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catbrigand's review
3.0
I was so excited to read this book, both as a lifelong resident of the Oak Ridge area and because my great-aunt was a girl of Atomic City, and, like many who worked there, she had no idea what she was doing or what the plant was producing. So I was looking forward to getting closer to her (in spirit, as she was not one of the women profiled in the book). Well, this book kind of did that.
I feel as though Kiernan wasn't sure what she wanted this to be. She tried to do three things in the book: write about the process of developing and enriching the plutonium for the bombs, describe life in Oak Ridge and what went on there, and profile a handful of individual women from Oak Ridge and their lives. Because of this uncertain mission, Kiernan didn't do any of these things particularly well. The book--which I consumed in audio form on long drives--was enjoyable, but it was not what I wanted it to be. I understand that part of this is because while they were doing the work, the titular Atomic City girls had no idea what they were doing or what the end result would be.
One thing I appreciated about the book was that the book continues for some length after the bombs were dropped, showing the public and private reaction to the aftermath and how the women felt as they realized what they were working on. I actually would have enjoyed more on this, but I appreciate that the book covered it at all.
I feel as though Kiernan wasn't sure what she wanted this to be. She tried to do three things in the book: write about the process of developing and enriching the plutonium for the bombs, describe life in Oak Ridge and what went on there, and profile a handful of individual women from Oak Ridge and their lives. Because of this uncertain mission, Kiernan didn't do any of these things particularly well. The book--which I consumed in audio form on long drives--was enjoyable, but it was not what I wanted it to be. I understand that part of this is because while they were doing the work, the titular Atomic City girls had no idea what they were doing or what the end result would be.
One thing I appreciated about the book was that the book continues for some length after the bombs were dropped, showing the public and private reaction to the aftermath and how the women felt as they realized what they were working on. I actually would have enjoyed more on this, but I appreciate that the book covered it at all.
lilywoodside's review
5.0
What a great work of storytelling and historiography! We read this as a class for US women’s history. This book takes you through the lives of the women who worked in Oak Ridge, Tennessee during World War II.
What is so incredibly cool as a historian is that you get these first person narratives from the women themselves, primary sources. An excellent read that gives you an empathy for the women who left their homes to work on a project that they would have no idea of the outcome.
What is so incredibly cool as a historian is that you get these first person narratives from the women themselves, primary sources. An excellent read that gives you an empathy for the women who left their homes to work on a project that they would have no idea of the outcome.
jennette_danyelle's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
book_concierge's review
4.0
Audiobook narrated by Cassandra Campbell
4****
From the book jacket: At the height of World War II, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, was home to 75,000 residents, consuming more electricity than New York City. But to most of the world, the town did not exist. Thousands of civilians – many of them young women from small towns across the South – were recruited to this secret city, enticed by solid wages and the promise of war-ending work. Kept very much in the dark, few would ever guess the tru nature of the tasks they performed each day in the hulking factories in the middle of the Appalachian Mountains. That is, until the end of the war – when Oak Ridge’s secret was revealed.
My Reactions
This is a very interesting micro history of the men and women – many women – who worked to extract the key ingredient that would fuel the bombs the U.S. dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasacki, thereby ending the war. Kiernan did much research and was able to interview a few surviving women to get their personal stories. In this way we learn about the housekeepers, nurses, chemists, office clerks, statisticians, lab workers, and calutron cubicle operators who each worked in isolation, knowing only just enough about what they were supposed to do, but never knowing the entire scope of the project. Using the personal stories of a handful of women made the history personal and engaging.
What I found particularly fascinating was how the government built this city from scratch. The early workers arrived to mud and a few dormitories, but very quickly the city grew to include a hospital, cemetery, residences, mass transit system, and facilities for religious observance and recreation (gymnasium, movie theater, dance hall, etc).
Cassandra Campbell does a fine job narrating the audio version. She has become one of my favorite audio performers. She has good pacing, clear diction, and is able to breathe life into the performance. In places I felt that I was listening to the young women relate their experiences.
4****
From the book jacket: At the height of World War II, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, was home to 75,000 residents, consuming more electricity than New York City. But to most of the world, the town did not exist. Thousands of civilians – many of them young women from small towns across the South – were recruited to this secret city, enticed by solid wages and the promise of war-ending work. Kept very much in the dark, few would ever guess the tru nature of the tasks they performed each day in the hulking factories in the middle of the Appalachian Mountains. That is, until the end of the war – when Oak Ridge’s secret was revealed.
My Reactions
This is a very interesting micro history of the men and women – many women – who worked to extract the key ingredient that would fuel the bombs the U.S. dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasacki, thereby ending the war. Kiernan did much research and was able to interview a few surviving women to get their personal stories. In this way we learn about the housekeepers, nurses, chemists, office clerks, statisticians, lab workers, and calutron cubicle operators who each worked in isolation, knowing only just enough about what they were supposed to do, but never knowing the entire scope of the project. Using the personal stories of a handful of women made the history personal and engaging.
What I found particularly fascinating was how the government built this city from scratch. The early workers arrived to mud and a few dormitories, but very quickly the city grew to include a hospital, cemetery, residences, mass transit system, and facilities for religious observance and recreation (gymnasium, movie theater, dance hall, etc).
Cassandra Campbell does a fine job narrating the audio version. She has become one of my favorite audio performers. She has good pacing, clear diction, and is able to breathe life into the performance. In places I felt that I was listening to the young women relate their experiences.
icalyn_13's review
4.0
What an interesting history lesson. I never had any idea about Oak Ridge and how it was a part of the Manhattan Project, and to read about it through the eyes of the women that helped make it happen - even better.
cmhillner's review
3.0
It was fine. The information was interesting but the people were one dimensional. They could have been interchangeable; no personalities were developed or relationships. No real understanding of how the people felt about their work or about realizing the truth or their work. I have no idea why there was not more information about women specifically considering the title. I have no better understanding about the women of this time or place in anyway. Dull read is my final opinion.