Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: The Doomsday Scenario: How America Ends by L. Douglas Keeney, Douglas L. Keeney ISBN: 0-7603-1313-X Publisher: Motorbooks International Pub. Date: February, 2002 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3 (8 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Interesting little ditty from a bygone era
Comment: "The Doomsday Scenario" instantly catches one's attention with a glowing mushroom cloud on the book's cover. Closer examination also reveals that what is inside is potentially fascinating, too. Thanks to a brief window granted by the Freedom of Information Act, author Douglas Keeney was able to get his hands on a copy of the 1958 version of the U.S. Government's Emergency Plans Book. This book was the definitive study on impact of a nuclear attack on the United States. It focuses on the prelude, the actual attack, and the aftermath. It's fascinating and scary to see what our 'Cold Warriors' feared might be the end result of such a war. This manual predicts what would happen and recommends broad approaches to handling it after the fact.
Author Keeney published this manual in conjunction with his own notes regarding the manual. In it, he expands on the points made in the manual and also uses the events of September 11th, 2001 as an example of how the U.S. eventually DID face a disastrous attack of great magnitude. This makes for a quick and fascinating read for any who are students of the Cold War and intrigued by this subject matter.
Rating: 4
Summary: Valuable inside look at Cold War nuclear strategy
Comment: "The Doomsday Scenario" by L. Douglas Keeney is actually a briefly declassified copy of the "Emergency Plans Book", a high level consideration of the challenges facing the U.S. in a post nuclear strike world, published in 1958. Along with Keeney's extensive footnoting (on opposite pages to the original text) and an excellent introduction by Stephen I. Schwartz, that is the extent of the book; thus, those reviewers who have argued that this book is dry are correct, although I would argue that their focus is incorrect.
Keeney's primary purpose in "The Doomsday Scenario" was to make available to the public a fascinating snapshot of how the government viewed the prospects for survival in a nuclear war as the Cold War approached its height (although, ironically, 1958 was a time when the U.S. actually had legitimate first-strike capability). As such, his notes are largely contextual (he also includes some excellent pictures of test shots, which effectively convey the destruction being so baldly stated in the document) rather than opinion or conjecture. Hence, if you are looking for a fleshed out portrait of a individual survival after a nuclear war, I would recommend fiction such as "Alas, Babylon", "On the Beach" or "The Last Ship". However, if you are interested in Cold War history in general, "The Doomsday Scenario" offers a superb primary reference, and nicely frames the nuclear strategy of the following thirty years.
As for the text itself, the document covers quite thoroughly (albeit at a high level) all of the military and societal implications of a nuclear war. Among the items considered are casualties, accessibility to medical facilities, economic consequences, food production, transportation and communication. Surprisingly, the government is rather bleak in its assessment and takes a worst case view in most instances. That's not to say that they were wrong to do so, but American's have become accustomed to the positive spin-doctoring of their elected officials, and it was a little odd to see the fact being so plainly stated. Although brief, there are still more points than I could consider in a review, but there were a few aspects of the document that I (and the author) found intriguing. Specifically, although chemical and biological weapons are never considered at length, nuclear weapons are explicitly only part of a suite of WMD's that the U.S. anticipated the Russians using. It is noteworthy that the government anticipated outbreaks of Yellow Fever, smallpox, cholera and even plague within a few weeks of an attack. While the breakdown of medical services would account for some of this, there seems to be a darker consideration underlying this assessment. At the same time, the plan explicitly considers sabotage (e.g. terrorism) playing a significant role in any Soviet strike.
Which brings me to my one complaint about this book: all to often Keeney draws comparisons to 9/11. While 9/11 was certainly awful, it pales in comparison to a nuclear strike, and while some of his comparisons are valid (strain on the communications network being one) all to often he assumes that the U.S. could rebound from 50 million casualties in the same way it did from a few thousand. There's just not much common ground between these two events, and while I believe Keeney is sincere, repeated analogies with no foundation in reality begin to smack of exploitation.
Ultimately, this is a book that will be best appreciated by those interested in the Cold War as a whole. As I mentioned early, this work is best utilized when it provides context and insight for other aspects of the struggle between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. While dry, the original document is fascinating in and of itself, and in spite of my complaint above, Keeney generally provides valuable insight into what the document is really saying.
Jake Mohlman
Rating: 3
Summary: Add this to your Nuclear Library
Comment: I was very excited to start this book but have to agree with the others its a little thin. The author or a subject matter expert probably could have added more information and rounded it out nicely. The introduction is excellent and a good chronology of recent COG events. The actual document was very dry. Reading this reminded me of another book I read, Dropshot The American Plan for WWIII. Only facts and little elaboration. For someone from the Nuclear/COG/Command and Control world this is probably a little basic but some from the outside I would have to say this is must have book but you can put it on your wish list for Christmas.
 |
Title: Survival City: Adventures Among the Ruins of Atomic America by Tom Vanderbilt ISBN: 1568983050 Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press Pub. Date: March, 2002 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
 |
Title: One Nation Underground: The Fallout Shelter in American Culture by Kenneth D. Rose ISBN: 0814775225 Publisher: New York University Press Pub. Date: August, 2001 List Price(USD): $30.00 |
 |
Title: Cold War Secret Nuclear Bunkers: The Passive Defence of the Western World During the Cold War C by Nick J. McCamley ISBN: 0850527465 Publisher: Pen & Sword Pub. Date: April, 2002 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
 |
Title: Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank ISBN: 0060931396 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 01 April, 1999 List Price(USD): $11.00 |
 |
Title: Life After Doomsday by Bruce Clayton ISBN: 0873641752 Publisher: Paladin Press Pub. Date: May, 1992 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
