Hannah’s War

75 years ago today, August 9th, 1945 the city of Nagasaki was obliterated by the second atomic bomb in human history, the first being on Hiroshima, three days earlier. The two bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the only uses of nuclear weapons in armed conflict. 

Jan Eliasberg, an award-winning screenwriter and director of film and television, was perusing microfilm in the New York Public Library and came across an issue in the New York Times published on the day U.S. Forces dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima in August 1945. A one-sentence paragraph caught her attention. 

"The key component that allowed the Allies to develop the bomb was ... (provided) by a female, non-Aryan physicist." 

That's all it said. 

"My immediate thought was, 'Who IS this woman and why has her face not been staring out of the pages of every science magazine ever?" 

In "Hannah's War," Eliasberg makes her thrilling historical debut, with a novel about a female scientist working to develop the first atomic bomb during World War II, and the young military investigator determined to uncover her secret past. 

Put this book in the "Can't put it down" category, a terrific read based on the life of Dr. Lise Meitner. 

Opening music bridge McGuire's Landing by Pete Huttlinger. Used by permission.

Let Us Begin (What Are We Making Weapons For?) written and performed by John Denver. Used by permission.