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The Manhattan Project Townsite and Other World War II "Products"

Rare privately published report describing the history of the production of the atomic bomb and other top-secret projects that were undertaken in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The booklet includes a map of Oak Ridge, Tennessee where uranium separation was performed during the Manhattan Project. This map was produced by the engineers that designed the town for the US Corps of Engineers, and the book was published in 1946 by Stone & Webster, government contractors.

This privately published book provides a comprehensive description of the work of Stone & Webster for the United States government throughout the war effort. The book consists of 145 pages devoted to the construction of war plants where forty-one products of critical necessity would be produced. Uranium-235 (the fissionable material in the earliest atomic bombs) is highlighted in bold in a list at the front of the book, reminding the reader of the most important project carried out at Oak Ridge.

The book opens with a quote from President Harry Truman on Oct. 3, 1945:

The people of the United States know that the overwhelming power we have developed in this war is due in large measure to American science and American industry, consisting of management and labor.

In their opening paragraph of the book, Stone & Webster states,

We have entitled this book 'A Report To The People,' because the projects described were designed and built during World War II as part of America's effort to preserve the freedoms of the peoples of the world."

The book contains vivid descriptions of the construction of facilities that supported the war effort. As part of the planned city of Oak Ridge, which became the fifth-largest town in Tennessee in the span of a few years, Stone & Webster built numerous industrial projects, including refineries and chemical plants. At one point, this firm was responsible for more than 40% of the nation's TNT production. They also produced large amounts of critical war supplies, including synthetic rubber, refined petroleum, and nitric acid (used for munitions).

Most notable in Oak Ridge was the production of material for the atomic bomb. Uranium-235 was in particularly short supply, and Stone & Webster were given entire responsibility for sourcing this isotope. At the start of the Manhattan Project, in 1942, Stone & Webster awarded approximately $400 million in subcontracts for sourcing this material and construction projects. This represented approximately one-fifth of the total cost of producing the bomb. The uranium itself was so valuable that Stone & Webster reclaimed it from both the factory air and from workers' clothes. In all, the book tells a fascinating tale of this project of critical importance.

Included with the book is a map of the town of Oak Ridge, showing subdivisions and individual houses. An index of street names is provided, and topography is shown. Interestingly, and not surprisingly, the Y12 Site, where Uranium was enriched, is left off the map.

Stone & Webster

Stone & Webster was an American engineering services company based in Stoughton, Massachusetts. It was founded as an electrical testing lab and consulting firm by electrical engineers Charles Stone and Edwin S. Webster in 1889. America's entry into World War II brought a dramatic increase in demand for all types of engineering and construction, and Stone & Webster became intensely involved in the war effort. Perhaps the most creative Stone & Webster wartime effort was its involvement in the Manhattan Project, which designed and built the atomic bomb. Stone & Webster was involved in creating the facilities and laboratories for the Manhattan Project. 

The company was selected in June 1942 by the first MED District Engineer, Colonel James C. Marshall, as the main subcontractor for the project. Eventually, the company established a completely separate engineering organization employing 800 engineers and draftsmen to study ways to separate large quantities of fissionable uranium-235. At Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Stone & Webster constructed a new city that ultimately housed 75,000 workers and the Y-12 electromagnetic separation plant.  

Rarity

The Report To The People is apparently quite rare on the market.  We have been unable to locate any sales in RBH. 

OCLC lists a number of copies, suggesting it was distributed to larger libraries at the time of publication but was privately printed and therefore not offered for sale.