Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read atomic accidents. Command and control, by eric schlosser financial times. The article is a summary of eric schlossers command and control. Nuclear weapons, the damascus accident and the illusion of safety. The documentary will air on pbss american experience on january 10th. I hope my book contributes, in some small way, to restoring a semblance of democracy to the command and control of the deadliest, most dangerous machines that mankind has ever invented.
Ultimately, the decision to take that step would be a conscious, deliberate act by the person whose finger is on the proverbial button, and so far human decency and morality have stayed that choice. This new book command and control by eric schlosser, the author of fast food nation and reefer madness, aims to help put a new kind of nuke fear back in our minds. A small light near the handle was on, and inside was a screen displaying information indicating that a missile had been launched four minutes earlier from somewhere in the. Command and con trol is a far more interesting book than it may seem. Command and control, written by journalist eric schlosser, recalls harrowing chain of events of september 18, 1980, at a titan ii nuclear missile silo in damascus, arkansas. True, we made it through the cold war without a nuclear attack. Eric schlosser detonates a truth bomb in command and control, a powerful expose about.
The bombs required 6 switches, activated sequentially, to be detonated. My book command and control explores how the systems devised to govern. There is genuine heartinyourthroat suspense in eric schlossers accounting of the big hits and nearmisses during the past halfcentury of the nuclear age. Command and control to air on pbs in early 2017 based on author eric schlossers book of the same name, command and control tells the story of a terrifying accident in damascus, arkansas in 1980, when a worker at the titan ii missile complex dropped a socket, puncturing the fuel tank of an intercontinental ballistic missile armed with a.
The chilling, concise history of americas precarious nuclear arsenal. The film is directed by robert kenner and based on a 2014 book by eric schlosser titled command and control. Nuclear weapons, the damascus accident, and the illusion of safety is a 20 nonfiction book by eric schlosser about the history of. At first glance schlossers topic is fairly technical, even rarefied. In his book command and control, out in paperback just in time for christmas, he presents us with a deeply frightening portrait of a world where there are still about 17,000 nuclear weapons. Command and control, which premiered at the tribeca 2016 film festival, is a highstakes documentary thriller from robert kenner, director of the emmyawardwinning film food, inc, which was based on eric schlossers bestselling book. A mythshattering expose of americas nuclear weapons famed investigative journalist eric schlosser digs deep to. Just a few pages into command and control isbn 978159420. Command and control, which premiered at the tribeca 2016 film festival, is a highstakes documentary thriller from robert kenner, director of the emmyawardwinning film food, inc, which was based on eric schlossers bestselling book fast food. The documentary will also air on pbss american experience in early january 2017. Command and control was a finalist for the 2014 pulitzer prize history, a new york times notable book and bestseller. The book is primarily a book about the safety of nuclear weapons, the command and control system for us nuclear weapons and a detailed narrative of the disaster which destroyed a titan ii missile at site 3747 near damascus, arkansas in 1980. Command and control ranks among the most nightmarish books written in recent years.
Eric schlossers command and control is really two books in one. Schlosser s disquieting but riveting book looks at every aspect of nuclear risk, examining problems with the command and control systems that in theory were supposed to provide presidents with the. Command and control, by eric schlosser the new york times. Schlossers book reads like a thriller, but its masterfully evenhanded, well researched, and well organised. Moscow time, an aide handed a briefcase to boris yeltsin, the president of russia. Command and control by eric schlosser books on tape. In addition, as documented in eric schlossers book command and control, there were dozens of close calls swiftly classified, of course in the form of nuclear accidents which could have led to catastrophic loss of life.
The second is more analytic, exploring the challenge at the heart of nuclear commandandcontrol systems. It depicts the urgent effort by american scientists, policymakers, and military officers to ensure that nuclear. Command and control, a documentary film based on schlossers book, aired on pbs on 10 january 2017. Command and control is a firstrate work of history and a damn fine guide to complex risk, but its lasting value lies in schlossers chilling reminder that these weapons are more than simply curiosities of a different era. Schlossers mining and marshalling of evidence surpasses his goal. Finding the roots of addiction in the instability of free. Incidents schlosser discusses in the book include the 1980 damascus titan missile explosion and the 1961 goldsboro b52 crash. Capitalism destroys local community and sustainability in order to bring all resources human and otherwise into the global free market. Investigative journalist schlossers reefer madness. Mother joneseasily the most unsettling work of nonfiction ive ever read. The lesson of this powerful and disturbing book is that the worlds nuclear. From this, eric schlosser, who is writing a book on the nuclear arms races called command and control, concludes. Unfortunately, the command and control of americas nuclear weapons has been far from 100% perfect, as investigative journalist eric schlosser points out in his latest book command and control.
Retirement edit the titan ii was originally expected to be in service for only 57 years, but ended up lasting far longer than anyone expected in. A mythshattering expose of americas nuclear weapons famed investigative journalist eric schlosser digs deep to uncover secrets about the management. At the core of the authors scrutiny is the suspensefully narrated back. But as eric schlosser points out in command and control, we may have been worrying about the wrong thing all along. The book alternates between the tragedy at site 3747 and a more or less chronological history of us nuclear weapons safety and command and control. Either hes a natural genius at integrating massive amounts of complex information, or he worked like a dog to write this book. Command and control by eric schlosser the penguin press 640 pp. He reveals declassified studies that disclose hundreds of mishaps between 1950 and 1967 and beyond. This freakish event is at the core of eric schlossers new book, command and control.
Earthshaking revelations abound by helenhighly synopsis. Eric schlosser on the lack of security surrounding nuclear weapons, the. Techno thrillers have got nothing on this truelife account of the united states misadventures with nuclear weaponry. As an author, schlosser s recent book, command and control 20 reveals the details of americas effort to prevent nuclear weapons from being stolen, sabotaged, or detonated by accident. Watching a nuclear disarmament conference fail ars technica. It reveals how even the most brilliant of minds can offer us only the illusion of control. Harsh political rhetoric, combined with the vulnerability of the nuclear command andcontrol system, has made the risk of global catastrophe greater than ever.
They belonged to propellant transfer system pts team a of the 308th. The oscarshortlisted documentary command and con trol, directed by robert kenner, finds its origins in eric schlossers book and continues to explore the littleknown history of the management and safety concerns of americas nuclear aresenal. While the underlying material is interesting, the book is actually about industrial safety protocols in military installations. Eric schlosser is the author of fast food nation and reefer madness, as well as the coauthor of a childrens book, chew on this. Hong kong has confirmed its first case of h9n2 in four years, with an 86yearold man testing positive for. Command and control by eric schlosser overdrive rakuten. The documentary command and control, directed by robert kenner, finds its origins in eric schlossers book and continues to explore the littleknown history of the management and safety concerns of americas nuclear aresenal. Hundreds of recently declassified stories of nuclear weapons accidents are outlined in eric schlossers command and control, many more are left untold. Why wars never end, obamas crackdown on the press, hemps. Enter helen, a new biography of arkansas native helen gurley brown, the longtime editorinchief of cosmopolitan magazine, has hit the shelves. Nuclear weapons, the damascus accident, and the illusion of safety is a 20 nonfiction book by eric schlosser about the history of nuclear weapons systems in the united states. Eric schlosser is the author of fast food nation pdf and reefer madness, as well as the coauthor of a childrens book, chew on this. The first is a technothriller, narrating a shocking nuclear accident in gripping detail. Bwc revcon, winnipeg lab ebola exposure, nfpa active.
The author has clearly done a huge amount of research both into the specifics of what happened at site 3747 and the us nuclear weapons program, including extensive interviews with key individuals. Command and control is a far more interesting book than it may seem. Glasstones book does an unsurpassed job of explaining what nuclear weapons can do. The oscarshortlisted documentary command and control, directed by robert kenner, finds its origins in eric schlossers book and continues to explore the. George orwell, who coined the term cold war in his 1945 essay you and the atom bomb, also had winston smith in. The fact is that deterrence is always touted as the ultimate counterargument to the risks of nuclear warfare, but there. The united states has narrowly avoided a long series of nuclear disasters, he writes. Its critical reading in a nation with thousands of nukes still on hairtrigger alert. Written with the vibrancy of a firstrate thriller, command and control interweaves the minutebyminute story of an accident at a nuclear missile silo in rural arkansas with a historical narrative that spans more than fifty years. From the ozark mountains to fukushima ebook written by jim mahaffey. Schlossers disquieting but riveting book looks at every aspect of nuclear risk, examining problems with the command and control systems that. Command and control may not be a book that interests everyone, but the world would be a safer, more sober place if it were. People, cultures and ecosystems are then fed into the conveyor belt of profit.
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