I'm a child of the Cold War. I grew up in the shadow of a SAC bomber base about 15 miles south of us across the border in Michigan and B-52 bombers regularly flew over my uncle's cottage on their landing approach to Kincheloe. There was an air raid siren on the hill overlooking the high school near our home and it was tested regularly. Of course, I remember the uncertainty and fear of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
I've understood the power of nuclear weapon ever since studying physics in university and reading books like The Effects of Nuclear Weapons and Richard Rhodes' The Making of the Atomic Bomb.. But in the past 50 years, the fear of nuclear war has faded into the background, with periodic flareups like the Ukraine war and sabre rattling by North Korea.
But reading Nuclear War made me seriously afraid. It's clear that we are living in a world where nuclear conflict could be started and escalate into an all-out war in 90 minutes or less. The triggering event could be a deliberate attack, as postulated in the scenario laid out in the book, but it could also be something unintentional. Given the hair-trigger launch on warning policies of the major powers (something I wasn't aware of before reading this book), a full scale conflict would be almost inevitable.
Nuclear War is a fast paced and compulsively readable descent into hell. It's thoroughly researched, with more than 200 pages of notes and references, which helps to make it scarier than the best horror movie. Recommended, but with a very strong trigger warning.
No comments:
Post a Comment