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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
This is an untold story of history about the uranium enriching Army facility in East Tennessee during the Manhattan Project efforts of WWII. You are introduced to a variety of characters working at different levels and in roles from janitor to scientist in the facility. I usually love an untold piece of history in a novel, but I was underwhelmed by this read. At times, I really didn't like it. I could have easily put it down and wouldn't have regretted it. I kept wondering how it was all going to come together, and in the end, I think all of the plot threads and characters were just not fully developed.
This idea and story has so much promise—a somewhat unknown piece of WW2 history about the community (and mostly women) who made such a significant impact on the outcome of WW2 by helping to make the atomic bomb (unbeknownst to them...) Maybe I just didn’t like the characters, or maybe the multiple story lines and themes were too much for me. Could have been a great book, but it was just ok to me. 2.5 stars rounded up.
I really enjoyed this book. I like reading reading WWII books in general and really liked learning about life in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. I wish the pictures were captioned so I knew what I was looking at, but all in all I really enjoyed this book.
Overall a decent book. It was actually strangely compelling, but I think this was due to the subject matter for me rather than the execution. I knew nothing about this at all, which not to sound conceited, is a bit rare for me (going in blind on a topic, that is.)
I really loved the idea of intersecting storylines, but following the stories of four people who all have a place in developing the atomic bomb was a bit irritating. The characters just werent that likeable. Cici is meant to be the ultimate mean girl and it shows. June is a sweet farm girl, but she just puts up with too much crap for my liking. Joe is relatable but he actually takes a bit of a backseat to his friends story and Sam? Sam is a vile creature. Im certain the author was trying to show his emotional undoing over his part in the bomb's creation, but you get the direct impression he's the kind of man that would get hammered and beat his wife for burning a TV dinner. Conceited shallow and just generally awful.
Also- can I just mention that the plausibility of June escaping treason charges and being shot is pretty unlikely, and definitely not by just tricking an investigator by being a vapid, emotional woman.
The epilogue also moved so quickly and wrapped everything up in a pretty bow. A bit much for me.
I really loved the idea of intersecting storylines, but following the stories of four people who all have a place in developing the atomic bomb was a bit irritating. The characters just werent that likeable. Cici is meant to be the ultimate mean girl and it shows. June is a sweet farm girl, but she just puts up with too much crap for my liking. Joe is relatable but he actually takes a bit of a backseat to his friends story and Sam? Sam is a vile creature. Im certain the author was trying to show his emotional undoing over his part in the bomb's creation, but you get the direct impression he's the kind of man that would get hammered and beat his wife for burning a TV dinner. Conceited shallow and just generally awful.
Also- can I just mention that the plausibility of June escaping treason charges and being shot is pretty unlikely, and definitely not by just tricking an investigator by being a vapid, emotional woman.
The epilogue also moved so quickly and wrapped everything up in a pretty bow. A bit much for me.
It's all about the people in Janet Beard's new book, The Atomic City Girls. The main through story is about 18-year-old June Walker who gets a job turning dials at the Oak Ridge, TN facility known as the Clinton Engineering Works. June meets an older man, Sam Cantor, a physicist and a Jew. Sam ultimately becomes the most interesting character in the book. As June comes of age she learns both good and bad about Sam and about the nature of her work. Prejudice is also a significant theme in the book as we meet Joe, a laborer who lives in the black hutments, having left his family behind in Alabama so he can earn enough money to support them. Black workers are not allowed to live together as families, nor can they be assured of a seat on the bus.
In the vein of Hidden Figures, this book tells a story of the unknown workers who contributed to the Manhattan Project and ultimately to the atomic bomb. It was interesting and entertaining and pointed out some of the moral conflicts that I had not thought about before. The writing is beautiful and the inclusion of photographs added to the authenticity of the story.
In the vein of Hidden Figures, this book tells a story of the unknown workers who contributed to the Manhattan Project and ultimately to the atomic bomb. It was interesting and entertaining and pointed out some of the moral conflicts that I had not thought about before. The writing is beautiful and the inclusion of photographs added to the authenticity of the story.
This takes us into the lives of numerous characters who lived and worked on the Manhattan Project at Oak Ridge. Ordinary people have no idea they are working on the atomic bomb. The title is deceptive because it reveals the reality for multiple characters, not just women. The main focus is on a country girl, June, who ends up in a relationship with Dr Cantor, one of the scientists. June shares a dormitory with another young woman, CC. Their relationship starts out positive but deteriorates when she can no longer control June. I was fascinated by the lives of the black men who worked as labourers and janitors.
This was ok but doesn’t get into enough details about the actual going’s on at the site. I’m going to have to read [b: The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II|15801668|The Girls of Atomic City The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II|Denise Kiernan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1352912866l/15801668._SX50_.jpg|21525054].
This was ok but doesn’t get into enough details about the actual going’s on at the site. I’m going to have to read [b: The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II|15801668|The Girls of Atomic City The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II|Denise Kiernan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1352912866l/15801668._SX50_.jpg|21525054].
3.5, rounded up. I wanted to love this one, but it just didn’t quite get there. The title is misleading, as the story focuses on four different people, two of whom are men. The story bounces between these different perspectives which makes the experience more well-rounded, but I felt like a lot was left unsaid about each character.
I love WWII books, but thus was a new part of that for me. It was great to read about the war at home, but with still so much secrecy that it likely felt foreign to those involved.
I love WWII books, but thus was a new part of that for me. It was great to read about the war at home, but with still so much secrecy that it likely felt foreign to those involved.
