The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II in Around the World in 80 Books

Apr 27, 2016 Anie rated it really liked it

Shelves: own, non-fiction, history, female-author, female-protagonist, 2016, audiobook

This was truly excellent. For someone who got fixated on the TV show Manhattan last year, this was the perfect book: this was basically the anthropology of the atomic bomb, focusing on the women who made up much of the workforce that produced the plutonium and uranium for the bombs. It delves into the secrecy and odd sociology of the reservation, Oak Ridge, and into the experiences of individual women (interviewed by Kiernan) who worked at the reservation. It was genuinely engaging; you found yo ...more

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Mar 30, 2013 Jessica rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, historical, world-war-ii, science, secrecy-and-security

A fascinating story in many ways because it touches so much that interests me - the role of women in the war effort and in science, official secrets, isolated societies, the lot. But what strikes me most of all is how the work was often deeply ordinary even as the end result yielded such a dramatic impact on the whole order of the world. While it may be a little dry or insubstantial for those who don't have the same baseline level of interest in the subject, I found it worthwhile indeed. ...more

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Dec 13, 2020 Andy Plonka rated it really liked it

Shelves: src

There are many books centered on the role of women in the US during WWII, but this one has a slightly different emphasis. While not negating the important part that these women played in the creation of the atomic bomb, it focused on their dedication to their jobs and country without concentrating on how self sacrificing they were.

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