Book, Our Friend the Atom

Date: This copy was published in 1961.

Created By: Written by Heinz Haber, Illustrated by Walt Disney, Published by Golden Press

Original or Replica: Original

Era: The Presidency

Collection: IKEducation

In 1956, a little more than a decade after the atomic bomb showed the world the devastating power of nuclear weapons, Walt Disney partnered with German physicist Heinz Haber, a professor at USC and personal science consultant to the legendary animator, to produce Our Friend the Atom — a gloriously illustrated 165-page book extolling the promise of atomic power as a generative rather than destructive force. The illustrations were done by twenty-two Disney artists. It was part of the publicity campaign for peaceful uses of atomic energy, following President Eisenhower’s Atoms for Peace speech at the United Nations’ General Assembly in December 1953. In 1957, the Disneyland tv series also created an episode based on the same premise and artwork and hosted by Heinz Haber.