Giveaway: The Girls of Atomic City by Denise Kiernan

Disclosure / Disclaimer:  I received this giveaway, free of charge, from Wunderkid PRNo compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post/review. Nor was I told what to say, and all opinions are my own.

Just released TODAY is this new historical book, already a bestseller!

The Girls of Atomic City cov er

Synopsis:

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. They were each given a specific job and were forbidden to talk about it to anyone, even to each other.  It wasn't until President Truman announced that an atomic bomb had been dropped on Japan that the girls realized what their individual roles had worked together to create and 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. 


Facts about the Manhattan Project:


  • There were at least 10 Manhattan Project sites in New York and all but one of them are still standing.  Some of these buildings are still in use today, though for other things. Many of the employees that work in these buildings have no idea what the buildings were once used for. 
  • Manhattan was chosen as the first site for the Manhattan Project strictly because of convenience; When the orders came in that the Army Corps of Engineers were in charge of the project, it just made sense to have the headquarters in the same building.
  • The project was first contained to Columbia University, University of California at Berkeley, and the University of Chicago because they weren't making much headway with it. In 1942, after they created the first nuclear chain reaction, the project was spread out to include locations in New Mexico, Washington, and Tennessee.
  • Around $2 billion was spent on research for the Manhattan Project and the project employed more than 120,000 Americans.
  • It was so esssential to keep the Manhattan Project a secret that even Vice President Truman hadn't heard of the project until he became President Truman.
  • Pupin Hall (Pupin Physics Laboratories) at Columbia University was where they did reasearch that led to the world's first nuclear reactor.
  • What were once the Baker and Williams Warehouses are three tall buildings on West 20th Street that used to hold tons of uranium.
  • About 1,200 tons of high grade uranium ore was held on Staten Island by a Belgian man who feared the Germans were going to use a nuclear attack on the US. This man eventually supplied 2/3 of the uranium used in the project.
  • The Woolworth Building on 233 Broadway is where scientists worked on concentrating a rare isotype of uranium.
  • On 270 Broadway is a building across from City Hall where the Army Corps of Engineers had their headquarters and where the headquarters for the Manhattan Project was contained on the 18th floor.
  • In the summer of 1943, a little after a year since the project began, the headquarters was moved to Oak Ridge, Tennessee.




  • About the Author

    Denise Kiernan has been working as a writer for nearly 20 years. She has been published in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Village Voice, Ms. Magazine, Reader's Digest, Discover and many more publications. She has also worked in television, serving as head writer for ABC's "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" during its Emmy award-winning first season and producing for places such as ESPN and MSNBC. She has authored several popular history titles including  Signing Their Lives Away, Signing Their Rights Away and Stuff Every American Should Know. She was recently named to the board of the Atomic Heritage Foundation. To learn more about Denise Kiernan and The Girls of Atomic City, please visit



    Giveaway

    One lucky BTHM reader will win their own copy of this great book! 

    a Rafflecopter giveaway


    Thanks for reading this post and entering the giveaway!

    Comments

    1. I commented on your Address Your Heart with Campbells For a Healthier You post . I mentioned my healthy pork loin slow cooker recipe: http://blesstheirheartsmom.blogspot.com/2014/03/recipe-weekend-address-your-heart-with.html

      Nancy
      allibrary (at) aol (dot) com

      ReplyDelete

    Post a Comment