I can fully recommend "The making of the atomic bomb" by Richard Rhodes[0]. The book begins with Rutherford's experiments that first indicated that an atom might have most of its mass concentrated in a tiny nucleus.

From there, it follows the intense period of scientific discovery that captivated that era. It's a fantastic portrayal of the science and the lives of people behind the discoveries.

I learnt in highschool that electrons orbit around a nucleus of protons and neutrons. I had taken these facts for granted. This book opened up the world of technical innovations, leaps of imagination and the really amazing discoveries that the smartest people of the era had to grapple with in order to come up with that model of the atom.

[0] https://www.amazon.com/Making-Atomic-Bomb-Richard-Rhodes/dp/...