I’m a total geek for non-fiction books, and I’ve found two recently that are very intriguing.
The first is a new book titled The Secret of the Manhattan Project by Doreen Gonzales. This book is all about the history of the atomic bomb and gives loads of really interesting details about how the entire project was kept top secret. The book opens with this:
Imagine keeping a secret among a hundred thousand people. Or hiding three whole cities. Envision gathering several of the most famous scientists in the whole world in one place for three years without anyone knowing where they were or what they were doing.
What’s also very interesting about this book is that a part of the research for the Manhattan Project happened just up the road at the Ames Lab. You can read more about that here: http://isuspecialcollections.wordpress.com/2011/11/09/ames-laboratory-oral-history-project/
The second book is Blizzard of Glass: The Halifax Explosion of 1917 by Sally Walker. Did you know that a ship explosion at the end of World War I was the largest man-made explosion until the atomic bomb was dropped in 1945? This is the tragic story of the Mont-Blanc military ship on its way from Halifax to France to carry much-needed military explosives back to the war front. Its unfortunate collision in the Halifax harbor flattened both Halifax and its neighbor, Dartmouth.
Click here to find The Secret of the Manhattan Project in the library catalog.
Click here to find Blizzard of Glass: The Halifax Explosion of 1917 in the library catalog.
June 11, 2012
