Sandia National Laboratories The Postwar Decade Necah S Furman Nuclear Weapons Research

The only externally published account of the nation's premier nuclear ordnance laboratory during its formative years.  Based on primary sources from archives, oral histories, and laboratory records, Furman places the development of the Laboratory in both national and international context, relating the institutional history to technological developments, the character and capacities of the scientists and engineers, and the political temper of the times.  

In the 1980's Necah Stewart Furman was asked by Sandia National Laboratories to write a comprehensive history of the lab.  This was supposed to be the first of a multi-volume study, done by a professional historian.  Although the intention for this to be the first book in a series, this book was the only one published.  The book is a thoughtful, thorough study of the first ten years of one of the nation's premiere national laboratories.  Sandia National Laboratories: The Postwar Decade is organized into two major sections:  Part 1: Heritage and Part 2: Nuclear Ordnance Engineer for the Nation.  Within this general structure, the narrative connects a series of subjects, beginning with a Prologue that surveys the national and international events leading to development of the atomic bomb and establishment of the national laboratory complex under the Manhattan Engineer District.