The first war of physics : the secret history of the atom bomb, 1939-1949 [ISBN: 1605981974] by Jim Baggott is an excellent history of the physics, politics, wartime events and espionage that all contributed to the remarkable history of the bomb. This is a moderately long book, but very readable, even gripping (well, I like this stuff). Very highly recommended for anyone with an interest in 20th century history, military history, or the history of technology. The physics is explained in readable terms, in the few places where it’s important to the story, but no technical background at all is required to appreciate this important book. Again, very highly recommended.

Feynman was one of the great physicists of the 20th century, and these lectures, which cover a range of basic topics, are famous for their clarity, insight and wit.  Very highly recommended not just for physics students, but for anyone with an interest in science and/or good teaching.  (I’m not thrilled about the proprietary Silverlight encoding, but the lectures are wonderful.  By the way, right now I’m having trouble getting lecture #1 to stream — the others look good.)

A companion book to the Cornell lectures,  The Character of Physical Law (the Messenger Lectures, 1964), is still available.  Also, for those with $120 to spend, a boxed set of the famous book version of the Caltech 1963 Feyman lectures remains in print.  For a much lighter introduction to Dick Feyman and his hijinks, Surely You’re Joking Mr. Feynman is still good fun.