In this thoughtful social history of New Mexico’s nuclear industry, Lucie Genay traces the scientific colonization of the state in the twentieth century from the points of view of the local people. Genay focuses on personal experiences in order to give a sense of the upheaval that accompanied the rise of the nuclear era. She gives voice to the Hispanics and Native Americans of the Jémez Plateau, the blue-collar workers of Los Alamos, the miners and residents of the Grants Uranium Belt, and the ranchers and farmers who were affected by the federal appropriation of land in White Sands Missile Range and whose lives were upended by the Trinity test and the US government’s reluctance to address the “collateral damage” of the work at the Range. Genay reveals the far-reaching implications for the residents as New Mexico acquired a new identity from its embrace of nuclear science.
Genay's contribution of so many oral histories in this piece enhances the depth and breadth of atomic history in New Mexico and the West.--Joshua McGuffie, H-Net Reviews
American-studies scholar Lucie Genay has penned an engaging examination of the history of the nation's 'nuclear weapons complex' in the land of enchantment.--Western Historical Quarterly
American-studies scholar Lucie Genay has penned an engaging examination of the history of the nation's 'nuclear weapons complex' in the land of enchantment.--Western Historical Quarterly
Libraries interested in the history of New Mexico as well as the nuclear industry should add this well-researched book to their collections.--Choice
