enrico Fermi and his family, but also important events of World War II era, snapshots of an array of famous physicists, and above all, delightful episodes which are scattered throughout the 267 pages book, including the last page entitled Acknowledgments.
The author, Laura Fermi, wife of Enrico, was born in Rome and lived there for some 30 years before events forced the Fermi family to emigrate to the U.S. when she was 30 years old. Yet her written English can be compared with the most accomplished authors whose native language is English. Below was her prose in describing Rome in good times and when she realized she was leaving her birth city:
In good times:
“One may simply ride a streetcar or a bus to the end of its route and soon find one’s self in a little vale where a brook murmurs in the shade of oaks and beeches, or on an ancient Roman road flanked by sunbaked ruins and umbrella pines; or on the top of a rocky hill, in the cool place of an old monastery, half hidden among dark cypresses.”
When she was about to leave Rome:
“For the second time since the morning I was reminded that these were my last days in Rome. But I was determined to be of good cheer and to chase away the nostalgia that came over me at the familiar sight of the Roman streets; of the old, faded buildings that had preserved their full charm;…..of the numberless foundations of Rome, which indulged in the opulence of their water, shot it toward the sky, and let it comes back in cascades of diamond-like droplets, in rainbow patterns. I was going to enjoy these sights and give thanks to God for thirty years of life in Rome.”
At the beginning of the book, she made fun of her fellow Italians:
“It had been said that the main characteristics of the Italian population is the variety of their noses.”
There then follow detailed accounts of various stages of Fermi’s career which are well known: in Italy, Columbia University, University of Chicago, Los Alamos, and his winning the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1938. Not so well known were some amusing anecdotes, including his being late for the wedding ceremony because he had to fix an overlong sleeve, that he only polished the front part of his shoes because he did not want to waste time on the rear part which was not visible.
When the family decided to emigrate to the United States, it was necessary for the US Immigration Officer to give Enrico Fermi an Intelligence Test, even though he was already awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics. The officer asked him “What is the answer of 25 + 17”. To which Fermi proudly answered: 42. Then came the question: “How much is 29 divided by 2 ?’ Again, Fermi gave the correct answer: 14.5. With two correct answers, the immigration officer was satisfied.
On the elevator of the ship to America on Christmas Eve after receiving the Nobel Prize, the Fermi and the two children were greeted by a short old man in a baggy red suit and furry white trimmings, with a long white beard and twinkling blue eyes. The three stood still, fascinated, open-mouthed, until the queer old man introduced himself as Santa Claus and invited the children to his party.
The chapters on Los Alamos stand out from other accounts as the author was actually there. She began with the following two quotes below, the first one by Henry Smyth, in his public report on the atomic bomb; the second by General Groves, in his speech to the Army officers stationed in Los Alamos:
“….. the end of 1944 found an extraordinary galaxy of scientific stars gathered on the New Mexican Mesa.”
“At great expense we have gathered on this mesa the largest collection of crackpots ever seen."
The crackpots/scientific stars paraded in this chapter included Robert Oppenheimer, Harold Urey, Arthur Crompton, Hans Bethe, Niels Bohr, Eugene Wigner, Edward Teller, Joseph and Maria Mayer, Somewhat surprisingly, Richard Feynman was not mentioned.
Oppenheimer was known for always having his pipe in his mouth, most of the time lighting rather than smoking it. Neils Bohr walked around absent mindedly, and Eugine Wigner had a bottle of Chianti wine hidden in his back throughout the duration of the experiment. On December 2, 1942, when the Uranium pile was successfully undergoing chain reaction, releasing nuclear energy, the bottle was put in good use in the celebration party. Everyone participating in the project took a drink of it. “A couple of months later the Fermis and a few other physicists received a present: a case of Chianti wine. An importer had wished to acknowledge his gratitude for the free advertisement that Chianti had received.”
In the last page, the author thanks Dr. Cyril Smith for giving her the idea for this book, saying to her “You should write your husband’s biography”. To which the author answered: “My husband is the man I cook for and iron shirts for. How can I take him that seriously.”
Readers should all thank Dr. Smith for giving the author the idea of writing the book.
The last sentence of the book reads: “Above all, to the members of my family, who have endured life with a writing housekeeper and have not complained.”
I am sure most readers, if not all, not only will not complain but will thank the author for a most informative and delightful book.
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