Command and Control
AuthorEric Schlosser
SubjectNuclear weapons
GenreNonfiction
PublisherPenguin Press
Publication date
September 17, 2013
Pages632
ISBN1594202273
OCLC1285471375
363.17/990976774
LC ClassU264.3 .S45 2013

Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety is a 2013 nonfiction book by Eric Schlosser about the history of nuclear weapons systems and accidents involving nuclear weapons in the United States.[1] Incidents Schlosser discusses in the book include the 1980 Damascus Titan missile explosion, the 1966 Palomares B-52 crash, and the 1961 Goldsboro B-52 crash.[2][3] It was a finalist for the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for History.[4] A documentary film based on the book aired as an episode of American Experience on PBS in early 2017.[5]

Critical reception

A review in The New York Times described it as a "disquieting but riveting" book and Schlosser as a "better reporter than policy analyst".[6]

Speaking of the book, domestic security adviser Lee H. Hamilton said, "The lesson of this powerful and disturbing book is that the world's nuclear arsenals are not as safe as they should be. We should take no comfort in our skill and good fortune in preventing a nuclear catastrophe, but urgently extend our maximum effort to assure that a nuclear weapon does not go off by accident, mistake, or miscalculation."[7]

References

  1. ^ "Nuclear 'Command And Control': A History Of False Alarms And Near Catastrophes". NPR. 11 August 2014. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  2. ^ Axelrod, Jim (21 September 2013). "Author Eric Schlosser: Hydrogen bomb almost detonated in North Carolina in 1961". CBS News. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  3. ^ Mechanic, Michael (15 September 2013). "A Sneak Peek at Eric Schlosser's Terrifying New Book on Nuclear Weapons". Mother Jones. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  4. ^ "The Pulitzer Prizes | Citation". Pulitzer.org. Retrieved 2014-05-12.
  5. ^ "Watch Command and Control". PBS.org. Retrieved 2019-10-28.
  6. ^ "Atomic Gaffes". The New York Times. 15 September 2013.
  7. ^ Hamilton, Lee H. (26 August 2014). Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety. Penguin. ISBN 978-0143125785.

External links

See also


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