Since its establishment in 1957, the History Office has consistently sought to maintain a level of excellence in its publications that meets all scholarly standards and yet is accessible to the general public. At the same time, the History Office has partnered with DOE program offices and field sites to provide historical products that are useful and fill specific departmental needs.

In this effort, the History Office has produced a broad range of prize-winning monographs, shorter histories, articles, chronologies, and other publications. Some of these are available online. Others are still in print and can be obtained from the History Office.

Selected Energy History References On:

The Manhattan Project

Gosling, F. G.  The Manhattan Project: Making the Atomic Bomb (pdf, links to 1999 edition).  DOE/MA-0002 Revised. Ninth printing. Washington, D.C.: Department of Energy, 2005. 115 pp., with 38 pp. photo gallery). History Office publication.  Available from DOE's Office of Public Affairs (Telephone: 202-586-5575).

Hewlett, Richard G., and Oscar E. Anderson, Jr.  The New World, 1939-1946.  A History of the Atomic Energy Commission, Volume 1.  Reprint, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990.  766 pp. History Office publication. A "nuts and bolts" history of the Manhattan Project detailing origins, policies, and processes of the project.  Based on a broad array of sources, some still classified.  Initially published in 1962, remains best reference work available on the Manhattan project.  Available at major libraries and from the University of California Press distribution center (Telephone: 1-800-777-4726).

The Atomic Energy Commission

Buck, Alice L. A History of the Atomic Energy Commission.  Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Energy, July 1983.  26 pp.

Duncan, Francis. Rickover and the Nuclear Navy: The Discipline of Technology. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1989. 374 pp. History Office publication. An "inside overview" of Admiral Hyman G. Rickover's nuclear propulsion program from 1958 into the 1970s.  Less a history than a series of essays on topics like the Thresher, surface ships, the Multilateral Force, and Shippingport. Available at major libraries and from the Naval Institute Press (Telephone: 410-268-6110).

Fehner, Terrence R., and F.G. Gosling.  Atmospheric Nuclear Weapons Testing, 1951-1963.  Battlefield of the Cold War: The Nevada Test Site, Volume I (pdf).  DOE/MA-0003.  Washington, D.C.: Department of Energy, 2006.  244 pp.

Fehner, Terrence R., and F.G. Gosling.  Origins of the Nevada Test Site (pdf).  DOE/MA-0518.  Washington, D.C.:  Department of Energy, 2000.  95 pp.

Hewlett, Richard G., and Francis Duncan.  Atomic Shield, 1947-1952.  A History of the Atomic Energy Commission, Volume II.  Reprint, University of California Press, 1990.  718 pp. History Office publication. History of the initial years of the AEC under the Truman administration.  Details startup, development, and policies of the new agency, as well as major issues like expansion of the nuclear weapons complex, development of thermonuclear weapons, and beginnings of program for peaceful uses of nuclear energy.  Available at major libraries and from the University of California Press distribution center (Telephone: 1-800-777-4726).

Hewlett, Richard G., and Jack M. Holl.  Atoms for Peace and War: The Eisenhower Administration and the Atomic Energy Commission.  A History of the Atomic Energy Commission, Volume III.  Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990.  696 pp.  History Office publication. Examines nuclear policy issues at the top level of government, focusing especially on inter-relationship between Eisenhower administration and AEC. Issues include expansion of the nuclear arsenal, nuclear weapons testing and negotiations to end testing, Oppenheimer's security hearing, origins of "Atoms for Peace," and development of civilian nuclear power.  Available at major libraries and from the University of California Press distribution center (Telephone: 1-800-777-4726).

Hewlett, Richard G., and Francis Duncan.  Nuclear Navy, 1946-1962 (pdf).  Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1974.  477 pp.  History Office publication. Traces growth of U.S. Navy's nuclear fleet from earliest beginnings to 1962 when twenty-seven submarines and three surface ships were in operation.  Focuses on Admiral Hyman G. Rickover as the driving force who convinced the Navy and the Atomic Energy Commission to support the project and who then shepherded it to success.  Available at major libraries.

Energy Policy and Development Before the Department of Energy

Scroger, Betsy, ed. Origins of the U.S. Department of Energy: Atomic Energy Commission, Federal Energy Administration, and Energy Research and Development Administration. Draft manuscript. 1995. 81 pp. History Office publication. Three separate, brief essays examining the history, goals, and achievements of a DOE predecessor agency. Appendices contain chronologies, listings of major officials, and organization charts. Available from History Office (Telephone: 301-903-4135).

Energy History After 1977 - Department of Energy

Fehner, Terrence R., and F. G. Gosling. "Coming in From the Cold: Regulating U.S. Department of Energy Nuclear Facilities, 1942-1996. Environmental History 1:2 (April 1996): 5-33. History Office publication. Traces evolution of the agency from self-regulation to increased outside regulation.  Discusses influence of environmental laws such as RCRA and CERCLA and of the end of the Cold War.  Argues that DOE has historically stronger safety than environmental record.  Environmental History is available at major libraries.

Fehner, Terrence R., and Jack M. Holl.  Department of Energy, 1977-1994: A Summary History (pdf).  DOE/HR-0098.  Washington, D.C.: Department of Energy, 1994.  142 pp.  History Office publication.

Gosling, F. G. "Dial Painters Project: Argonne National Laboratory's Documentation of Radium Hazards to Workers." Labor's Heritage 4:2 (1992): 64-77. History Office publication. Brief history of gradual recognition that radium posed a hazard to workers in the dial-painting trade.  Examines scientific research concerning the radium hazard, standards implemented to protect workers, role of Argonne National Laboratory, and how Atomic Energy Commission's plutonium protection standards derived from radium hazard data.  Available from History Office (Telephone: 301-903-4135).

Gosling, F. G., and Terrence R. Fehner. Closing the Circle: The Department of Energy and Environmental Management, 1942-1994. Draft manuscript. 1994. 166 pp. History Office publication. Overview examines origin and historical development of environmental issues like waste management, waste repositories, cleanup of the complex, and application of federal environmental laws.  Waste sections currently being updated and expanded as part of forthcoming broader volume.  Available from History Office (Telephone: 301-903-4135).

Gosling, F. G., Terrence R. Fehner, and Marie Hallion. History Briefs: Critical Issues for the Department of Energy. Draft manuscript. February 1997. 120 pp + appendices.  History Office publication. Revised version of briefing book prepared for incoming Secretary Peña.  Topical chapters examine history of significant DOE issues: institutional origins, internal organization, nuclear weapons complex, headquarters-field relations, energy policy, civilian and defense nuclear waste repositories, and science and the national labs.  Limited number of copies available from History Office (Telephone: 301-903-4135).