the Girls of Atomic City

I’ve always been a bit of a history nerd, I believe I mentioned that when I reviewed Monuments Men. I love WW2 and it’s always interesting to hear about the women’s part in aiding their men. Have you seen Bletchley Circle? It’s a BBC show about women, who were code breakers in England during the war, who are now bored housewives solving crimes.

Anyway.

The Girls of Atomic City is the untold story of the women who went to work in Oak Ridge, TN on what would become the atomic bomb. The story bounces between a few key women: Celia, Toni, Jane, Kattie, Virginia, Colleen, Dot, Helen and Rosemary as well as the origins of “tubealloy” (the code-word for uranium) and the scientists who made headway in its developments.

Historical non-fiction is not everyone’s cup of tea, but I like history and the women of Oak Ridge were never in any of the history books I read in school. These women were doing something for their country, even if it was just taking dictation, without asking questions. They didn’t know what the gadget was for but the hope that it would end the war (many of them had brothers overseas) was enough for them to pledge their allegiance to the Project. It’s crazy to me that the government could pull off what they did without anyone knowing… even the people working on it!

I’d give it a higher rating but the science heavy sections were a bit tedious for me.