Command and Control

Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety

By: Eric Schlosser

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 20 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

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 50 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.

©2013 Eric Schlosser (P)2013 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

A New York Times Notable Book of 2013

"A devastatingly lucid and detailed new history of nuclear weapons in the US...fascinating." (Time magazine)

"Schlosser's book reads like a thriller, but it's masterfully even-handed, well researched, and well organised. Either he's a natural genius at integrating massive amounts of complex information, or he worked like a dog to write this book. You wouldn't think the prospect of nuclear apocalypse would make for a reading treat, but in Schlosser's hands it does." Lev Grossman, Jonathan Franzen, The Guardian)

Great details on our nuclear weapon history

I was just a baby in Arkansas when the Damascus incident occurred. I enjoyed learning more about the events that led up to it as well as the history and challenges we faced in the development and deployment of a nuclear weapon arsenal.

Everything you never knew about the nuclear threat

Everybody should be aware of the nuclear history of this country and very concerned for our ignorance of our history and our effect on others all over the world.

Interesting book

Good book with lots of interesting information. It does jump around a little too much which can make it hard to follow.

An excellent book, exciting yet informative

Long story short, we got lucky, damn lucky that we didn't have one of those city destroying nightmares go off on us in the early and middle years of the cold war before major safety reforms were implemented.

And we're still not 100% safe today.

Awesome book. 10/10

contains a few small errors, but awesome read. you won't regret buying this book. highly recommend.

Terrific Listen!

This book takes a subject that could be very dry and weaves it into a narrative that is undeniably compelling.

Outstanding look into the history of Nuclear arms

A strong book covering not only the incident in Arkansas but also the long struggle to have an effective deterrent vs. an effective control of this very volatile weapon. Great insight to the Cold War and America’s Strategic (Air) Command and of the many accidents and incidents involving these weapons. You are left in amazement that “for the grace of god” there has never been a detonation of a nuclear weapon, and of the times the world was inches away from a nuclear war.
Wow, what a book!

a must read for anyone interested in the subject

a must read for anyone interested in the subject of nuclear weapons, global strategy and what not to do when creating safety protocols.

Topic

Well done interesting topic and very educational for someone who grew up during the later stages of the cold war

Stunning

What did you love best about Command and Control?

The story brings together the history, science and military facets of nuclear weapons, by building on an actual Titan ICBM accident.

What did you like best about this story?

Having served in the Strategic Air Command and kept B-52s aloft with live nukes, the stories were a revelation - so many accidents and near catastrophes - that one can only conclude we were saved from ourselves.

Any additional comments?

It is hard to appreciate the overwhelming threat that nuclear weapons posed in the 60s and 70s, and the relief at the end of the cold war.

But then, the weapons haven't gone away...