The Strange Disappearance of Uncle Dudley : A Child's Story of Los Alamos
is an odd children's book that jumped out at us from the
atomic history section of the Otowi Bookstore in Los Alamos.
We said, "Really wierd. We have to carry it."
We can't think of any child who would want to read this book,
which to us is part of its charm.
In a few dozen manipulated photographs
and a handful of words (36 pages
in very large print - seriously overpriced),
it is supposed
to explain to young children of
our post-Disney generation what it was like
to live in a "secret city" during WWII.
Like today's Area 51, Los Alamos did not officially exist during
the war, but wives and children also lived there.
Imagine the problems of housing children at Groom Lake:
You could keep the workers quiet, but what about a
14-year-old? How does a family explain its
"disappearance" to friends and relatives?
This book tells the story of "Uncle Dudley", an atomic worker.
During the war, he disappeared and went to live in "PO Box 1553,
Santa Fe, NM" - the same address where his son
was born a little later. That some adult
is now trying to explain this oddity
to disinterested children suggests that the
"secret city" still haunts the author.
[gc 12/96]
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#dudley {1book} $6.98