Los Alamos: The Ranch School Years, 1917-1943 - Softcover

Wirth, John D.; Aldrich, Linda Harvey

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0826328849 ISBN 13: 9780826328847

Publisher: University of New Mexico Press, 2010

Synopsis

Twenty-five years before the Manhattan Project created the town of Los Alamos, the Pajarito Plateau was home to an elite prep school for boys, ages twelve to eighteen. The Los Alamos Ranch School combined a robust outdoor life and a carefully cultivated wilderness experience with a rigorous academic program and the structured discipline of a Boy Scout troop, perfectly mirroring the Progressive Era's quest for perfection.

John Wirth's father, Cecil, taught at the school and directed its summer camp. John spent his early childhood at the school along with his brother Tim, later a U.S. Senator from Colorado. Drawing on oral accounts, memoirs, and archival documents, as well as John's firsthand knowledge and family lore, the authors situate the school within the educational trends of the day and New Mexico's cultural milieu.

Wirth and Aldrich examine the influence of the school's controversial director, Albert J. Connell, who was roundly disliked by two of the best-known students, Gore Vidal and William S. Burroughs. Many other students reported their time at the school to be a profoundly positive, often life-changing, experience. Additional chapters recount the growing-up experiences of ranch workers' children and the role the school played in their lives and those of area residents.

About this title

From the Publisher:

Wirth and Aldrich examine the Los Alamos Ranch School, an elite prep school for boys, ages twelve to eighteen. In existence between the two World Wars, the school’s curriculum combined a robust outdoor life with a rigorous academic program mirroring the Progressive Era's quest for perfection.

About the Author:

The late John D. Wirth was a Latin America scholar and professor emeritus of history at Stanford University. He made his home in Santa Fe.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of New Mexico Press
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0826328849
• ISBN 13: 9780826328847
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352