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Atomic doctors : conscience and complicity at the dawn of the nuclear age  Cover Image Book Book

Atomic doctors : conscience and complicity at the dawn of the nuclear age / James L. Nolan Jr.

Summary:

"After his father passed away, James Nolan's mother gave him a box of materials that his dad had kept private. To Nolan's complete surprise, the contents revealed the role his grandfather had played as a doctor in the Manhattan Project. Dr. Nolan, it turned out, had been a significant figure. A talented radiologist, he cared for the scientists on the Project, helped organize the safety and evacuation plans for the Trinity Test at Alamogordo, escorted the "Little Boy" bomb from Los Alamos to Japan, and was one of the first Americans to enter the irradiated ruins of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The documents set Nolan on a hunt for more information about his grandfather and more generally about the conflicted role that medical personnel played in the early years of atomic testing. The result is a compelling history of the dawn of the atomic age as seen through the eyes of men and women torn between their duty and desire to win the war and their oath to protect life. Nolan follows his grandfather and medical colleagues as they seek to maximize safety while serving leaders determined to minimize delays, and as they consider the ethics of ending the deadliest of all wars with the most lethal of all weapons. The result, Nolan shows, was a very human pattern of caution, co-optation, and complicity. A vital and vivid account of a largely unknown chapter in atomic history, Delivering Little Boy is also a profound meditation on the professional and moral dilemmas that ordinary people face in extraordinary times" -- Provided by publisher.

Record details

  • ISBN: 9780674248632
  • ISBN: 0674248635
  • Physical Description: 294 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm
  • Publisher: Cambridge, Massachusetts : The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2020.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 237-280) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:
Life at Los Alamos -- The Trinity Test -- Delivering Little Boy -- Hiroshima -- Tokyo and Nagasaki -- Managing radiation and the radiation narrative -- Bikini and Enewetak -- Dr. Nolan and the quandary of technique -- 1983.
Subject: Nolan, James F., 1915-1983.
Medical ethics > United States > History > 20th century.
Atomic bomb > United States > History > 20th century.
Atomic bomb > Japan > History > 20th century.
Medical ethics.
Nuclear weapons.
Hiroshima-shi (Japan) > History > Bombardment, 1945.
Nagasaki-shi (Japan) > History > Bombardment, 1945.
Genre: History.

Available copies

  • 1 of 1 copy available at Missouri Evergreen. (Show)
  • 1 of 1 copy available at Festus Public. (Show)
  • 1 of 1 copy available at Festus Public Library.

Holds

  • 0 current holds with 1 total copy.
Show Only Available Copies
Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
Festus Public Library 174.2 Nolan (Text) 32017000082735 Adult Non-Fiction Available -

Syndetic Solutions - Summary for ISBN Number 9780674248632
Atomic Doctors : Conscience and Complicity at the Dawn of the Nuclear Age
Atomic Doctors : Conscience and Complicity at the Dawn of the Nuclear Age
by Nolan Jr., James L.; Nolan, James L.
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Summary

Atomic Doctors : Conscience and Complicity at the Dawn of the Nuclear Age


An unflinching examination of the moral and professional dilemmas faced by physicians who took part in the Manhattan Project. After his father died, James L. Nolan, Jr., took possession of a box of private family materials. To his surprise, the small secret archive contained a treasure trove of information about his grandfather's role as a doctor in the Manhattan Project. Dr. Nolan, it turned out, had been a significant figure. A talented ob-gyn radiologist, he cared for the scientists on the project, organized safety and evacuation plans for the Trinity test at Alamogordo, escorted the "Little Boy" bomb from Los Alamos to the Pacific Islands, and was one of the first Americans to enter the irradiated ruins of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Participation on the project challenged Dr. Nolan's instincts as a healer. He and his medical colleagues were often conflicted, torn between their duty and desire to win the war and their oaths to protect life. Atomic Doctors follows these physicians as they sought to maximize the health and safety of those exposed to nuclear radiation, all the while serving leaders determined to minimize delays and maintain secrecy. Called upon both to guard against the harmful effects of radiation and to downplay its hazards, doctors struggled with the ethics of ending the deadliest of all wars using the most lethal of all weapons. Their work became a very human drama of ideals, co-optation, and complicity. A vital and vivid account of a largely unknown chapter in atomic history, Atomic Doctors is a profound meditation on the moral dilemmas that ordinary people face in extraordinary times.

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