The Wives of Los Alamos: A Novel

The author made use of a unique literary device (in my experience) by narrating the entire book in the voice of first person plural. This book imparted a sense of immediacy to the experiences of the women who followed their scientist husbands to the lonely New Mexico spot where the atomic bomb was being developed in a frantic race to beat the Germans. It depicts their daily struggles against boredom, isolation, lack of cultural opportunities, etc. to carve out a meaningful existence. Many of the women were highly educated and managed to occupy themselves, but some turned to the daily cocktail hour for stimulation. Babies were born, marriages were strengthened or weakened, all in their circumscribed and secret world. Letters home were routinely censored, and even the wives didn't know what what really going on in the labs where their husbands worked. Then all was revealed in July of 1945 when the first bomb was detonated as the trial before Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The world was stunned by the death and devastation of those bombs dropped on those two Japanese cities and the war was ended. I read somewhere that WWII was ended and WWIII was begun on those days in August of 1945. Reading this book led to my reading of a biography of Robert Oppenheimer who ran the Los Alamos project. I learned a lot.

As the title says, this is a book of the wives (plural) of Los Alamos; therefore, it is written about the wives, collectively. It is not about individuals, but the group. It is about what they did, how they thought as they lived secreted away from family and the rest of the world. Collectively, they speculated what work was being conducted by their scientist husbands who were forbidden from discussing the project. Individualism is reflected to in (paraphrased) lines as “we laughed or we didn’t or some of us cried” … “we attended or we stayed home or we were in the hospital having babies”. I must admit that the writing style confused me for the first few pages, but then I concluded that the only way to write a collective story was in first person plural. Later in the book, the author states that alone they could not have done much – but together ”WE” could. The book says it is a novel, but I think there is probably more fact than fiction. My first trip to Los Alamos was just after I graduated from high school. Although Los Alamos was no longer a closed city, we did have to stop at the guard’s gate, tell who we were visiting, and wait for permission to continue into the town. Later, I lived in the city from 1967 – 1978, I know that much of this book is true. She talks about the strange “booms” occurring in the city. During the eleven years I lived there, we would hear those “booms” about once a month. No one would ever explain what they were, but they did cause windows to rattle. I know people whose birth certificate lists place of birth as P.O. Box 1663 – Santa Fe, NM. Fuller Lodge was still a hub of activity and until residential buildings began on Barranca Mesa, “bath tub row” was still fairly prime real estate. The author alludes to the possibility of “wife swapping” and talks about the use of alcohol among the wives. During my time on The Hill, Los Alamos had one of the highest rates of alcoholism among wives, per capita than any place else in the U.S. The rumor has always been that there was a “key club” in the city, but I don’t know if that was true. I had never heard that the explosion from the first testing in White Sands was seen 360 miles away in Los Alamos, but perhaps it was. I didn’t know the wives were responsible for the golf course or other of their accomplishments, but because so much of the book is true, I really don’t doubt what all they did. I have been to the scientific museum several times and have seen the front page of the Santa Fe New Mexican – bronzed for generations – saying, “Now the Stoories from the Hill Can Be Told”. I’ve been to the Historical Museum and have read some personal letters from that time period. I found it to be an excellent book that history buffs of that period would enjoy. My only disagreement with Nesbit is that throughout the book, she refers to Los Alamos as “the desert”. A Native New Mexican, such as I, does not refer to any place with so many trees as "desert". (There were 7 Ponderosa Pines in my Los Alamos yard). But then, the author was born in Ohio – perhaps that is the difference? Even with that flaw, it is a great book.

I have always felt if a book inspires you to think and talk about it and the subject matter it includes after you have closed the last page that it is a success. With that definition, I will say this book was a success. It told the story -- or stories -- of the thoughts and feelings of the experiences of the wives of those scientists and physicists who developed the atom bomb that was dropped on Japan to end World War II. What an experience to live through. Imagine being whisked off with your family to live in some secret place "somewhere out west" under mysterious conditions that you couldn't even tell your parents about, knowing at the core that your husband was involved in something secret having to do with the war. The writing style of the author was such that it conveyed the ambiguity of the wives by talking in generalities. When I say this made me think and discuss the subject, I wanted to discuss it more, but frankly I find it difficult to find people/friends who want to get involved in conversations that go to the core of war itself and/or eithical/moral issues related to developing weapons that can literally wipe out civilizations, etc. Considering the state of affairs today -- with Iran and other rogue nations developing nuclear weapons -- deterrence really is the name of the game for the continuance of mankind. In the near future, many more so-called rogue nations will have the capability of wiping out millions with one armed missle. Though we may "trust" such a weapon in the hands of the United States, who would believe the U.S. would actually release the weapon it did in WWII? In the hands of rogue nations, there is a real and dangerous threat to all of mankind. Thus, disarmnament by the so-called trusted nations alone is meaningless and leaves them at risk by those who would abuse the power. This is a subject that demands more open and serious discussion among so-called "friendly" governments in order to deter those who would (when they could) unleash such power. I am inspired to read more on this subject, so for that alone I believe this author did her job. Thanks.

I was disappointed with this book..I thought it would have specific characters in it and develop them within the storyline..it was written in the third person and so I never could associate with an individual I had to collectively picture all that these women were going through..from the beginning to the end.. It was an interesting time in American history a true story but told in a very remote way...I had no attachment to the book or the period or the women. I visited LOS ALAMOS a few years ago and I found the area and the museum far more interesting than this book It definitely added to my memory bank and our American history..it gave me a better feel of the people that lived there and the things they endured..

maybe i failed the book with my continual desire to engage with characters more fully developed so the book became a little bit tiresome to read. with it written in first person plural (author was excellent at that), the book could not allow for a change in pacing or a change in delving further into any one issue or thread in the novel. while each chapter was fast and interesting, eventually i felt like i was listening to the same short nursery rhyme instead of listening to a symphony with its ability to dive deeper into the melody. that said, it was fascinating to read some of the details brought forth and while the book's focus was on los alamos it also did a great job of sketching the way that generation perceived life and one's role in our society. it's not a book i will read again (because i wanted more character development) but i wouldn't want my review to keep you from reading it because it does have some strong merits.

I loved this book. I caught on immediately to what the author was trying to do with her group-pov. She was telling the reader what it was like to be a wife of the scienticts creating the Atomic bomb during the war years while being sequester in Los Alamos which resembled a concentration camp more than an American town. There was no doubt in my mind that the reader was given that experience. And this experience was not from just one woman's pov but rather from the many origianl wives who set up home in the deepest secrecy in that strange location. Knowing what one wife went through would provide a one dimensional experience while knowing what many of the wives experienced created a multi-dimensional experience that was more reflective of life itself. In this respect the author an amazing job of showing all aspects of daily life during those times. This is not so much a novel as it is a "You Are There" experience. I really feel I now know about what it was like to be a wife to those men at that time. I have concluded that these wives were just as much a part of the Greatest Generation as any other of its members. I must say that while I bought this book, I chose to buy and listen to it on Audible. The reader and the pov of this story makes it ideal as a listening experience. There is no confusion whatsoever in the pov the way the reader reads this story. I really believe that many of those who did not like the group-pov when reading the story, will still love the audio presentation. I've listened to over 1000 audio books and this is one of the best I've ever heard. Just listen to a sample and I think you'll agree. 5 Star Listening Enjoyment from the first word to the last.

This is quite an interesting book with good stories, however the style is strange: the author uses plural (we) in case of all stories. Although I get the point that Nesbit does not want to reveal some sensitive issues by name, still when the book says our husband James, then you might also think that you are reading a book about a man with multiple wifes. The plot is ok, but it would need more strong stories and better editing. You rather got at the end of the book that you read story of spoilt, priviliged wifes, whose biggest problem is how to get anything they want in time of war rationing. I have the feeling this is not where the author wanted to get to, this is part where editing was not its strongest.

I too was irritated by the "we" and "us" as the main character. It seemed the author found a way to write a novel without character development or plot. The whole book can be summed up as "We did this. Or we didn't." This went on chapter after chapter. I may be biased, as I grew up in Los Alamos, having arrived there in the mid fifties. The Gate was still there. I remember that everyone 12 and over had to have a pass to get in or out. It was something we kids looked forward to getting, a rite of passage so to speak. They discontinued the Gate when I was 11. I was crushed. But the tower exists to this day. There were just enough inaccuracies to be irritating. As other reviewers have stated, Los Alamos is much more mountain than desert. There are no sand storms there. It does not get hot in the summer. In June the temperature may reach high 80's or maybe even 90. But it is a very dry climate, so 90 in Los Alamos does not feel like 90 in Omaha. Then in July and August the rainy season comes and it can feel downright cold. The author also mentions a group toasting the Queen (of England), but Elizabeth did not ascend the throne until 1951. (OK, that's petty, I know.) Los Alamos is like no other city in New Mexico, both in climate and temperament. The other "climate" of Los Alamos is what really sets it apart. Imagine a town with the highest per capita of PhDs and the highest income in one of the poorest states. Now realize that the city really does sit on a mountain and is very isolated. I can remember other "secrets." Basically the infidelity, the drug and alcohol abuse, and the suicides. She does mention a high cancer rate. The debate continues as to whether this was related to the Lab. I have no doubt that the increased incidence of cancer in Los Alamos is very real. I realize that after the War, Los Alamos became a totally different place. The Lab is still full of secrets, and classified scientific research continues to this day. But there are now schools, stores, clubs and churches, as in any other small town. I can't really comment on what it was like to live there in the 1940's, though I knew a few people who were there then and stayed. Unfortunately, after reading this book, I still don't have the feel as to what it was like during that time period. I was hoping Ms. Nesbit would have taken us back there, but she did not.

I have read many books on Los Alamos and about Oppenheimer, but this is a more personal read from the wives perspective. Very well done! I enjoyed it immensely!

The Wives of Los Alamos draws on the experiences of the wives of the men who developed nuclear weapons, notably the atomic bomb, in an isolated location in the New Mexico desert during the 1940s. The women and many of the employees were kept in ignorance of the purpose of the laboratory. The book does not have a principal character or narrator: TaraShea Nesbit uses the plural pronoun, "we", when writing about the women, for example, "We were round-faced, athletic, boisterous, austere, thin-boned, catlike, and awkward" (p. 12). This unusual style is highly effective and the collective descriptions evoke the lives of the hundreds of women who were joined by the experience of being transferred to a secret location, with no explanation to give to their families and only a Santa Fe P.O. Box for an address. It is a book that will stay with you: compelling and haunting.

A believable recounting of women, transplanted with their families, from their urban homes to a small, secret community living on a mountain top in New Mexico. Not a gripping tale, but highly readable especially knowing that this was where the weapons were developed which allowed the Allies to end World War II. Credit certainly to the scientists and their accomplishment, but no small measure due as well to the women who kept them sane and happy in far from ideal circumstances.

The book was meticulously researched, and did tell me things I had not known before. But the point of view almost ruined the reading experience for me. Instead of first person singular, "I", or third person , "he, she, or they", the author chose "we." As a result, I spent the book wondering who was who, and never being really sure. I would never read a second book written from such a frustrating point of view.

A great read. Interesting and very informative about a part of our history we will all remember. I had some knowledge about the scientists involved but fascinated to learn about what happened at Los Alamos from the point of view of the women and their families.