Citation
Hewlett Richard G., and Francis Duncan. Atomic Shield: A History of the United States Atomic Energy Commission, Volume II, 1947-1952. Washington, DC: United States Atomic Energy Commission, 1969.
Commentary
Richard G. Hewlett (1923-2015) was the Chief Historian for the US Atomic Energy Commission from 1957-1980. His several volumes on the history of the AEC were composed with access to classified files, but should be regarded as a “first draft” of this history, and were, by his own account, subject to modification by AEC officials.
Volume 2 covers the period from 1947-1952, starting with the formal acceptance of authority by the AEC over the resources of the Manhattan Engineer District (see volume 1), and covers the Truman administration policies, including the custody dispute, the H-bomb decision, the Lilienthal chairmanship, the detection of the first Soviet atomic bomb, tensions with the British, the spy scandals of 1950, and the expansion of the US nuclear program, ending with the election of Eisenhower and the Ivy Mike test.