"Understanding the Atom" and "World of the Atom" booklets

Nuclear energy is playing a vital role in the life of every man, woman, and child in the United States today. In the years ahead it will affect increasingly all the peoples of the earth. It is essential that all Americans gain an understanding of this vital force if they are to discharge thoughtfully their responsibilities as citizens and if they are to realize fully the myriad benefits that nuclear energy offers them.

Once upon a time, that was the message the United States Government, through its Atomic Energy Commission, transmitted to the public in many forms. Although the public-information booklets of that era are long out of print, PDF versions are available for download from the Department of Energy, successor agency to the AEC.

Titles include “Thorium and the Third Fuel”, “Breeder Reactors”, “Preserving Food with Atomic Energy”, “Nuclear Reactors for Space Power”, “Electricity and Man”, “Lasers”, and “Computers”. There is also a three-volume “Worlds Within Worlds, the Story of Atomic Energy”, written by Isaac Asimov.

Have a look!