Super Short Summary

Published in 2013, Denise Kiernan’s The Girls of Atomic City tells the stories of Oak Ridge, a secret town in Tennessee built around plutonium processing plants, and the women who worked there during World War II. The book details life in Oak Ridge, where secrecy and surveillance were paramount, and workers contributed to the development of the atomic bomb. The narrative explores the creation of community amidst challenging conditions and the mixed reactions of these women upon learning the true nature of their work after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.