Manhattan Project: The Birth of the Atomic Bomb in the Words of Its Creators, Eyewitnesses, and Historians

488 Pages·2007·4.45 MB·English

by  Cynthia C. Kelly

The Manhattan Project

The Birth of the Atomic Bomb
in the Words of Its Creators,
Eyewitnesses, and Historians
Edited by Cynthia C. Kelly
President, Atomic Heritage Foundation
Introduced by Richard Rhodes
Copyright © 2007 by the Atomic Heritage Foundation.
See pages 489-495 for additional text and art credits and permissions.
Those pages constitute a continuation of this copyright page.
All rights reserved. No part of this book, either text or illustration, may be used
or reproduced in any form without prior written permission from the publisher.
ISBN-13: 978-1-57912-747-3
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The Manhattan project: the birth of the atomic bomb in the words of its creators,
eyewitnesses, and historians / edited by Cynthia C. Kelly.
p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-57912-747-3
1. Manhattan Project (U.S.)—History. 2. Atomic bomb—United States
—
History. I. Kelly, Cynthia C.

QC773.3.U5M27 2007
355.8’251190973--dc22

2007023984
Interior design: Cynthia Belinfanti
Cover design: Elizabeth Driesbach
Manufactured in the United States of America

Published by
Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, Inc.
151 West 19th Street
New York, New York 10011
Distributed by
Workman Publishing Company
225 Varick Street
New York, NY 10014

g f e d c b a
Acknowledgments

Thanks to all the Manhattan Project veterans and their family members,
distinguished historians, novelists, artists and others whose diverse perspectives
enrich and enliven this book. This project reflects the expertise of five award-
winning Manhattan Project authors who served as our advisory team and were
indispensable to the effort.
In addition to providing valuable advice, Richard Rhodes, author of The
Making of the Atomic Bomb, wrote a masterful introduction. Robert S. Norris,
author of Racing for the Bomb, retrieved numerous documents from his personal
archives and created guides to the Manhattan Project sites in New York City and
Washington DC. William Lanouette, author of Genius in the Shadows, shaped
the sections on the moral and ethical dilemmas associated with the use of the
bomb. Kai Bird made many excellent suggestions stemming from his work on
American Prometheus and Hiroshima’s Shadow. Andrew Brown, author of The
Neutron and the Bomb, ensured that the British and their contributions are well
represented.
This volume came into being because of the personal interest of J. P.
Leventhal, president of Black Dog & Leventhal. Joseph Kanon suggested that
Black Dog contact the Atomic Heritage Foundation and Laura Ross expertly
guided its development. It was a great opportunity and pleasure to work with
Black Dog on this publication.
Kathryn McPike and Jennifer Rea, Princeton Fellows, were responsible for
translating the suggestions of the advisors into black-and-white content and did
so with intelligence and professionalism. Colin Clay, Tim Malacarne, and
Theresa Schlafly ably managed the Atomic Heritage Foundation’s many other
projects. Also, we are grateful to Latham & Watkins for use of its high-tech
conference space and thank Dorrie Nero for taking care of the logistics for the
advisory team’s meetings.
My personal interest in the Manhattan Project stems from working with the
Department of Energy (DOE) in the 1990s when the mandate for environmental
clean up threatened to demolish almost all of the remaining Manhattan Project
properties. Thanks to those who have been important allies for preservation at
DOE including Gerald Boyd, Colleen French, Skip Gosling, Gary Hartman, John
Isaacson, Keith Klein, Ellen Livingston-Behan, Steve McCracken, Ellen
McGehee, Roger Meade, John Rhoades, Bill Richardson, Mike Telson and John
Wagoner. The Advisory Council for Historic Preservation’s Chairman John Nau,
John Fowler and Tom McCullough have been important advocates for
preserving the Manhattan Project properties.
The leadership and support of the Congressional delegations from New
Mexico, Tennessee and Washington and their staff have been vitally important.
In New Mexico, the Cultural Affairs Office, New Mexico Heritage and
Preservation Alliance, Los Alamos County and the Los Alamos Historical
Society have each played important roles. Special thanks to Nancy Bartlit, Nona
Bowman, Fran Berting, Larry Campbell, George Cowan, Hedy Dunn, Bill
Enloe, Dennis Erickson, Kevin Holsapple, Heather McClenahan, Louis Rosen,
Kathryn Slick and Jeannette Wallace for their many contributions.
For preserving Oak Ridge’s Manhattan Project heritage, thanks to the
American Museum of Science and Energy, City of Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge
Heritage & Preservation Association, Partnership for K-25 Preservation and the
Rotary Club of Oak Ridge. Special thanks to Darrell Akins, Margaret Allard,
David Bradshaw, Katy Brown, George Dials, the late Joseph Dykstra, Gordon
Fee, Amy Fitzgerald, Susan Gawarecki, Steve Goodpasture, Johnny Gruber,
Howard Harvey, Kem Hinton, Dennis Hill, Wayne Hope, Rick Howard, Mike
Hughes, Ted Lollis, Martin McBride, Keith McDaniel, Patrick McMillan, David
Miller, George Piper, Bob Seigler, D. Ray Smith, Lloyd Stokes, Steve Stowe,
Mick Weist, and Bill Wilcox for their active support for heritage preservation in
Oak Ridge.
The B Reactor Museum Association, City of Richland, Columbia River
Exhibition on History, Science and Technology, Hanford Communities, Hanford
Reach Museum, Tri-Cities Visitors and Convention Bureau, and TRIDEC are all
important players in preserving Hanford’s history. Tana Bader-Inglima, Del
Ballard, Madeline Brown, Pam Brown-Larsen, Steve Buckingham, Dru Butler,
Connie Estep, Bob Egge, Bob Ferguson, Michelle Gerber, Dave Harvey, Ron
Hicks, Hank Kosmata, Gwen Leth, Tom Marceau, Rita Mazur, Todd Nelson,
Gary Petersen, Bob and Sally Ann Potter, Roger Rohrbacher, Darby Stapp, Bob
Thompson, Burt Vaughn, Paul Vinther, Kris Watkins, Gene Weisskopf, Rob
Welch and Lyle Wilhelmi deserve special recognition for their commitment to
preserving Hanford’s heritage.
In addition, thanks to Cathy Allen, Ruth and Joe Bell, Josiah Brand, Roberta
and Doug Colton, Linda Donnels, Jim Fitzpatrick, Joan and Allan Gerson, Greer
and Gerry Goldman, Dan Guttman, Gail and John Harmon, Jean and Bob Kapp,
Susan and Leslie Lepow, Larry Logan, Dorothy and Clay Perkins, and Deane
and Paul Shatz for their strategic ideas, interest and encouragement. Most of all,
thanks to my husband Bill and sons Patrick and Brian for inspiring me to take on
new challenges.
Contents

From the Editor: Preserving the Manhattan Project Cynthia C. Kelly, President,
Atomic Heritage Foundation
Introduction: Richard Rhodes, Author, The Making of the Atomic Bomb
Section One: Explosive Discoveries and Bureaucratic Inertia

Thinking No Pedestrian Thoughts, Richard Rhodes
The Atomic Bombs Burst in Their Fumbling Hands, H. G. Wells
If Only We Had Been Clever Enough, Leona Marshall Libby
What Wasn’t Expected Wasn’t Seen!, Edward Teller
I Had Come Close But Had Missed a Great Discovery, Philip Abelson
Enlisting Einstein, William Lanouette
Albert Einstein to F.D. Roosevelt, Albert Einsten and Franklin D. Roosevelt
A Practically Irresistible Super-Bomb, Otto R. Frisch and Rudolf Peierls
Working for Otto Frisch, J. Wechsler
Likely to Lead to Decisive Results, The MAUD Report, March 1941
Wild Notions about Atom Bombs, G. Pascal Zachary
Transatlantic Travails, Andrew Brown
Section Two: An Unprecedented Alliance

The Rather Fuzzy State of Our Thinking, James G. Hershberg
The Stuff Will Be More Powerful Than We Thought, Vannevar Bush
You’ll Never Get a Chain Reaction Going Here, Richard Rhodes
The Chicago Pile-1: The First Chain Reaction, Enrico Fermi
Fermi Was Cool as a Cucumber, Crawford Greenewalt
Proceeding in the Dark, General Leslie R. Groves
Swimming in Syrup, Robert Jungk
The Los Alamos Primer: How to Make an Atomic Bomb, Robert Serber
These Were Very Great Men Indeed, Richard Feynman
Misunderstandings and Anxieties, Stephane Groueff
A Weapon of Devastating Power . . . Will Soon Become Available, Niels Bohr to
Winston Churchill
One Top Secret Agreement Too Many, Winston Churchill
Section Three: An Extraordinary Pair

His Potential Outweighed Any Security Risk, General Leslie R. Groves
Scientific Director for the Special Laboratory in New Mexico, James B. Conant
and General Leslie R. Groves to J. Robert Oppenheimer
When You Looked at Captain Groves, a Little Alarm Bell Rang “Caution,”
Robert S. Norris
Decisive, Confident, and Cool, Robert DeVore
A Bureaucratic Warrior of the First Rank, Robert S. Norris
The Biggest S.O.B., Colonel Kenneth D. Nichols
Not Right—Do It Again., Colonel John Lansdale Jr
A “Jewish Pan” at Berkeley, Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin
The Absentminded Professor, Berkeley Gazette, February 14, 1934
His Head Wreathed in a Cloud of Smoke, Edward Gerjuoy
A Psychiatrist by Vocation and a Physicist by Avocation, Jeremy Bernstein.
The Most Compelling Man, Jennet Conant
Appeasing General Groves, Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin
Visions of Immortality, Robert S. Norris
An Audacious Gamble, Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin
When Robert Oppenheimer Walked onto the Page, Joseph Kanon
Doctor Atomic: The Myth and the Man, John Adams
A Cascade of Different Oppenheimers, Jon Else
Section Four: Secret Cities

A New and Uncertain Adventure in the Wilderness, Stephane Groueff
A Crazy Place to Do Any War Thing, Stirling Colgate
Excitement, Devotion, and Patriotism Prevailed, J. Robert Oppenheimer
The Case of the Vanishing Physicists, Stanislaw Ulam
Learning on the Job, Rebecca Diven
Life at P. O. Box 1663, Ruth Marshak
A Boy’s Adventures at Los Alamos, Dana Mitchell
Something Extraordinary Was Happening Here, Katrina Mason
A Relief from the Hubbub of the Hill, Katrina Mason
An SED at Los Alamos, Benjamin Bederson
A Bad Time to Get a New Boss, Joseph Kanon
Tumbleweed and Jackrabbits in the Evergreen State, Steve Buckingham
Making Toilet Paper, Roger Rohrbacher
Termination Winds, Michele Gerber
Whoever Gets There First Will Win the War, Leon Overstreet
The Whole Project Was Like a Three-Legged Stool, Walter Simon
Cover Stories, Colonel Franklin T. Matthias
K-25 Plant: Forty-four Acres and a Mile Long, William J. Wilcox
Tennessee Girls on the Job, Colleen Black
Ode to Life Behind the Fence, Clifford and Colleen Black
Operating Oak Ridge’s “Calutrons,” Theodore Rockwell
Men, Write Home for Christmas, Norman Brown
An Answer to Their Prayers, Valeria Steele
All-Black Crews with White Foremen, Robert Bauman
Manhattan Project Sites in Manhattan, Robert S. Norris
Manhattan Project Sites in Washington, D.C., Robert S. Norris
Monsanto’s Playhouse for Polonium, Stephane Groueff
Mysteries at the Met Lab, Isabella Karle
Section Five: Secrecy, Intelligence, and Counterintelligence

Unprecedented Security Measures, Robert S. Norris
Security: A Headache on the Hill, Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin
Mrs. Farmer, I Presume, Laura Fermi
As If They Were Walking in the Woods, Colonel John Lansdale Jr
Electric Rocket Story Fails to Launch, Charlotte Serber
A Spy in Our Midst, Laura Fermi
Never in Our Wildest Dreams, Lilli Hornig
The Youngest Spies, Joseph Albright and Marcia Kunstel
Enormoz Espionage, Gregg Herken
Undercover Agents at Berkeley, Gregg Herken
Jump Start for the Soviets, David Holloway; Joseph Albright and Marcia
Kunstel
Holes in the Security Fence, Joseph Albright and Marcia Kunstel
A Calming Role for the Counterintelligence Corps, Thomas O. Jones
The Alsos Mission: Scientists as Sleuths, Robert S. Norris
From France to the Black Forest: Seeking Atomic Scientists, Richard Rhodes
I Have Been Expecting You, Colonel John Lansdale Jr