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.
By:
John M. Findlay,
Bruce W. Hevly
Imprint: University of Washington Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 152mm,
Spine: 28mm
Weight: 567g
ISBN: 9780295990972
ISBN 10: 029599097X
Series: Atomic Frontier Days
Pages: 384
Publication Date: 18 May 2011
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
One Plutonium, Production, and Pollution Hanford's Career as Federal Enclave Two The Atomic City of the West Richland and the Tri-Cities Three The Politics of Hanford Warfare and Welfare Four Hanford and the Columbia River Basin Economy and Ecology Epilogue Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Appendix 3 Appendix 4 Note on Sources Abbreviations Used in Notes Notes Bibliographic Essay Index
John M. Findlay is professor of history at the University of Washington. His focus is social and urban history. Bruce Hevly is associate professor of history at the University of Washington. His focus is history of science and technology.
Reviews for Atomic Frontier Days: Hanford and the American West
""Professors Findlay and Hevly have written an important and compelling book. It is a must-read for anyone interested and concerned about this nation's nuclear legacy, with many lessons applicable to future uses of nuclear energy."" Keith Benson, University of British Columbia
