The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II by Denise Kiernan ★★★☆☆

A fascinating look into the parts needed to make the Manhattan Project succeed.

Non Fiction – History – World War II

416 pages

Publication Date:  2013  

Women from all over the US were asked to come and work in a town that didn’t officially exist, Oak Ridge, Tennessee.  The only information they were given was that it would help the war effort, but other than that they were told to do exactly as they were instructed and follow the number one rule, never ask a question.  Here are the stories of these women’s lives and how they contributed to the Manhattan Project.

I first discover this book on a trip to the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History in Albuquerque (by the way definitely worth the time if you are in the area, great exhibits and information, with helpful guides).  After spending time learning about the Manhattan Project my eyes were opened and I realized how very little I really understood what it took to make this project work and I was very eager to learn more.

This subject is amazingly interesting and worth learning about for anyone interested in WWII or even atomic energy.  I was very impressed with how well this book was document and researched; kudos to Ms. Kiernan for taking the time and attention to be thorough.  I also really appreciated the cast of characters and map at the beginning for reference.  Ms. Kiernan clearly cares about the subject people and thoughtfully portrays the people she features as accurately as she can. 

Now the downside.  Focus is a major problem.  I think that the book really suffers from trying to tackle too much.  All of the snippets in themselves were incredibly fascinating, but the constant changes of voice and subject focus made it really hard to keep everything straight.  This is not a book to dip in and out of.  Also, I personally struggled to understand the science stuff, which isn’t a natural strength for me.  When I visited the museum they had a great video and visual to explain it all, but using strictly words completely confused me.  But then I again I see this as part of the organization problem.  A tighter focus would have cut down on the breaks between the information and made it a more continuous flow.   And last – and not to be exactly unexpected – there was a bit of a feminism kick.  Not exactly horrible, but in a couple places it was incredibly overt and didn’t really do anything to add to the narrative.

Overall I was glad to have a chance to read this book and it has only added to my desire to learn more, which is always a good occurrence from this type of book.