Birthplace of the Atomic Bomb

<p> It was not Robert Oppenheimer who built the bomb--it was engineers chemists and young physicists in their twenties many not yet having earned a degree. The first atomic bomb was originally conceived as a backup device a weapon not then currently achievable. The remote Trinity Site--the birthplace of the bomb--was used as a test range for U.S. bombers before the first nuclear device was secretly detonated. After the blast locals speculated that the flash and rumble were caused by colliding B-29s while Manhattan Project officials nervously measured high levels of offsite radiation.</p><p> Drawing on original documents many recently declassified the author sheds new light on a pivotal moment in history--now approaching its 75th anniversary--told from the point of view of the men who inaugurated the Atomic Age in the New Mexico desert.</p>