The girls of Atomic City: the untold story of the women who helped win World War II
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Pub. Date:
Varies, see individual formats and editions
Language:
English
Description
The incredible story of the young women of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, who unwittingly played a crucial role in one of the most significant moments in US history.
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 true 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.
Drawing on the voices of the women who lived it'women who are now in their eighties and nineties'The Girls of Atomic City rescues a remarkable, forgotten chapter of American history from obscurity. Denise Kiernan captures the spirit of the times through these women: their pluck, their desire to contribute, and their enduring courage. Combining the grand-scale human drama of The Worst Hard Time with the intimate biography and often troubling science of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, The Girls of Atomic City is a lasting and important addition to our country's history.
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 true 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.
Drawing on the voices of the women who lived it'women who are now in their eighties and nineties'The Girls of Atomic City rescues a remarkable, forgotten chapter of American history from obscurity. Denise Kiernan captures the spirit of the times through these women: their pluck, their desire to contribute, and their enduring courage. Combining the grand-scale human drama of The Worst Hard Time with the intimate biography and often troubling science of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, The Girls of Atomic City is a lasting and important addition to our country's history.
Subjects
Subjects
Audiobooks
History
Large type books
Oak Ridge (Tenn.) -- Biography
Oak Ridge (Tenn.) -- History -- 20th century
Oak Ridge (Tenn.) -- Social life and customs -- 20th century
Oak Ridge National Laboratory -- History -- 20th century
Official secrets
Official secrets -- United States -- History -- 20th century
Social life and customs
Uranium enrichment
Uranium enrichment -- History -- 20th century
Women
Women -- Tennessee -- Oak Ridge -- Interviews
Women employees
Women employees -- Tennessee -- Oak Ridge -- History -- 20th century
World War, 1939-1945
World War, 1939-1945 -- Tennessee -- Oak Ridge
World War, 1939-1945 -- Women -- Tennessee -- Oak Ridge
History
Large type books
Oak Ridge (Tenn.) -- Biography
Oak Ridge (Tenn.) -- History -- 20th century
Oak Ridge (Tenn.) -- Social life and customs -- 20th century
Oak Ridge National Laboratory -- History -- 20th century
Official secrets
Official secrets -- United States -- History -- 20th century
Social life and customs
Uranium enrichment
Uranium enrichment -- History -- 20th century
Women
Women -- Tennessee -- Oak Ridge -- Interviews
Women employees
Women employees -- Tennessee -- Oak Ridge -- History -- 20th century
World War, 1939-1945
World War, 1939-1945 -- Tennessee -- Oak Ridge
World War, 1939-1945 -- Women -- Tennessee -- Oak Ridge
More Details
Contributors:
ISBN:
9781451617528
9781480597266
9781594137204
9781410456472
9781480597266
9781594137204
9781410456472
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Grouping Information
Grouped Work ID | 9a8fb9ff-022d-05d3-fb1c-d29e84eddca5 |
---|---|
Grouping Title | girls of atomic city the untold story of the women who helped win world war ii |
Grouping Author | denise kiernan |
Grouping Category | book |
Grouping Language | English (eng) |
Last Grouping Update | 2023-02-01 03:51:38AM |
Last Indexed | 2023-02-01 04:21:44AM |
Solr Fields
accelerated_reader_point_value
0
accelerated_reader_reading_level
0
auth_author2
Campbell, Cassandra
author
Kiernan, Denise
author2-role
Campbell, Cassandra,narrator
author_display
Kiernan, Denise
available_at_addison
Addison Public Library
collection_addison
Adults
detailed_location_addison
2nd Floor- Adult Audio Books
2nd Floor- Adult Books
2nd Floor- Adult Books
display_description
In this book the author traces the story of the unsung World War II workers in Oak Ridge, Tennessee through interviews with dozens of surviving women and other Oak Ridge residents. This is the story of the young women of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, who unwittingly played a crucial role in one of the most significant moments in U.S. history. The Tennessee town of Oak Ridge was created from scratch in 1942. One of the Manhattan Project's secret cities, it did not appear on any maps until 1949, and yet at the height of World War II it was using more electricity than New York City and was home to more than 75,000 people, many of them young women recruited from small towns across the South. Their jobs were shrouded in mystery, but they were buoyed by a sense of shared purpose, close friendships, and a surplus of handsome scientists and Army men. But against this wartime backdrop, a darker story was unfolding. The penalty for talking about their work, even the most innocuous details, was job loss and eviction. One woman was recruited to spy on her coworkers. They all knew something big was happening at Oak Ridge, but few could piece together the true nature of their work until the bomb "Little Boy" was dropped over Hiroshima, Japan, and the secret was out. The shocking revelation: the residents of Oak Ridge were enriching uranium for the atomic bomb. Though the young women originally believed they would leave Oak Ridge after the war, many met husbands there, made lifelong friends, and still call the seventy-year-old town home. The reverberations from their work there, work they did not fully understand at the time, are still being felt today.
format_addison
Book
Book on CD
Large Print
Book on CD
Large Print
format_category_addison
Audio Books
Books
Books
id
9a8fb9ff-022d-05d3-fb1c-d29e84eddca5
isbn
9781410456472
9781451617528
9781480597266
9781594137204
9781451617528
9781480597266
9781594137204
itype_addison
Audiobook on CD
Large Type
Nonfiction
Large Type
Nonfiction
last_indexed
2023-02-01T10:21:44.193Z
lexile_score
-1
literary_form
Non Fiction
literary_form_full
Non Fiction
local_callnumber_addison
976.8 KIE
AUDIO BOOK 976.8 KIE
LT 976.8 KIE
AUDIO BOOK 976.8 KIE
LT 976.8 KIE
owning_library_addison
Addison Public Library
owning_location_addison
Addison Public Library
primary_isbn
9781451617528
publishDate
2013
2014
2014
publisher
Brilliance Audio
Simon & Schuster
Thorndike Press, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning
Simon & Schuster
Thorndike Press, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning
recordtype
grouped_work
series
Brilliance Audio on compact disc
Thorndike Press large print nonfiction
Thorndike Press large print nonfiction
series_with_volume
Brilliance Audio on compact disc|
Thorndike Press large print nonfiction|
Thorndike Press large print nonfiction|
subject_facet
Audiobooks
Large type books
Oak Ridge (Tenn.) -- Biography
Oak Ridge (Tenn.) -- History -- 20th century
Oak Ridge (Tenn.) -- Social life and customs -- 20th century
Oak Ridge National Laboratory -- History -- 20th century
Official secrets -- United States -- History -- 20th century
Uranium enrichment -- History -- 20th century
Women -- Tennessee -- Oak Ridge -- Interviews
Women employees -- Tennessee -- Oak Ridge -- History -- 20th century
World War, 1939-1945 -- Tennessee -- Oak Ridge
World War, 1939-1945 -- Women -- Tennessee -- Oak Ridge
Large type books
Oak Ridge (Tenn.) -- Biography
Oak Ridge (Tenn.) -- History -- 20th century
Oak Ridge (Tenn.) -- Social life and customs -- 20th century
Oak Ridge National Laboratory -- History -- 20th century
Official secrets -- United States -- History -- 20th century
Uranium enrichment -- History -- 20th century
Women -- Tennessee -- Oak Ridge -- Interviews
Women employees -- Tennessee -- Oak Ridge -- History -- 20th century
World War, 1939-1945 -- Tennessee -- Oak Ridge
World War, 1939-1945 -- Women -- Tennessee -- Oak Ridge
title_display
The girls of Atomic City : the untold story of the women who helped win World War II
title_full
The girls of Atomic City : the untold story of the women who helped win World War II / Denise Kiernan
title_short
The girls of Atomic City
title_sub
the untold story of the women who helped win World War II
topic_facet
History
Large type books
Official secrets
Social life and customs
Uranium enrichment
Women
Women employees
World War, 1939-1945
Large type books
Official secrets
Social life and customs
Uranium enrichment
Women
Women employees
World War, 1939-1945
Solr Details Tables
item_details
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---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ils:.b14171594 | .i13188951 | 2nd Floor- Adult Audio Books | AUDIO BOOK 976.8 KIE | 1 | false | false | Check Shelf | Apr 22, 2021 | aabrb | ||||
ils:.b1233652x | .i12865990 | 2nd Floor- Adult Books | 976.8 KIE | 1 | false | false | Check Shelf | Sep 21, 2022 | anf | ||||
ils:.b12530220 | .i13152014 | 2nd Floor- Adult Books | LT 976.8 KIE | 1 | false | false | Check Shelf | Apr 18, 2022 | anf |
record_details
Bib Id | Format | Format Category | Edition | Language | Publisher | Publication Date | Physical Description | Abridged |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ils:.b14171594 | Book on CD | Audio Books | Unabridged | English | Brilliance Audio | [2014] | 11 audio discs (12 hr., 59 min.) : CD audio, digital ; 4 3/4 in. | |
ils:.b1233652x | Book | Books | 1st Touchstone hardcover ed | English | Simon & Schuster | 2013 | xvii, 373 p., [16] p. of plates : ill., map, ports. ; 24 cm. | |
ils:.b12530220 | Large Print | Books | Large print edition | English | Thorndike Press, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning | 2013 | 655 pages (large print) : illustrations, map ; 22 cm. |
scoping_details_addison
Bib Id | Item Id | Grouped Status | Status | Locally Owned | Available | Holdable | Bookable | In Library Use Only | Library Owned | Holdable PTypes | Bookable PTypes | Local Url |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ils:.b14171594 | .i13188951 | On Shelf | Check Shelf | false | true | true | false | false | true | 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 20, 21 | ||
ils:.b1233652x | .i12865990 | On Shelf | Check Shelf | false | true | true | false | false | true | 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 20, 21 | ||
ils:.b12530220 | .i13152014 | On Shelf | Check Shelf | false | true | true | false | false | true | 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 20, 21 |