Made in Hanford: The Bomb That Changed the World

Made in Hanford, the Bomb that Changed the World. I purchased this book hoping to learn more about Hanford. I am an environmental engineer and although this area is not my specialty, in recent years I have been reading everything I can about the various bomb and nuclear power developments, in the hopes of obtaining a better understanding of their overall environmental impact. Of the various sites related to the Manhattan Project, it seems that less is written about Hanford that any other even though Hanford must be the worst of all the sites in terms of environmental problems. This book is only a little more about Hanford that other Manhattan project books. The first seven chapters describe physics and how the various scientists came to the conclusion that fission was possible and had actually been observed in laboratories. Chapter 8 describes Hanford's B reactor and the problems that were overcome to develop it. There is some new material for me regarding Hanford - the preparations for secrecy prior to the site's construction, the various gag orders and some detail on the processes. The last chapters describe the test site in the Pacific and some of the problems that the tests created. I had not understood our poor treatment of the Marshal Islanders - which seems very shabby given the amounts of money we have spent in recent years on much less deserving people and projects. I did learn something new from this book, but I think this is a good book for a newcomer to this topic to read first. It is much less to read that Rhodes' books on the making of the bombs, but provides a pretty good summary of the various aspects of the bomb development and its aftermath. It is well written and contains some human interest stories from the author's personal or family involvement. If you are just starting to read about the Manhattan project and all of its impacts on society today, this is a good book to start with. Afterwards, if you want to learn more about Hanford, I recommend M.S. Gerber On the Home Front, The Cold War Legacy of the Hanford Nuclear Site, for a more technical treatment, and Teri Hein's Atomic Farm Girl for a personal account. Hein grew up downwind of Hanford and she discusses here experiences.

What a terrific story. Only 40 pages into the book and already fascinated (now almost finished). Hill is clearly an exceptional writer (family journalistic background?). From the opening two pages (the chronology of several events which set the perspective for all that follows) onward to the story of how engineers were living in his own house while he was a youngster, he writes engrossingly as if it's historical fiction. Doesn't read at all like a regular documentary, but rather I actually can "hear David McCullough reading the story to me". It's that "smooth, well paced and connected. I'm also fascinated (an old engineering graduate from MIT) in the physics, which is explained simply and directly. Lots of stuff I never learned about at MIT even. What a surprise. Am learning some chemistry all over again and loving it. Look forward to passing the book along to others (including my grandson) to read.

I'm not sure I should review a book that I haven't finished but I'm going to anyway. I stayed up too late last night reading Mr. Williams captivating narrative of the development of the Hanford Works and the discovery and manufacturing of plutonium. I'm working on a writing project of my own about Hanford in the 1940's. This book is as real to being there as you can get. The science is explained so a math-science-challenged dummy like me finally has a glimmer of understanding. Thank you Mr. Williams for your clear, cogent prose, your historical accuracy and your passion for this subject.

the author has the ability to take a subject that is a little difficult to understand, explain the events that took place in a clear manner and yet just technical enough to go into detail without losing or boring the reader ..... it was an enjoyable informative read and i have recommended the book to my friends my hats off to hill williams

An excellent read - follow the process from the early beginnings. I enjoyed the engineering aspect of taking basically what was a lab experiment and designing and building a facility to produce plutonium in quantities needed to build the bomb. It is amazing when we consider the thousands of workers during the construction that the security was so excellent. There were only a very small few that knew what the end result was to be! I doubt if we could ever achieve that degree of security today what with the satellite technology that is available.

My husband was stationed in Hanford in the 50's so this has been of special interest to us. Quite enlightening.

Fantastically written book!! Holds your interest and helps you to vicariously experience what the people living in the area were thinking about this mysterious government project. Frankly, it's still a site for mysterious government projects!

A friend loaned us this book and we enjoyed it so much bought one ourselves! Since my husband has worked at Hanford for 35 years, it was especially interesting. The time line and in depth searching the facts was appreciated. We have recommended it to others.