Post archives
Filtering for posts tagged with ‘Leslie Groves’
2020
June 2020
9
Meditations
As we approach the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombings, we're going to see a lot of journalistic takes on them — many of them totally wrong.
2017
May 2017
2
Redactions
Was the first history of the atomic bomb biased towards physics to avoid public associations with chemical weapons? My take on a recent article.
2016
September 2016
30
Redactions
If he had lived to make the decision, would Roosevelt have dropped the atomic bomb?
March 2016
18
Meditations
If you could talk about secrecy with the former head of the CIA and the NSA, what would you say?
2015
December 2015
4
Meditations
What caused the atomic spies of Los Alamos to do what they did? Somewhere in the zone between ideology and ego, monsters live.
November 2015
13
Redactions
At what point did the Manhattan Project scientists and administrators realize they weren't in a race with Nazi Germany after all?
6
Visions
The popular version of Oppenheimer at Los Alamos is one of infinite competence, confidence, and charm. The reality is far more complex.
October 2015
30
Redactions
One of the most unusual, curious, and controversial members of the Manhattan Project was their in-house newspaperman from the New York Times.
23
Redactions
How far would Manhattan Project security go to deal with a problematic genius?
March 2015
6
Redactions
In 1945, some scientists thought we should "demonstrate" the bomb to Japan before dropping it on a city. Others disagreed. Who was right?
January 2015
16
Redactions
What do the newly released Oppenheimer transcripts tell us about the security hearing, and its original redaction?
2014
September 2014
5
Redactions
When the head of the Manhattan Project had questions about the history of the atomic bomb, he had a special, secret place to look for answers.
February 2014
14
Redactions
In a short story published in 1949, Leo Szilard contemplated how well he and President Truman would fare at a war crimes tribunal. His conclusion: not well.
2013
November 2013
8
Meditations
A portrait of a year in flux, when the possibilities of a new order moved from the limitless to the concrete.
1
Redactions
How many people did it take to make the atomic bomb? Probably many more than you realize.
October 2013
11
Redactions
Who told Werner Heisenberg that an atomic bomb might be dropped on Dresden? Plus: another curious wartime leak.
4
Redactions
If the first atomic bomb had been ready in 1944, would it have been used against the Nazis? Surprisingly, Roosevelt may have been interested in doing it.
September 2013
20
Redactions
How did an article about the work at the Los Alamos laboratory come to be published in March 1944?
13
Redactions
Are there any indications that the Germans penetrated into the secrecy surrounding the American atomic bomb project during World War II? Not many.
6
Redactions
During World War II, the United States didn't just fear a German atomic bomb, but also a German dirty bomb. But secrecy made acting on such fears difficult.
August 2013
9
Meditations
Why was a second bomb used against Japan, so soon after Hiroshima? A review of several theories.
May 2013
17
Meditations
Of the $2 billion spent on the Manhattan Project, where did it go, and what does it tell us about how we should talk about the history of the bomb?
April 2013
12
Meditations | Redactions
Blacking something out is only a step away from highlighting its importance, and the void makes us curious.
March 2013
29
Meditations
How many ways are there to talk about secrecy? Quite a few.
15
Meditations | Redactions
Did atomic secrets kill Lt. Col. Paul P. Stoutenburgh?
8
Meditations | Redactions
Where do historians stand, in the 2010s, about the decision to use the atomic bomb? A report from a recent workshop.
2012
October 2012
18
Redactions
Did Truman know about the radiation effects of the atomic bombs before they were used? Does it matter?
August 2012
31
Visions
The security badges produced for the Los Alamos project present a dizzying display of the many people who worked on the atomic bomb.
15
Redactions
What the first technical history of the atomic bomb did — and didn't — say about the work of designing the bomb.
10
Visions
American newspaper front pages from the first five days of the atomic bomb's public debut.
