"No one knew what our job was on the ship. Navy Nuclear Weaponsmen were shrouded in secrecy, and entrusted with the most powerful deadly weapons on earth. Our families and countrymen's lives depended on how diligently we performed our duties." -Jim Little

"No one knew what our job was on the ship. Navy Nuclear Weaponsmen were shrouded in secrecy, and entrusted with the most powerful deadly weapons on earth. Our families and countrymen's lives depended on how diligently we performed our duties." -Jim Little

The Oscar-shortlisted documentary Command and Control, directed by Robert Kenner, finds its origins in Eric Schlosser's book and continues to explore the little-known history of the management and safety concerns of America's nuclear aresenal. “A devastatingly lucid and detailed new history of nuclear weapons in the U.S. Fascinating.” —Lev Grossman, TIME Magazine “Perilous and gripping . . . Schlosser skillfully weaves together an engrossing account of both the science and the politics of nuclear weapons safety.” —San Francisco Chronicle A myth-shattering exposé of America’s nuclear weapons Famed investigative journalist Eric Schlosser digs deep to uncover secrets about the management of America’s nuclear arsenal. A groundbreaking account of accidents, near misses, extraordinary heroism, and technological breakthroughs, Command and Control explores the dilemma that has existed since the dawn of the nuclear age: How do you deploy weapons of mass destruction without being destroyed by them? That question has never been resolved—and Schlosser reveals how the combination of human fallibility and technological complexity still poses a grave risk to mankind. While the harms of global warming increasingly dominate the news, the equally dangerous yet more immediate threat of nuclear weapons has been largely forgotten. Written with the vibrancy of a first-rate thriller, Command and Control interweaves the minute-by-minute story of an accident at a nuclear missile silo in rural Arkansas with a historical narrative that spans more than fifty years. It depicts the urgent effort by American scientists, policy makers, and military officers to ensure that nuclear weapons can’t be stolen, sabotaged, used without permission, or detonated inadvertently. Schlosser also looks at the Cold War from a new perspective, offering history from the ground up, telling the stories of bomber pilots, missile commanders, maintenance crews, and other ordinary servicemen who risked their lives to avert a nuclear holocaust. At the heart of the book lies the struggle, amid the rolling hills and small farms of Damascus, Arkansas, to prevent the explosion of a ballistic missile carrying the most powerful nuclear warhead ever built by the United States. Drawing on recently declassified documents and interviews with people 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. Through the details of a single accident, Schlosser illustrates how an unlikely event can become unavoidable, how small risks can have terrible consequences, and how the most brilliant minds in the nation can only provide us with an illusion of control. Audacious, gripping, and unforgettable, Command and Control is a tour de force of investigative journalism, an eye-opening look at the dangers of America’s nuclear age.

This “unnerving exposé” of a lost American nuclear bomb “is a valuable contribution to the history of the navy, the cold war, and nuclear weapons” (Booklist). On December 5th, 1965, the USS Ticonderoga was on its way from Vietnam to Japan, practicing nuclear combat procedures along the way. A young pilot from Ohio strapped into an A-4 Skyhawk bomber for a routine simulated mission. But after mishandling the maneuver, the plane and its pilot sunk to the bottom of the South China sea, along with a live B43 one-megaton thermonuclear bomb. A cover-up mission began as rumors of sabotage began to circulate. The incident, known as a ‘Broken Arrow’, was kept under wraps for twenty-five years. The details that emerged caused a diplomatic incident, revealing that the U.S. had violated agreements not to bring nuclear weapons into Japan. Broken Arrow tells the story of Ticonderoga’s sailors and airmen, the dangers of combat missions and shipboard life, and the accident that threatened to wipe her off the map and blow US-Japanese relations apart. For the first time, through previously classified documents, never before published photos of the accident aircraft and the recollections of those who were there, the story of carrier aviation’s only ‘Broken Arrow’ is told in full.

This is a love story that spans over a sixty-eight-year period. Some of this time was unrequited love for a painful twenty-eight years and also a happy time of reconciliation. The main character of the story is Ralph H. Little (1908-1999). He pursued the “Love of his life,” Freda, for all of his adult live. A log house in the Oregon woods defines Ralph more than anything else in his life. He was told during the courtship of Freda that one condition of marriage was the building of a log house on her father’s 180-acre, Oregon homestead. Logs were cut by hand and hauled to the construction site by horses. The log house was built not only with hard work and sweat, by “Uncle” Ralph, but primarily with love for his beloved Freda. Ralph suffered betrayal and the loss of Freda. After 28 dark and lonely years Freda returned after she suffered a betrayal in her life. There was a happy remarriage and almost immediately Freda suffered illness and became bed-ridden. Freda was expected to live for only six months. Ralph lived out his marriage vows by nursing Freda for 13 years beyond the time she was expected to live. Following the death of Freda, Ralph began showing signs of dementia. He pleaded with his nephew and niece, who became his caregivers, to help him stay in his log house, for as long as possible. He often said, "I will have to be handcuffed to leave this house." Sadly it eventually came to pass that is exactly what happened. This story is also about those, “sweet and sour times”, and the resulting family relationships and legal issues often faced by caregivers.

An account of the aid worker co-author's dramatic January 2012 rescue from kidnappers in Somalia by members of a Navy SEAL Team Six unit offers insight into the effective use of targeted U.S. military missions.

Offers useful theory building process tracing the narrative turn to strategic choice both methodological and theoretical innovations.

Unclassified accounts of known nuclear weapons accidents.

..".an edge-of-your-seat tale about close calls and disaster averted." -Dr. Roy Heidicker, Wing Historian, 4th Fighter Wing ______________________________ "Joel Dobson has illuminated the story of the 1961 Goldsboro Broken Arrow, one of the most serious nuclear accidents in history. With meticulous detail, his book describes the inner workings of the B-52, the terrible plane crash, and the costs and consequences of this deadly accident. Dobson, a SAC veteran, compiles this rich history with an insider's knowledge, offering a fine read to air force buffs, nuclear experts, and casual readers alike. This is the book to turn to if you want the details of what happened that fateful night in 1961." -Barbara Moran, author of The Day We Lost the H-Bomb: Cold War, Hot Nukes and the Worst Nuclear Weapons Disaster in History