8vo. Numerous in-text illustrations. Original cloth; publisher's pictorial dust jacket (some minor chipping.) Provenance: Rabbi Jacob J. Weinstein (bookplate, see below); acquired from Weinstein by the present owner.
 
FIRST EDITION, accompanied by a photocopy of a 29 April 1947 letter sent by Albert Einstein to Rabbi Weinstein on Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists stationery. In his message, Einstein remarks: "Dr. Hecht has succeeded in giving, clearly and simply, an authoritative account of the scientific steps, both theoretical and experimental, that have led to our present knowledge of nuclear fission." Also laid in are photocopies of correspondence between the Thomas Sills and Dr. John Stachel, first editor of the Einstein Papers Project, in which Sills reports that Rabbi Weinstein is "known for his work in antinuclear and peace movements." Einstein apparently gave several copies of Hecht's book as gifts with an accompanying letter.