Book

Waldof, Teresa Wilhelm.

Wilhelm's way : the inspiring story of the Iowa chemist who saved the Manhattan Project / Teresa Wilhelm Waldof.

Rochester, Minnesota : Third Generation Publishing, [2022]

©2022

xvi, 401 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

"In February 1942, leaders of the Manhattan Project had a problem: to prove a controlled nuclear chain reaction was possible, they needed pure uranium-tons of it and in less than ten months. With only a few grams in existence, there was little hope anyone could achieve such a feat. Harley Wilhelm, a chemistry professor at Iowa State College, rose to the challenge. A sharecropper's son and former college basketball coach, Wilhelm was an unlikely character to impact the course of world history. Nevertheless, he and his small, dedicated team of scientists and technicians surpassed everyone's wildest expectations. Wilhelm's Way reveals the life and times of this unsung hero who helped America win the race to build the atomic bomb and end World War II."--Back cover.

Wilhelm, Harley A.

Manhattan Project (U.S.) -- History.

Chemists -- Biography.

Atomic bomb -- History.

Uranium.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 341-357) and index.

Minnesota Book Award - General Nonfiction, 2023.

Introduction -- Prologue -- Part 1. No pure uranium, no atomic bomb -- 1. The uranium problem -- 2. A change life's trajectory -- 3. There's no substitute for genius -- 4. Safe but not secure -- 5. Spontaneity is not always a good thing -- 6. Don't be a boron -- 7. Casting director -- 8. The bismuth of scientific discovery -- 9. Thermite be a breakthrough moment -- 10. Wilhelm's secret cargo -- Part 2. From whence he came -- 11. The way to Iowa -- 12. The boy from Pumptown -- 13. A bright and dark summer -- 14. Hops and hopes -- 15. Victory is contagious -- 16. The green suit -- 17. Is that all you got? -- 18. "Lil" chance of making it -- 19. The registrar's assistance -- 20. A bulldog for life -- 21. The roaming twenties -- 22. To Helena and back -- 23. Stepping up -- 24. A century of progress -- 25. Pass the zinc, please -- 26. Spud, spectrography, and metallurgy -- Part 3. Metals man for the ages -- 27. This is pure uranium -- 28. Quik phix -- 29. A chain of events -- 30. Barrels of fun, fire, and fulfillment -- 31. Espionage in Ames -- 32. Fast feed -- 33. The realities of war -- 34. You could patent that idea -- 35. The peace of uranium -- Epilogue -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Photo credits -- Index.

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