Atria Books
The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II
Couldn't load pickup availability
The New York Times bestseller, now available in paperback--an incredible true story of the top-secret World War II town of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and the young women brought there unknowingly to help build the atomic bomb.
"The best kind of nonfiction: marvelously reported, fluidly written, and a remarkable story...As meticulous and brilliant as it is compulsively readable." --Karen Abbott, author of Sin in the Second City
At the height of World War II, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, was home to 75,000 residents, and consumed more electricity than New York City, yet it was shrouded in such secrecy that it did not appear on any map. Thousands of civilians, many of them young women from small towns across the U.S., were recruited to this secret city, enticed by the promise of solid wages and war-ending work. What were they actually doing there? Very few knew. The purpose of this mysterious government project was kept a secret from the outside world and from the majority of the residents themselves. Some wondered why, despite the constant work and round-the-clock activity in this makeshift town, did no tangible product of any kind ever seem to leave its guarded gates? The women who kept this town running would find out at the end of the war, when Oak Ridge's secret was revealed and changed the world forever.
Drawing from the voices and experiences of the women who lived and worked in Oak Ridge, The Girls of Atomic City rescues a remarkable, forgotten chapter of World War II from obscurity. Denise Kiernan captures the spirit of the times through these women: their pluck, their desire to contribute, and their enduring courage. "A phenomenal story," and Publishers Weekly called it an "intimate and revealing glimpse into one of the most important scientific developments in history."
"Kiernan has amassed a deep reservoir of intimate details of what life was like for women living in the secret city...Rosie, it turns out, did much more than drive rivets." --The Washington Post
Share
Book Details
ISBN:
9781451617535
EAN:
9781451617535
Binding:
Paperback
Pages:
416
Authors:
Denise Kiernan
Publisher:
Atria Books
Published Date: 2014-11-03
View full details
Of the women who affected scientific progress that I have read about in recent months, this has top rating in my mind. Coming of age during this time period when women did not go into the fields of chemistry, mathematics, and physics, I applaud the women who were able to not just participate, but to excel and make a difference in our world. I thank Denise Kieran for all the research to pull this information together and present it in a way that is both scientific and relatable.
I often hesitate to choose this type of book to read because of so much sadness, loss, and pain involved. . . This one, however, really drew me to it and was an excellent blend of many aspects of war. The stirring stories of these amazing women including their very important contributions (under very very difficult and top secret circumstances) and the sacrifices they made to do what needed to be done makes me so very proud of them (even more than before I read it) In my humble opinion, They definitely deserved the honor given them by the author.Very Well Done!
This astoundingly well-researched look into unsung heroines and workers of the Manhattan Project's Oak Ridge facility (and beyond) was presented like narrative non-fiction. The author mixed in personal details from interviews with women across the plants with reports and news from the time.I was fascinated to read more about the unheralded contributions of scientists like Lise Meitner and Ida Noddack, disregarded because of their gender. As well, all of the women working at CEW made incredible contributions, but often were pushed aside for marriage or pregnancy, with little regard for their work.The book is listed as 400 pages but there are nearly 50 pages of citations, photos, and an interesting author interview about the book's background.
My father worked at Oak Ridge, TN when I was 4-5 years old (1944-1945). This book brought back memories of the little trailer that was home there, the endless wooden sidewalks with mud on either side that I fell into & the bath houses. My mother was a miracle worker managing everything with two little pre-school girls in tow.Reading the book gave me the women's point of view as well as the historical perspectives. My parents never talked about their time in Oak Ridge. Now I understand why. Were they still alive I would have a million questions to ask them.Denise Kiernan has written a very readable well researched book. I am grateful she undertook such a huge task.
It is an interesting report on an important piece of history. The author captures what it was like to be working on a secret project in a secret city via the use of multiple points of view expressed in somewhat disjointed Readers Digest length/ style vignettes. I would have preferred a more linear chronology, fewer pages and a single point of view.The book also gave a bit of the science behind the Manhattan Project and did so in an easy to read and not over technical way. Good job there.Still, although not read I relished, it does give a great deal of information that I found interesting. My book club read this… if not for that, I likely would have put it down one third of the way through.
