Command and control the penguin press, by eric schlosser. Drawing on recently declassified documents and interviews with men who designed and routinely handled nuclear weapons, command and control takes readers into a terrifying but fascinating world that, until now, has been largely hidden from view. All content included on our site, such as text, images, digital downloads and other, is the property of its content suppliers and protected by us and international. Through the details of a single accident, schlosser illustrates how an unlikely event can become. The chilling, concise history of americas precarious nuclear arsenal. It was released initially in the united states at the tribeca film festival and then in the united kingdom at the sheffield docfest on june 11, 2016. It reveals how even the most brilliant of minds can offer us only the illusion of control. How do you deploy weapons of mass destruction without being destroyed by them. F or his latest book, command and control, the american author eric schlosser spent six years immersed in the world of nuclear weapons. The oscarshortlisted documentary command and control, directed by robert kenner, finds its origins in eric schlossers book and continues to explore the. Schlosser tasked filmmaker kevin ford with bringing. A mythshattering expose of americas nuclear weapons famed investigative journalist eric schlosser digs deep to uncover secrets about the management of.
Command and control may not be a book that interests everyone, but the world would be a safer, more sober place if it were. His writing has appeared in the atlantic monthly, rolling stone, new yorker, vanity fair, and nation. Nuclear weapons, the damascus accident, and the illusion of safety, eric schlosser casts light on the largely. Buy a cheap copy of command and control book by eric schlosser. The oscarshortlisted documentary command and control, directed by robert kenner, finds its origins in eric schlossers book and continues to explore. The oscarshortlisted documentary command and con trol, directed by robert kenner, finds its origins in eric schlosser s book and continues to explore the littleknown history of the management and safety concerns of americas nuclear aresenal. Command and control is a beautifully written and impressively researched book that utterly fails to achieve its primary purpose. Schlossers 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. The documentary will also air on pbss american experience in early january 2017.
Now eric schlosser turns his keen eye, journalistic prowess. Joness comments appear alongside lapps assessment in the document below, obtained by journalist eric schlosser while researching his book command and control, the basis of the american. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading command and cont rol. Air force has been handling thousands of nuclear weapons for nearly 70 years without a major radiation accident. Louis menand famed investigative journalist eric schlosser. Command and control is how nonfiction should be written. 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. Which is this early warning headquarters located deep inside a mountain overlooking colorado springs. Command and control interweaves the minutebyminute story of an accident at a missile silo in rural arkansas, where a single crew struggled to prevent the explosion of the most powerful nuclear warhead ever built by the united states, with a historical narrative that spans more than fifty years. The author takes the story of the 1980 accident in the missile launch complex 3747 in arkansas. It is based on the 1980 damascus titan missile explosion in damascus, arkansas between. It was a finalist for the 2014 pulitzer prize for history. Command and control reads like a characterdriven thriller as schlosser draws on his deep reporting, extensive interviews, and documents obtained via the freedom of information act to demonstrate how human error, computer glitches, dilution of authority, poor communications, occasional incompetence, and the routine hoarding of crucial. Nuclear weapons, the damascus accident, and the illusion of safety kindle edition published september 17th 20 by penguin books kindle edition, 657 pages.
Eric schlosser, author of fast food nation, spent six years researching americas nuclear weapons. Eric schlosser is most famous for fast food nation 2000. Watch command and control american experience official. Sex, drugs, and cheap labor in the american black market, 2003, etc. Nuclear weapons, the damascus accident, and the illusion of safety by eric schlosser. From the very beginning of the atomic age, there has been a sense of this immense power just being on the verge of slipping out of our control. Sign in or create your guardian account to join the discussion. Eric schlosser talks about his book, command and control, in which he details the ease with which an accident can occur when handling nuclear weapons and how little control military leaders and. 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. Once the officers showed him how to do it, green requested permission to stage a black hat operation at 47an unannounced demonstration of how someone could sneak into the launch control. Command and control gripping, terrific edgeofyourseat experience. To ask other readers questions about command and control, please sign up.
Published by penguin books i think this book qualifies as the best thriller i have ever read and its all true. At the core of the authors scrutiny is the suspensefully narrated back story of the. Investigative journalist eric schlosser is the author of the new york times bestselling books fast food nation, which helped launch a revolution in how people think about what they eat. This book is an excellent telling of the story of the damascus accident intermixed with a very accurate telling of almost all of the key moments in cold war history. Eric schlosser, author of fast food nation, has written a new bookcommand and control. Command and control schlosser, eric 9780143125785 hpb. Famed investigative journalist eric schlosser digs deep to uncover secrets about the. A mythshattering expose of americas nuclear weapons famed investigative journalist eric schlosser digs deep to. It depicts the urgent effort to ensure that nuclear weapons cant be stolen, sabotaged, used. Eric schlosser, author of command and control, at kpcc. There are also shocking revelation about how lax nuclear security, safety and command and control were in the us in the early days of the cold war. In command and control, eric schlosser of fast food nation fame turns his attention to the development and deployment of nuclear weaponry in america in 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 nuclear weapons systems in the united states. Unfortunately, the command and con trol of americas nuclear weapons has been far from 100% perfect, as investigative journalist eric schlosser points out in his latest book command and con trol. Command and control explores the longhidden accidents, near misses, technological breakthroughs, and extraordinary heroism connected to americas nuclear weapons program. Command and control was designed and has evolved to solve. Command and control npr coverage of command and control. Taking readers from the first nuclear test to the present day, schlosser intercuts the history with a distressing description of a deadly accident at a titan ii missile silo. From famed investigative journalist eric schlosser, author of fast food nation, comes command and control a groundbreaking account of the. His book fast food nation forever changed the way we think about what we eat. Nuclear weapons, the damascus accident, and the illusion of safety ala notable books for adults kindle edition by schlosser, eric. Reefer madness, which probed the flourishing black market of sex, drugs, and cheap labor. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. Nowadays or at least until november last year it is fashionable to having read schlosser s junk food nation, and having thought it excellent, i decided to pick up command and con trol as a followup to rhodess the making of the atom bomb.
Eric schlosser is the author of fast food nation and reefer madness, as well as the coauthor of a childrens book, chew on this. Being born in the mid fifties and having been subjected to the possible nuclear war exercises at my elementary school by hiding underneath our desks at school, brought back all those frightful moments i lived as a child in alberquerque. Based on the book by eric schlosser, command and control reveals how the combination of technological complexity and human fallibility has repeatedly escalated the risk of nuclear disaster. In eric schlossers new book, command and control, he asks. 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. Command and controlinterweaves the minutebyminute story of an accident at a missile silo in rural arkansas, where a single crew struggled to prevent the explosion of the most powerful nuclear warhead ever built by the united states, with a historical narrative that spans more than fifty years. He was executive producer of the oscarwinning major motion picture. Command and control, by eric schlosser the new york times. A mythshattering expose of americas nuclear weapons famed investigative journalist eric schlosser digs deep to uncover secrets about the management. Around that story he weaves an enormous amount of information about the us air force missile.
Nuclear weapons, the damascus accident, and the illusion of safety ala notable books for adults by schlosser, eric and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. He discovered example after example of mistakes and near misses and became deeply concerned about the state of americas nuclear arsenal those concerns were brought into focus again this week, when us air force officials said officers entrusted. Eric schlosser is an american journalist and author known for investigative journalism. The oscarshortlisted documentary command and control, directed by robert kenner, finds its origins in eric schlosser s book and continues to explore the littleknown history of the management and safety concerns of americas nuclear aresenal. Nuclear weapons, the damascus accident, and the illusion of safety ala. Nowadays or at least until november last year it is fashionable to having read schlossers junk food nation, and having thought it excellent, i decided to pick up command and control as a followup to rhodess the making of the atom bomb. Schlossers new book,command and control, centers around one accident in 1980 at a titan missile silo, and explores all manner of accidents and nearaccidents involving nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons, the damascus accident, and the illusion of safety by eric schlosser in chm, djvu, rtf download ebook.
Schlosser is the author of the bestselling expose fast food nation, published in 2001. Incidents schlosser discusses in the book include the 1980 damascus titan missile explosion and the 1961 goldsboro b52 crash. That book opens with a visit to one of the most important parts of the american command and control system which is the cheyenne mountain air station. Command and control quotes showing of 63 green had been amazed by their discovery. From famed investigative journalist eric schlosser, author of fast food nation, comes command and control a groundbreaking account of the management of nuclear weapons. The oscarshortlisted 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. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.
He is the author of the new york times bestsellers fast food nation and command and control, as well as reefer madness and chew on this. It is only by changing the focus from what command and control is to why command and control is that we will place ourselves in a position to move on. Goldsboro, 1961 american experience official site pbs. In this book, hes interested in how the effort to control nuclear weapons to.