Stuart Stevens has read a lot about the Manhattan Project, but Garrett Graff’s new oral history pulled him into parts of the story he’d never seen — Oak Ridge, Hanford, and the workers who kept entire secret cities running without ever knowing what they were building.
For Stuart, it’s not just fascinating history; it’s personal. Without the bomb, his father’s ship was headed for a deadly invasion of Japan. Garrett’s storytelling brings these hidden corners to life, from the high school graduates outpacing Berkeley PhDs to the pilots who only learned their mission once they were already in the air.
This conversation isn’t just about looking back. Garrett draws a straight line from the mix of science, higher education, and immigration that made the Manhattan Project possible to what’s being dismantled today.
Stuart doesn’t hesitate to call out the politicians doing the damage — and the hypocrisy of those who benefited from that system now working to destroy it. Together, they make the case that America’s ability to take on world-changing projects isn’t a relic of the past, but a choice we can still make — or abandon. This is history as a warning, and a challenge to anyone who thinks our best work is behind us.
Make sure to let us know what you think in the comments. And you can read Garrett’s new book, The Devil Reached Toward the Sky, now.
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