Created as a top-secret outpost on a desolate mesa in the New Mexico desert-exclusively for the purpose of assembling the world's first atomic weapon-Los Alamos was transformed during the Cold War into a high-powered science complex and full-blown company town, with a population of 20,000, covering 43 square miles, including schools, stores, churches, even a private ski slope. Los Alamos is a world unto itself, rife with contradictions, haunted by its history, yet bustling with an astonishing range of forefront science projects, from cancer research to robotic ants. Shroyer has conducted extensive interviews and research, including repeated trips to the laboratory, and her thoughtful, elegant writing offers a probing exploration of the intense, complicated life behind these closed doors.