History

Happy Day for Books and Readers: GoodReads Choice Awards

   Download a Q&A about The Girls of Atomic City!

Thank you.

That’s right, you, the one over there who owes me nothing, whom I’ve never met, the one who isn’t related to me or feels they have to play the part of the dutiful friend. YOU.

You just happened to hear about my book somewhere. I can’t possibly know how or what struck you about it at that particular moment as you were going about your life. For some reason you looked it over and then proceeded to spend not only your hard-earned money on something I wrote but you gave that book your time as well. What’s more, you took the time to rate it, to recommend it, to pass it along virtually and verbally and even physically. And you’re not even my mom.

When I learned that The Girls of Atomic City was nominated as one of the best history and biography titles in this year’s GoodReads Choice Awards, I was happy for all of those sadly unevolved approval-seeking reasons, sure, but what is particularly satisfying about the GoodReads Choice Awards is that they are chosen by a community of readers, a group of folks connected in the magical land of the inter-webs by their love of a good book. 

In the words of nearly every nominee ever in the history of awards both great and small, “It’s great just to be nominated.” Well, guess what? It is. 

You can learn more about all the awards here. There are so many wonderful books. Give them some of your ever lovin' clicks. 

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Denise and Joe on WFAE's "Charlotte Talks"

Had a ball, as usual, talking with Mike Collins at WFAE in Charlotte, NC, this past Friday. From Thanksgiving to the origin of America’s name, we covered a lot in our hour-long chat. The mp3 should be available soon at the link above. 

Manhattan Project Round-Up

A lot of interesting and diverse articles about the Manhattan Project have popped up in my browser in the last week or so. Here are the ones that I think are the most interesting:

Manhattan Project Mystery

Cameron Reed at the American Physical Society has a new take on an old document: A handwritten note from President Franklin D. Roosevelt to Vannevar Bush.

Inside the Centre Review

A new book by Ray Monk on the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer is reviewd byThe Telegraph.


Science Around Us
In Honor of Veteran’s Day, the Da Vinci Science Center posted resources and a video about the Manhattan Project, including links to quizzes and original documents.

Manhattan Project National Park
Gregory McNamee at the Encyclopedia Britannica Blog gives his take on the proposed National Park sites in Los Alamos, Oak Ridge and Hanford.

Ed Westcott’s Secret City Photos
Last, but certainly not least, here is a nice feature on photographer Ed Westcott’s work during World War II by Chris Barrett at Metropulse.

todaysdocument: Fire! This photograph shows the USS Nevada providing naval gunfire support for the troops storming Omaha and Utah beaches in Normandy. During the first 3 days of the invasion, the battleship fired 876 rounds of 14-inch and 3,491 rou…

todaysdocument:

Fire!

This photograph shows the USS Nevada providing naval gunfire support for the troops storming Omaha and Utah beaches in Normandy. During the first 3 days of the invasion, the battleship fired 876 rounds of 14-inch and 3,491 rounds of 5-inch ammunition. The ship’s ten 14-inch guns threw 1,800-pound shells that landed as far as 17 miles away.

via DocsTeach