Join us to discuss The Girls of Atomic City!

Feeling a little stir crazy after all these cold, snowy days? Get out of the house and join us for the first meeting of the "Let's Talk About It" book club of 2014. We will be discussing The Girls of Atomic City by Denise Kiernan this Thursday, February 6, 2014 at 10:30 a.m. in the Junior Home Room.

This is the true story of the women who worked and lived at the mysterious Site X in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, never knowing that what they were working on would change the world forever. These women held not just the traditional feminine jobs of secretaries and nurses, but were welders, engineers, statisticians, and much more besides. They took pride in making the Site X complex a home, even though they were forbidden to talk about their work in producing the atomic bomb.

To get you thinking before book club day, check out these discussion questions:

1. Denise Kiernan explains in an author’s note, “The information in this book is compartmentalized, as was much of life and work during the Manhattan Project." How does the book manage to recreate the workers’ experience of months-long ignorance, and the shock of finding out what they were working on?
2. Discuss the role that patriotism played in everyday life during World War II. Do you think Americans today would be willing or able to make the same sacrifices—including top-secret jobs, deployment overseas, rationed goods, and strict censorship—that families of that era made? Why or why not?

For a multimedia experience, including music of the period and photos of the mysterious Oak Ridge, check out GirlsofAtomicCity.com.

Join us for light refreshments and a discussion that's sure to warm up your day!