Historical Society News:
The Los Alamos Historical Society has announced its upcoming free lecture, 7-9 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025, in the Pajarito Room of historic Fuller Lodge. The evening will feature Dr. James Nolan, Washington Gladden 1859 Professor of Sociology at Williams College, followed by a book signing of his latest book, Atomic Doctors: Conscience and Complicity at the Dawn of the Nuclear Age. Copies of the book are available now in the Museum Shop and will also be available for purchase at the event.
In Atomic Doctors, Nolan draws on personal family archives and extensive research to tell the largely unknown story of his grandfather, Dr. James F. Nolan, a physician deeply involved in the Manhattan Project. A talented ob-gyn radiologist, Dr. Nolan cared for scientists in Los Alamos, organized safety and evacuation plans for the Trinity test, escorted the “Little Boy” bomb to the Pacific, and was among the first Americans to enter Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the bombings.
His experiences reveal the profound ethical dilemmas faced by physicians at the dawn of the nuclear age, caught between their oaths as healers and their duty to the war effort.
Nolan, Jr. is a distinguished scholar whose teaching and research explore law and society, culture, technology, and social change. In addition to Atomic Doctors, his books include What They Saw in America (2016), Legal Accents, Legal Borrowing (2009), and Reinventing Justice (2001). He is the recipient of fellowships from the National the Humanities, a Fulbright scholarship, and has held visiting appointments at Oxford University, Loughborough University, and the University of Notre Dame.
The Los Alamos Historical Society extends its sincere appreciation to Enterprise Bank & Trust for their generous sponsorship of the 2025–2026 Lecture Series and for their ongoing commitment to the programs and initiatives of the Historical Society. To view lectures online, visit the Los Alamos Historical Society YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/@LosAlamosHistoricalSociety.