Now It Can Be Told by Leslie Groves
After watching the horrifying HBO mini-series, Chernobyl, and listening to the companion podcast, I wanted to go back to the beginning of nuclear power and hear the story from one of the key players. I'd started this book a couple of times over the years but never got past the introduction. This time, I got into it and couldn't put it down.... It's an astounding account of project management and leadership, and all the people (and companies) that stepped up to help make this extraordinary achievement happen.
Groves was the just-promoted Army General who ran the Manhattan Project. The scope of his responsibilities was astounding - including engineering, construction and operation of the plants to make the bomb materials, R&D (he hired Oppenheimer to manage the science), security and counter-intelligence as well as global intelligence related to atomic activities, selecting the target cities and managing the execution of the actual delivery of the bombs. Ironically, when he was given the assignment, he describes his initial reaction as one of "extreme disappointment" because it was a small job compared with his current role as Deputy Chief of Construction for the Army Corps of Engineers. He comments "Magnitude aside, what little I knew of the project had not impressed me, and if I had known the complete picture I would have been still less impressed."
The writing style is very matter-of-fact; so much so that it was easy to forget the magnitude and complexity of the project he was managing, and the incredible uncertainty under which he was making huge decisions. I'm going to read more about Groves to understand his background better, but at one point he comments that "The need for a sound knowledge of atomic physics was much less vital..." because "...it is not extraordinarily difficult for anyone who will apply himself ... to understand the basic principles of atomic physics". Ha! As I said, very matter-of-fact and understated....
I googled the press release that was sent out after the bombing of Hiroshima. While it was clearly delivering a message to the Japanese, it also succinctly described the extent of the achievement:
If you're interested in reading more on this topic, one of the best books I've ever read is The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes (see blog posting here). For a light spin on day-to-day life at Los Alamos, I enjoyed 109 East Palace by Jannet Conant (see blog posting here). And Assault in Norway by Thomas Gallagher (see blog posting here) is about the amazing 1942 raid on the heavy water plant the Germans were operating in Norway.
Groves was the just-promoted Army General who ran the Manhattan Project. The scope of his responsibilities was astounding - including engineering, construction and operation of the plants to make the bomb materials, R&D (he hired Oppenheimer to manage the science), security and counter-intelligence as well as global intelligence related to atomic activities, selecting the target cities and managing the execution of the actual delivery of the bombs. Ironically, when he was given the assignment, he describes his initial reaction as one of "extreme disappointment" because it was a small job compared with his current role as Deputy Chief of Construction for the Army Corps of Engineers. He comments "Magnitude aside, what little I knew of the project had not impressed me, and if I had known the complete picture I would have been still less impressed."
The writing style is very matter-of-fact; so much so that it was easy to forget the magnitude and complexity of the project he was managing, and the incredible uncertainty under which he was making huge decisions. I'm going to read more about Groves to understand his background better, but at one point he comments that "The need for a sound knowledge of atomic physics was much less vital..." because "...it is not extraordinarily difficult for anyone who will apply himself ... to understand the basic principles of atomic physics". Ha! As I said, very matter-of-fact and understated....
I googled the press release that was sent out after the bombing of Hiroshima. While it was clearly delivering a message to the Japanese, it also succinctly described the extent of the achievement:
"...We have spent two billion dollars on the greatest scientific gamble in history - we won.
But the greatest marvel is not the size of the enterprise, its secrecy, nor its cost, but the achievement of scientific brains in putting together infinitely complex pieces of knowledge held by many men in different fields of science into a workable plan. And hardly less marvelous has been the capacity of industry to design, and of labor to operate, the machines and methods to do things never done before so that the brain child of many minds came forth in physical shape and performed as it was supposed to do. Both science and industry worked under the direction of the United States Army, which achieved a unique success in managing so diverse a problem in the advancement of knowledge in an amazingly short time. It is doubtful if such another combination could be got together in the world. What has been done is the greatest achievement of organized science in history. It was done under high pressure and without failure."
If you're interested in reading more on this topic, one of the best books I've ever read is The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes (see blog posting here). For a light spin on day-to-day life at Los Alamos, I enjoyed 109 East Palace by Jannet Conant (see blog posting here). And Assault in Norway by Thomas Gallagher (see blog posting here) is about the amazing 1942 raid on the heavy water plant the Germans were operating in Norway.
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