{"product_id":"a-short-history-of-nuclear-folly-isbn-9781612193304","title":"A Short History of Nuclear Folly","description":"\u003cb\u003eIn the spirit of \u003ci\u003eDr. Strangelove\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Atomic Café\u003c\/i\u003e, a blackly sardonic people’s history of atomic blunders and near-misses revealing the hushed-up and forgotten episodes in which the great powers gambled with catastrophe\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRudolph Herzog, the acclaimed author of \u003ci\u003eDead Funny\u003c\/i\u003e, presents a devastating account of history’s most irresponsible uses of nuclear technology. From the rarely-discussed nightmare of “Broken Arrows” (40 nuclear weapons lost during the Cold War) to “Operation Plowshare” (a proposal to use nuclear bombs for large engineering projects, such as a the construction of a second Panama Canal using 300 H-Bombs), Herzog focuses in on long-forgotten nuclear projects that nearly led to disaster.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn an unprecedented people’s history, Herzog digs deep into archives, interviews nuclear scientists, and collects dozens of rare photos. He explores the “accidental” drop of a Nagasaki-type bomb on a train conductor’s home, the implanting of plutonium into patients’ hearts, and the invention of wild tactical nukes, including weapons designed to kill enemy astronauts.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTold in a riveting narrative voice, Herzog—the son of filmmaker Werner Herzog—also draws on childhood memories of the final period of the Cold War in Germany, the country once seen as the nuclear battleground for NATO and the Warsaw Pact countries, and discusses evidence that Nazi scientists knew how to make atomic weaponry . . . and chose not to.\u003cu\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eA Short History of Nuclear Folly\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/u\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“The author and son of filmmaker Werner Herzog presents a sardonic, little-known history of misguided, accidental and irresponsible uses of nuclear technology.” \u2028\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Shocking and vitally important.” \u2028\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Unflinching . . . Herzog’s use of the word ‘folly’ is an under­statement.” \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e—The Village Voice\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“It is arguably not possible to imagine human stupidity on a grander scale than what Rudolph Herzog has stockpiled in his new book.”     \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e—The Brooklyn Rail\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“A well-written, if tragic, account of how little nuclear weapons testers knew or were willing to account for.” \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e—Vice\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“Amusing . . . interesting and occasionally eye-popping.” \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e—Survival \u003c\/i\u003e(The Journal of the International Institute for Strategic Studies)\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“Herzog’s study is a shocking and vitally important reminder that we live in an unsteady nuclear age.”     \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e—Publishers Weekly\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“Looks at the seriocomic side of the history of nuclear experimentation after WWII . . . Alternately funny and scary but overall mostly scary, the book reminds us just how frightening the Cold War really was.”     \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e—Booklist\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“Darkly funny low points in our nuclear past as well . . . more of-the-moment prognostications of what we can expect from our nuclear neighbors.” \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e—Toronto Star\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“For a book about such a heavy subject, \u003ci\u003eA Short History of Nuclear Folly\u003c\/i\u003e, keeps it quick and snappy and, dare I say, entertaining.”\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e—Philadelphia Review of Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“An eclectic, innovative approach to the bureaucratization of creativity during the Cold War.” \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e—The Los Angeles Review of Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“Meticulously researched and thrillingly told—reading this is as informative as it is spine-chillingly entertaining.” \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e—Die Zeit\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“A haunting and well phrased warning.”     \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e—Focus Online\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Rudolph Herzog’s collection of the most incredible stories reads as a tour through the most polluted places on the globe.” \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e—Frankfurter Rundschau\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cu\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for Rudolph Herzog’s \u003ci\u003eDead Funny: Telling Jokes in Hitler’s Germany\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/u\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A concise, compelling book.” \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e—The Independent \u003c\/i\u003e(UK)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Herzog, the son of the film-maker Werner Herzog, shares his father’s curious and mordant wit.” \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e—The Financial Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “\u003ci\u003eDead Funny\u003c\/i\u003e isn’t just a book of wildly off-limits humor. Rather, it’s a fascinating, heartbreaking look at power dynamics, propaganda, and the human hunger for catharsis.” \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e—The Atlantic, \u003c\/i\u003eBest Books of 2012\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eRudolph Herzog\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of \u003ci\u003eDead Funny: Humor in Hitler’s Germany\u003c\/i\u003e. His documentary on humor in the Third Reich, \u003ci\u003eLaughing with Hitler\u003c\/i\u003e, scored top audience ratings on German Channel 1 and was also broadcast on the BBC. He is the son of the celebrated filmmaker Werner Herzog. A documentary by Rudolph Herzog based on \u003ci\u003eA Short History of Nuclear Folly\u003c\/i\u003e was released in 2014. He is currently filming \u003ci\u003eHow to Sell a War\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJefferson Chase\u003c\/b\u003e is one of the foremost translators of German history. He has translated Wolfgang Schivelbusch, Thomas Mann, and Götz Aly, among many other writers.Did you know?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e• Edward Teller, the “father of the H-Bomb,” relentlessly promoted a plan to use 300 nukes to build a second Panama Canal. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e• Atomic technology ended up in many places where it didn’t belong: Reactors were used to power satellites, some of which crash-landed and triggered nuclear emergencies. A plutonium battery was also installed at the top of the Himalayas . . . and lost.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e• There’s a derelict research reactor in the middle of Kinshasa, Congo, which was built by an eccentric Belgian missionary. The reactor is falling apart, and several uranium fuel rods have been stolen. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e• John Wayne died of cancer, as did 46 members of the crew of \u003ci\u003eThe Conqueror\u003c\/i\u003e, a notoriously bad B-movie shot in a contaminated canyon near the Nevada nuclear testing range. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e• About 40 nuclear weapons were lost during the Cold War, some in populated areas in the U.S. Some almost triggered, others were never retrieved. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e• Nazi scientist Gernot Zippe was captured by the Soviets and forced to build the uranium centrifuge, which was used by Iran, Pakistan and North Korea to build bombs.","brand":"Melville House","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46301445718245,"sku":"NP9781612193304","price":16.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781612193304_6ebab37c-a423-4366-890c-07d15d2c7d3d.jpg?v=1742924321","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/a-short-history-of-nuclear-folly-isbn-9781612193304","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}