What to read, watch, and listen to if you lovedManhattan
Sam Shaw · Series · 2014
If you loved Manhattan, start with Manhattan (Woody Allen, 1979) — a film from the same story. Below: 4 books, 1 film and 2 podcasts, each matched to Manhattan across media.
What hooked you in Manhattan was the way the weight of history collides with the fragile personal lives of those shaping it.
Start with the source
The source
Manhattan
Woody Allen · Film · 1979
Books on the same thread
American Prometheus
Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin · Book
Shares a thread with Manhattan: Moral ambiguity.
If the moral ambiguity of Los Alamos captivated you in Manhattan, this biography provides the definitive look at the man whose genius and hubris defined that era of history.
American Prometheus
Kai Bird, Martin J. Sherwin · Book · 2006
Shares 2 threads with Manhattan: Cold War, Moral Ambiguity.
This biography mirrors the complex scientific responsibility explored in Manhattan, detailing the life of the physicist at the center of the nuclear age with scholarly depth and nuance.
The Man in the High Castle
Philip K. Dick · Book · 1992
Shares a thread with Manhattan: Moral Ambiguity.
Just as Manhattan examines the shadows of a world-altering conflict, this work explores the chilling consequences of a different historical outcome, grounding its alternate reality in profound existential dread.
Catch-22
Joseph Heller · Book · 1961
Explores: Bureaucratic absurdity, Existential dread, The insanity of war.
The bureaucratic absurdity found in Manhattan is taken to its logical extreme here, capturing the same sense of institutional frustration and the insanity of war that defines the era.
Films on the same thread
Oppenheimer
Film · 2023
Shares a thread with Manhattan: Moral ambiguity.
This film serves as the perfect companion to Manhattan, offering a grand-scale exploration of the scientific ethics, legacy, and guilt that followed the creation of the atomic bomb.
Podcasts on the same thread
S-Town
Serial Productions · Podcast · 2024
Explores: small-town isolation, eccentricity, social decay.
While the setting differs, you will recognize the same intense focus on isolation and human complexity found in Manhattan as this investigation peels back layers of a hidden world.
1619
The New York Times · Podcast · 2019
Explores: systemic racism, national identity, legacy of slavery.
Much like Manhattan uses the atomic race to examine national identity, this series investigates the foundational secrets of history, revealing how past events continue to shape our present reality.
Keep exploring
Common questions
Is Manhattan the 2014 TV series related to the 1979 movie Manhattan?
No, the 2014 television series Manhattan and the 1979 movie Manhattan are entirely separate works. The series focuses on the clandestine race to build the atomic bomb in Los Alamos, while the 1979 film is an unrelated production sharing only the same title.
What is the premise of the TV show Manhattan?
Manhattan is set in Los Alamos, New Mexico, during the development of the world's first atomic bomb. The plot follows flawed scientists and their families as they attempt to live together while secrets and lies infiltrate every aspect of their daily lives during this scientific race.
Should I watch the movie Manhattan before the 2014 series Manhattan?
There is no narrative connection between the two titles. You do not need to watch the 1979 movie Manhattan to understand the 2014 television series, as they belong to different genres and cover unrelated subject matter.
Is Manhattan based on true events regarding the atomic bomb?
The television series Manhattan is set against the backdrop of the historical race to build the first atomic bomb in Los Alamos, New Mexico. It dramatizes the lives of the scientists and their families as they navigate the secrets inherent in this historical mission.