Target Hiroshima: Deak Parsons and the Creation of the Atomic Bomb

by Al Christman

For better or worse, Navy captain William S. "Deak" Parsons made the atomic bomb happen. As ordnance chief and associate director at Los Alamos, Parsons turned the scientists' nuclear creation into a practical weapon. As weaponeer, he completed the assembly of "Little Boy" during the flight to Hiroshima. As bomb commander, he approved the release of the bomb that forever changed the world. Yet over the past fifty years only fragments of his story have appeared, in part because of his own self-effacement and the nation's demand for secrecy. Based on recently declassified Manhattan Project documents, including Parsons' logs and other untapped sources, the book offers an unvarnished account of this unsung hero and his involvement in some of the greatest scientific advances of the twentieth century.

344 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1998

Reviews

[Everydayreader1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Navy captain William S. "Deak" Parsons, as ordnance chief and associate director at Los Alamos, with almost single-minded determination and drive, can be credited with bringing the Manhattan Project and the development of the atomic bomb to its conclusion, weeks before it was dropped on Hiroshima in August 1945. Al Christman details this story in "Target Hiroshima: Deak Parsons and the Creation of the Atomic Bomb." Because of his military experience, along with having the brilliant mind of a scientist, Deak Parsons was able to coordinate and contribute to this effort in a way that perhaps no one else could, at the time.

I found this book most interesting. It conveyed the urgency of the times, as well as much of the culture and attitude toward science of that era. It also caused me to reflect on the fact that Captain Parsons and the men and women responsible for development of the atomic bomb were extraordinarily gifted people just doing a job they were asked to do.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

Biography of a less well known American hero. Deak Parsons, New Mexico raised, Navy educated, was the technical genius behind the fusing of the first atomic weapon. Post WWII, he drove development of the nuclear Navy. Parsons was a critical person in the atomic development of WWII, this is the only story that I could find about him...written by a one book author. I found the book online for a penny. The story develops nicely, chronologically for the most part. The book's flow runs from his boyhood, through relationships developed at the Naval Academy, and includes alternate assignments in the operational Navy and technical scientific assignments. It illuminates Deak's participation in the Manhattan project as well as Navy contributions to the same. Post war projects come next, followed by an operational assignment and his death while serving in the Pentagon. It's well documented--an academic would be proud.