The Girls of Atomic City : the Untold Story of the Women who Helped win World War II

Locations
Call Number: BOCD 976.873 Ki
On Shelf At: Downtown Library

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	BOCD 976.873 Ki	4-week checkout	On Shelf

Compact discs.
Read by Cassandra Campbell.
During World War II, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, was home to 75,000 residents, consuming more electricity than New York City. Thousands of civilians, mostly young women, were recruited, enticed by solid wages and war-ending work. Few would guess the true nature of the work done there. That is, until the end of the war and the secret was revealed. Interviewing the women who lived it, the author captures the spirit of the times through them: their pluck, desire to contribute, and enduring courage.

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An interesting history piece, but only a so-so story submitted by Cherie on July 21, 2023, 12:25pm "Girls of Atomic City" had so much potential with themes surrounding WWII, women, science, the atomic bomb, and even racism. Unfortunately, the book was somewhat disappointing. Oversold as being more narrative, having more suspense, and being more about women than it actually was, this book turned out to be quite a dry read. It's almost as if there we two separate books that were combined. One book reading more like a timeline of facts and events about how Oakridge, Tennessee came to be, and then what became of it after the bomb dropped in Japan; the other book being about the "Girls" to which the title refers. Each one very interesting, but combined in such a way that made the reading disjointed and hard to follow.

The biggest disappointment in the book is how the women seem more like an afterthought - plugged in between sections about the city of Oakridge and its uranium processing facilities. Their stories were so broken up, it was very hard to keep track of who was who, and even harder to get emotionally invested in their stories.