20th Century Atomic Bomb and Nuclear Weapon History: Manhattan Project and the Nevada Test Site Official History Documents

Learn about the history of America's development and testing of nuclear weapons from this reproduction of two important Energy Department publications: The Manhattan Project - Making the Atomic Bomb, and Origins of the Nevada Test Site. Each publication provides exclusive details of the extraordinary development program known as the Manhattan Project and the subsequent early days of the Cold War. This makes a superb reference work for military enthusiasts, researchers, libraries, schools, students, and home reference!

"The Manhattan Project: Making the Atomic Bomb" is a history of the origins and development of the American atomic bomb program during World War II. Beginning with the scientific developments of the pre-war years, the monograph details the role of United States government in conducting a secret, nationwide enterprise that took science from the laboratory and into combat with an entirely new type of weapon. The monograph concludes with a discussion of the immediate postwar period, the debate over the Atomic Energy Act of 1946, and the founding of the Atomic Energy Commission.

Origins of the Nevada Test Site was written in conjunction with the 50th anniversary commemoration of the Nevada Test Site. The history was released at the official celebration held in Las Vegas, Nevada, on December 18, 2000, fifty years after President Harry S. Truman formally designated the site as the location for conducting nuclear weapons tests within the continental United States.

The history represents a unique partnership between a field office and two headquarters offices of the U.S. Department of Energy. The Department's Nevada Operations Office provided the initial impetus for the project and offered support and resources throughout the researching and writing of the history. The Office of Defense Programs of the Department's National Nuclear Security Administration provided funding for printing the history. The History Division of the Department's Executive Secretariat researched and wrote the history.

Contents include: The Manhattan Project - Making the Atomic Bomb - Introduction: The Einstein Letter; Part I: Physics Background, 1919-1939; Part II: Early Government Support; Part III: The Manhattan Engineer District; Part III: The Manhattan Engineer District in Operation; Part V The Atomic Bomb and American Strategy; Part VI: The Manhattan District in Peacetime; Manhattan Project Chart; Manhattan Project Chronology.

Origins of the Nevada Test Site - Dropping the Bomb: The Able Shot * Part I: The Nevada Test Site: Description and Early History * Part II: The Birth of the Nuclear Age, 1919–1947 * The Trinity Test * Part III: The Search for a Continental Test Site, 1947–1950 * Sandstone * Fallout and the Continental Test Site * Part IV: Preparing to Test, December 1950–January 1951 * Going Public * Public and Press Reaction * Part V: The Ranger Series, January—February 1951 * Logistics * Official Visitors * Radiological Safety * Able's Aftermath * Baker Is Bigger * Part VI: Legacy of the Nevada Test Site * Permanentization of the Test Site * Atoms for War and Peace * Battleground of the Cold War

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