This is one of the quintessential books on the history of life in Los Alamos. Several books have been written about the scientific side of the Manhattan Project, but fewer cover the way of life of the people trapped in a secret city. You can buy this book through Amazon. Click here to see the listing.
The book is organized chronologically, as it was lived. Scientific luminaries such as J. Robert Oppenheimer, Niels Bohr, and Richard Feynman make brief appearances in the book, as they did in the author’s life. The casual mention of such people emphasizes the the fact that Nobel Prize-winning scientists were just part of culture the in this strange corner of history. They are not the point of the book. Instead, the author focuses on the challenges faced by the families, just as she had done during her two years in the Manhattan Project.
The challenges were great. Chronic water shortages, unreliable electricity, and inadequate housing were just part of life. Censored mail and monitored phone calls emphasized the necessity of secrecy. If you should happen to forget for a moment, seeing FBI agents following you on a shopping trip in Santa Fe reminded you. As one of the military officers in charge of the town put it, “Will you now, please explain why men bring their wives to this place? I wouldn’t bring my wife here for any amount of money!”
However, Eleanor’s keen sense of the ridiculous saves this book from being a dry list of problems faced and overcome. In that, she shows the spirit of the town. What could not be fixed, could be laughed at. After all, whatever went on over in the tech area mattered. It might bring all the servicemen–Allied and Axis–home sooner.
When all else failed, a woman could step outside her home, look in practically any direction, and remind herself–at least we have a view.
