Atomic Frontier Days
John M. Findlay
Outstanding Title by Choice Magazine
On the banks of the Pacific Northwest’s greatest river lies the Hanford nuclear reservation, an industrial site that appears to be at odds with the surrounding vineyards and desert. The 586-square-mile compound on the Columbia River is known both for its origins as part of the Manhattan Project, which made the first atomic bombs, and for the monumental effort now under way to clean up forty-five years of waste from manufacturing plutonium for nuclear weapons. Hanford routinely makes the news, as scientists, litigants, administrators, and politicians argue over its past and its future.
It is easy to think about Hanford as an expression of federal power, a place apart from humanity and nature, but that view distorts its history. Atomic Frontier Days looks through a wider lens, telling a complex story of production, community building, politics, and environmental sensibilities. In brilliantly structured parallel stories, the authors bridge the divisions that accompany Hanford’s headlines and offer perspective on today’s controversies. Influenced as much by regional culture, economics, and politics as by war, diplomacy, and environmentalism, Hanford and the Tri-Cities of Richland, Pasco, and Kennewick illuminate the history of the modern American West.
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About John M. Findlay
Reviews for Atomic Frontier Days
George E. Webb
Pacific Northwest Quarterly
"Their coauthored work effectively blends the history of the nuclear complex with the histories of environmentalism, community identity, regionalism, and politics . . . Atomic Frontier Days pushes the boundaries of atomic bomb history into new, exciting directions."
Jason Krupar
Technology and Culture
"Atomic Frontier Days goes beyond simplistic narratives of a triumph or tragedy. . . . Unlike many histories of the American nuclear weapons programs, which tend to focus on the secret and isolated nature of the enterprise, this book situates Hanford firmly in a regional, political, social, and economic context."
Andrew Jenks
Southern California Quarterly
"The book is richly informed by primary sources. It may well be the definitive treatment of Hanford and its ongoing controversies."
Michael L. Johnson
Journal of American History
"[Findlay and Hevly] chronicle the legacy of the atom and how the citizens of this unique region coped with war, economic and ecological challenges, and dependence on federal largesse and corporate power."
Robin Lindley
Pacific Northwest Inlander
"The account is well organized and written, and the scholarship is superb and well documented. . . . An excellent resource for those interested in or studying the influence of technology on urban communities. Summing Up: Highly recommended."
Choice
"It's an informative, detailed view of the complicated forces that created and shaped Hanford, and how that is not entirely atypical of how the West was won and sometimes lost."
Knute Berger
Crosscut
"It lays out the roller-coaster of boom and bust cycles as Hanford struggled to stay relevant and the community attempted to maintain a solid economic footing—a process that continues today . . ."
Annette Cary
Tri-City Herald