A true story so compelling, Hollywood has made this into a movie debuting this summer (Oppenheimer)! In this fantastically detailed (from a scientific nuclear standpoint) book about the making of the atom bomb, two unlikely men, nearly opposites in every imaginable way, would lead an effort that would change the course of history forever. Hailed as the most technologically sophisticated undertaking of the 20th Century (to include putting a man on the moon IMHO), General Leslie Groves (the man who also led the building of the Pentagon in record time), and J. Robert Oppenheimer, an up-and-coming theoretical physicist, would spearhead the Manhattan Project in the mountains of Los Alamos, NM. Groves, an overweight Army engineer with a larger than life personality, and Oppenheimer, a slender, chain-smoking, martini quaffing scientist would assemble and direct the team of scientists to build the bombs to end WWII. Trial, error and logistics (for facilities, families, supplies, etc.) were among the numerous challenges these two men had to overcome in their 3-year partnership. Notwithstanding the secrecy protocols, arrangements with local and state authorities and other details, the author brilliantly details what it took to achieve this enormous task that would set the stage for the coming Cold War and beyond.
Brig. Gen. Chad T. Manske, USAF (Ret.) is Chairman at Daedalian Foundation and a strategy and logistics consultant. Previously, he was the 30th Commandant of the National War College, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C. As the commandant, Brig. Gen. Manske was responsible for formulating academic policies, supervising curriculum planning, preparation and ensuring excellence in classroom teaching.