Reminiscing about the past

John Richter spent 46 years at Los Alamos National Laboratory working on weapons design and he is now going to tell-all.During the Los Alamos Historical Society lecture series at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Fuller Lodge, Richter will spill the beans and give his unauthorized (by the Department of Energy) and unclassified reminiscence.Richter explained he will discuss his perspective of the history of nuclear weapons and about their present situation.He said he will be putting “60 years into 60 minutes.” Basically, he will discuss how the nuclear program started out strong during World War II and the Cold War but at present, seems to be losing its steam.When Richter arrived in Los Alamos in 1958, there was a race to beat the Germans in developing the nuclear bomb. The nuclear race continued with a new opponent, the Soviet Union, during the Cold War.However, the fall of the Soviet Union and Cold War changed things. “Everybody lost interest in nuclear weapons,” he said.For instance, the U.S. took down many types of nuclear weapons, but kept seven types in stockpiles.Although Richter believes the nuclear weapons have dwindled, it certainly has not stopped. “We’re still spending a lot of money in the nuclear weapons program,” he said.Richter’s motivation for the lecture, he said, is to discuss what happened to this program that the U.S.

If you subscribe to the newspaper, you receive FREE access to all the exclusive content of the web site! Simply register to receive uninterrupted access to our award-winning and in-depth local online content!

Renew Current or Past Subscription / Register for Online Subscription

If you currently subscribe or have subscribed in the past to the Los Alamos Monitor, then simply find your account number on your mailing label and enter it below.

Click the question mark below to see where your account ID appears on your mailing label.

Newspaper Acct. ID:
Street Address:	(exactly as it appears on the label)

If you are a subscriber and you do not know your account ID or don't have a copy of your newspaper available that shows the information on the address label you can click continue below to search for your account.

New Subscription/30 Day Free Trial Account

If you are new to the award winning Los Alamos Monitor and wish to get a subscription or simply gain access to our online content then please enter your ZIP code below and continue to setup your account.

ZIP Code:

Create a limited access account.
Register to participate in community forums, post on the community calendar, blog etc. This registration does not give you full access to read our award winning content, etc.

The Los Alamos Monitor | lacirculation@lamonitor.com | 505-662-4185
256 DP Road, Los Alamos, NM 87544
Office Hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday