THE ATOMIC CITY GIRLS by Janet Beard gives you a behind the
scenes glimpse of the woman in Oak Ridge, Tennessee that took
part in World War 2. Recently there has been several books and
movies about the women who had important jobs that helped us
win the war that we really know very little about.
This book
focuses on June and Cici. Their responsibility was to monitor
levels and dials on a machine that they knew nothing about.
There was also two African Americans (Joe and Ralph) who were
living in poor conditions but making more money doing
construction then they ever could on the farm in Alabama. You
also get to know more about Sam who was a physicist and one of
the very few that knew what was going on.
THE ATOMIC CITY GIRLS lets you in
on the backstory of the few thousands of people who helped to
create an atomic bomb. The city they lived in was created
solely for that purpose. I really enjoyed reading about what
was really going on and the level of secrecy they had to keep.
They could not go home and talk about their day at work.
Everything was considered classified and top secret. Many did
not know what they were doing or why but still had to keep
their jobs a secret.
This is an interesting read that allows
you to see the small part they played in an even bigger picture
they could not ever imagine. The characters are written with
developed backstories that help to explain why they chose to
take on the
jobs they did. The author allows you an inside look at their
lives and family. You get to see their struggles and hardships
that working in this kind of environment creates. The setting
is spot on in descriptions and details. Overall, an amazing
read for anyone who loves a behind-the-scenes look at history.
In the bestselling tradition of Hidden Figures
and The Wives of Los Alamos, comes this
riveting novel of the everyday people who worked on the
Manhattan Project during World War II.
“What you see here, what you hear here, what you do
here, let it stay here.”
In November 1944, eighteen-year-old June Walker boards an
unmarked bus, destined for a city that doesn’t officially
exist. Oak Ridge, Tennessee has sprung up in a matter of
months—a town of trailers and segregated houses, 24-hour
cafeterias, and constant security checks. There, June joins
hundreds of other young girls operating massive machines
whose purpose is never explained. They know they are helping
to win the war, but must ask no questions and reveal nothing
to outsiders.
The girls spend their evenings socializing and flirting with
soldiers, scientists, and workmen at dances and movies,
bowling alleys and canteens. June longs to know more about
their top-secret assignment and begins an affair with Sam
Cantor, the young Jewish physicist from New York who
oversees the lab where she works and understands the end
goal only too well, while her beautiful roommate Cici is on
her own mission: to find a wealthy husband and escape her
sharecropper roots. Across town, African-American
construction worker Joe Brewer knows nothing of the
government’s plans, only that his new job pays enough to
make it worth leaving his family behind, at least for now.
But a breach in security will intertwine his fate with
June’s search for answers.
When the bombing of Hiroshima brings the truth about Oak
Ridge into devastating focus, June must confront her ideals
about loyalty, patriotism, and war itself.
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