Gatekeeper to Los Alamos: Dorothy Scarritt McKibbin

by Nancy Cook Steeper

In March 1943 Dorothy Scarritt McKibbin took a position that catapulted her into the center of the Manhattan Project. Her office, 109 East Palace Avenue in Santa Fe New Mexico, was the entry point for all scientists, technicians, and their families who came to Los Alamos, an isolated mesa in northcentral New Mexico, to build a "gadget"that would change the course of World War II. They also built a community where people attempted to lead ordinary lives under extraordiary circumstances.Dorothy, a rare combination of gentility and fire, was a powerful civilizing influence for those individuals. She was their one contact with the world beyond "the Hill", a world that did not know of their existence.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History, Biography Memoir

173 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A straightforward biography of a remarkable woman. Oh, how I would have loved to cross her threshold at 109 East Palace!

[Octavia Cade · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brief biography of Dorothy McKibbon, who ran the Santa Fe office of the Manhattan Project. McKibbon wasn't a scientist or a soldier; she didn't live in Los Alamos. In many ways she was a step removed from the action there, yet still a fundamental part of it: sending scientists and their families up to the mesa, helping them settle in to life in New Mexico.

The Manhattan Project is an interest of mine, and I've read a number of books on it. Some of them are very good indeed, yet the reason I like this book so much is that it's quite unlike those others. It doesn't go into the science; it doesn't centre around the scientists; it's not actually all that in depth. What it does do is paint an attractive picture of a normal woman who ended up working an extraordinary job. Not what she expected when she was offered a position as secretary, that's for sure! But her very normality is what makes her appealing. I got a real sense of personality here, is what I'm saying - and a very different perspective to the more usual sort of MP biography. And I like biographies that give different perspectives, they tend to help round out history in general I think.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to Mary N for loaning me this enlightening book while visiting her beautiful home near Ruidoso, New Mexico. Dorothy Scarritt McKibbin was the "gatekeeper" from 1943 - 1946 to all who came to work on The Manhattan Project at Los Alamos. Dorothy was based in Santa Fe and served as the entry point for literally thousands of people as they acclimated to this unusual merge of government, military, and scientific cultures. In addition to reading about the Life of Dorothy, there's the account of J. Robert Oppenheimer's background and many other contributors as well as numerous pictures that bring the story to life.

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

A biography about Dorothy Scarritt McKibbin, the woman who served as the 'gatekeeper' at the office at 109 East Palace Ave in Santa Fe, New Mexico, for the top secret Los Alamos Manhattan Project making the atomic bomb.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look into the life of Dorothy McKibbin, who was an integral part of the success of the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

[Carolyn]

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[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a visit to Los Alamos National Historic Park (part of the Manhattan Project Historical Park) it wa interesting to read about some of the personalities of that exciting time.