From fission to fusion: the story of India's atomic energy programme

From Fission to Fusion provides an insider's view of breakthrough science. Dr. M.R. Srinivasan explains the birth and

development of India's atomic-energy programme, which grew with his own career from a senior research officer in the 1950s to the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission and secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy (1987-90). This engrossing memoir explains how a team comprising India's leading physicists, chemists, engineers, metallurgists and other scientists came together to develop an atomic-energy programme from scratch and take India into the forefront in this technology in a remarkably short time.

Srinivasan relives the excitement from the days when India's first reactor, Apsara, went into operation in 1956. The success of that endeavour has led to the generation of nuclear power at six locations throughout the country. Indian industry was mobilized to participate in the execution of the pressurized heavy-water reactor programme and will be engaged in building enriched uranium reactors and fast breeder reactors involving another leap in technology. These advancements are some of the many challenges Srinivasan puts in an economic and historical context.

Ranking in the pantheon are Homi Bhabha, Vikram Sarabhai,

Alongside the account of the programme's giant strides is a moving portrayal of the people who made it possible and their extraordinary qualities as motivators. Homi Sethna, Brahm Prakash and N.B. Prasad. What stands out at the end of this compelling tale is an endeavour of high caliber whose contribution to the pride of an independent nation goes well beyond the equations of science.