About this item
At the height of the race to build an atomic bomb, an indoor tennis court in one of the Midwest's most affluent residential neighborhoods became a secret Manhattan Project laboratory. Polonium in the Playhouse: The Manhattan Project's Secret Chemistry Work in Dayton, Ohio presents the intriguing story of how this most unlikely site in Dayton, Ohio, became one of the most classified portions of the Manhattan Project. Seized by the War Department in 1944 for the bomb project, the Runnymede Playhouse was transformed into a polonium processing facility, providing a critical radioactive ingredient for the bomb initiator - the mechanism that triggered a chain reaction. With the help of a Soviet spy working undercover at the site, it was also key to the Soviet Union's atomic bomb program.
About the Author
Raised in Boston and San Diego, I'm bicoastal and hopelessly drawn to water. With a short interlude in Colorado, I am settled in Indiana. This begs the question of 'what happened to the love of water? ' Long story. No matter where I've lived, I've always written.
The first half of my professional life was spent as a newspaper reporter. Though I covered most all beats during my time with the dailies, my favorite job was covering the arts. What's not to love about being paid to attend plays and art openings, and to hang out in artists' studios or at concerts, while focusing on the positives that art in all its forms brings to our lives?
The second--and current--half of my writing journey has been spent in higher education communications at Big 10 universities. I first worked at Indiana University and of late have been involved with Purdue. In both instances, I have had the pleasure of interviewing and promoting brilliant minds. It turns out that being a journalist and living in a college town are a perfect match for this inquisitive mind. An admitted college town junkie, I would have a hard time living anywhere else.
