What Hath Man(hattan Project) Wrought?

Again and again the question is asked, “Could World War II have ended without the use of atomic bombs?” NBC produced this documentary for the 20th anniversary of the events.

A new book by Evan Thomas takes a deep dive into the history of, and the thinking behind, the decisions.

My son is a Japanophile with a History degree. He read the book, and other than a couple of minor errors he found, he said it presents a compelling argument justifying the bombings of Japan over the alternative of a land invasion.

Promising to be far better than 1989’s flop, Fat Man and Little Boy, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is certain to fill some otherwise empty theater seats this weekend. Watching the opening sequence of Nolan’s Tenet in IMAX was as impressive as anything I have seen, but the rest of the movie was a big, “HUH?” Oppenheimer appears to be a WWII bookend to Nolan’s superb Dunkirk.

This is the definitive collection of archival films taken of the American above-ground nuclear tests.

Note the mention of EG&G in the introduction. Founded by MIT professor Harold Edgerton, EG&G is remembered today for its photographs of bullets going through apples and playing cards. I know EG&G as the financial backer that provided the start-up money for the company where I worked for 36 years.

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