Atomic Women: The Untold Stories of the Scientists Who Helped Create the Nuclear Bomb

by Roseanne Montillo

Overview

Bomb meets Code Girls in this nonfiction narrative about the little-known female scientists who were critical to the invention of the atomic bomb during World War II.

They were leaning over the edge of the unknown and afraid of what they would discover there—meet the World War II female scientists who worked in the secret sites of the Manhattan Project. Recruited not only from labs and universities from across the United States but also from countries abroad, these scientists helped in—and often initiated—the development of the atomic bomb, taking starring roles in the Manhattan Project. In fact, their involvement was critical to its success, though many of them were not fully aware of the consequences.

The atomic women include:

• Lise Meitner and Irène Joliot-Curie (daughter of Marie Curie), who laid the groundwork for the Manhattan Project from Europe
• Elizabeth Rona, the foremost expert in plutonium, who gave rise to the "Fat Man" and "Little Boy," the bombs dropped over Japan
• Leona Woods, Elizabeth Graves, and Joan Hinton, who were inspired by European scientific ideals but carved their own paths

This book explores not just the critical steps toward the creation of a successful nuclear bomb, but also the moral implications of such an invention.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316489607
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	05/18/2021
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	150,374
Product dimensions:	5.45(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Roseanne Montillo is the author of three works of nonfiction, Fire on the Track, The Lady and her Monsters, and The Wilderness of Ruin. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College, where she taught courses on the intersection of literature and history. She lives outside of Boston.

Table of Contents

Prologue 1

Part 1 A European Beginning

Chapter 1 All That Glitters 13

Chapter 2 A Shy and Quiet Girl 23

Chapter 3 A Life in Learning 34

Chapter 4 Power Couple 50

Chapter 5 In Exile 59

Chapter 6 A Secret Project 79

Part 2 Bomb Making in America

Chapter 7 Two of a Kind 95

Chapter 8 The General and the Scientist 106

Chapter 9 American Life 111

Chapter 10 Recruiting 124

Chapter 11 Leona 128

Chapter 12 Coworkers 136

Chapter 13 The Reactor 143

Chapter 14 Diz 158

Chapter 15 The Professor and the Apprentice 163

Chapter 16 Chicago Pile-1 170

Chapter 17 The Los Alamos Visit 184

Chapter 18 Coming to America 187

Chapter 19 Trinity 197

Chapter 20 The End and the Beginning 208

Photographs 221

Author's Note 227

Acknowledgments 229

Scientific Timeline 231

Source Notes 237

Bibliography 253

Index 258

Editorial Reviews

"Montillo's detailed and organized writing stresses the importance of these women, who were as indispensable to the Manhattan Project as more well-known men."—School Library Journal

"Recommended for readers with an interest in the sciences, women's studies, and who support the ethic of giving women their due for their accomplishments."—School Library Connection

"Lively, well-researched, and comprehensible. A useful work of scientific history."—Kirkus

"An eye-opening historical reconstruction that respects the intellectual diversity of the women behind and within the Manhattan Project."—BCCB

"Montillo's woman-centered narrative fills a major gap in the popular understanding of how the atomic bomb came to be."—Publishers Weekly

"A well-researched book on women scientists and their roles in developing the atomic bomb."—Booklist

"Montillo powerfully explains how the brilliant figures of Atomic Women overcame gender bias and pursued scientific passions.... [A]n impressive commemoration of extraordinary scientists."—Shelf Awareness

From the Publisher

04/20/2020

On a July morning in 1945, Joan Hinton saw a world-changing explosion: “It was like being at the bottom of an ocean of light.” Hinton, a physicist, was one of the many women scientists integral to the development of the atomic bomb whose stories anchor Montillo’s (Fire on the Track for adults) narrative in two sections. The first, set in Europe, traces the origins of nuclear science, introducing Marie Curie, whose findings “would have... devastating consequences in the rush to build the atomic bomb,” and Lise Meitner, whose theory of fission underpinned the bomb effort. The second section, set in the U.S., focuses on the women scientists developing the bomb, including Hinton. In blunt, declarative prose, Montillo sketches lives and careers. Sexism (“ noticed that female students... were tolerated more than included”) and deep ambivalence about the bomb (“How would she be able to live with it herself?”) recur as themes. Nonchronological editorial choices, a full-to-bursting cast of characters, and a tendency to breeze past scientific concepts (including beta decay, Brillouin zones, and even the workings of the bomb itself) without explanation make understanding the scope and impact of these women’s contributions difficult. Still, Montillo’s woman-centered narrative fills a major gap in the popular understanding of how the atomic bomb came to be. Ages 12–up. Agent: Rob Weisbach, Rob Weisbach Creative Management. (May)

Publishers Weekly

01/01/2020

Gr 6–8—Montillo begins the narrative with Marie Curie's radium discovery and then discusses the prevalent sexism Curie faced as a working mother. Because of sexism, many believed that her husband, Pierre, copublished scientific papers and discoveries only out of a sense of matrimonial duty. The author also unpacks the societal perceptions of some of the most important women in science at that time, including Lise Meitner, Irène Joliot-Curie, and Joan Hinton. Many did not receive praise or funding, were cast aside to closet-sized labs, and often worked without payment or university acknowledgment. They were motivated by their love of science and learning despite the judgment of critics that labeled these women odd, unfeminine, or incapable. The book contains a running theme of women who were dismissed while their male spouses and colleagues moved ahead, but also spotlights perseverance and genius. When some of these women were asked to work on the top-secret Manhattan Project, many seemed uncertain. The world was in the midst of war, and while the immediacy of their creation was felt by all, the future implications seemed dire. Montillo's detailed and organized writing stresses the importance of these women, who were as indispensable to the Manhattan Project as more well-known men like J. Robert Oppenheimer and Enrico Fermi. The detailed back matter includes an author's note, a scientific time line, source notes, and bibliography. VERDICT A general purchase, especially for libraries where narrative nonfiction does well.—Kristyn Dorfman, The Nightingale-Bamford School, New York City

School Library Journal

2020-02-09
Intertwining stories of the often ignored female scientists whose research led to the creation of the atomic bomb.

Montillo begins with Marie Curie, the one female physicist most people can name. After identifying, isolating, and purifying the first known radioactive elements—radium and polonium—she and her husband, Pierre, shared the 1903 Nobel Prize in physics. Readers may not be aware that fellow French scientists conspired to keep her name off the award, believing incorrectly that she only assisted Pierre. Their daughter, Irène Joliot-Curie, would also win a Nobel Prize for her work with radioactive elements. Austrian Jew Lise Meitner fled to Stockholm to escape the Nazis, where she did mathematical work proving the possibility of nuclear fission. As World War II progressed, America began to explore the possibility of weaponizing nuclear energy, and the Manhattan Project began. American physicist Leona Woods helped perform the first nuclear chain reaction while Joan Hinton built elements of the first nuclear reactor. Montillo tells their stories—along with those of many other women—in this comprehensive work. The narrative bounces back and forth in time, sometimes in ways that may confuse readers, and, unfortunately, it ends with the nuclear bombs falling on Hiroshima and Nagasaki—it would have been nice to read something about what these women achieved afterward. Still, the book is lively, well-researched, and comprehensible.

A useful work of scientific history. (author’s note, timeline, source notes, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 12-18)

Kirkus Reviews