Philippines RPCV Allan M. Winkler is author of Life under a Cloud
Life Under a Cloud
American Anxiety About the Atom
Allan M. Winkler
In this vivid account of the impact of the atomic bomb on American political and cultural life, Allan M. Winkler delineates how fears of nuclear disaster have become a part of our culture.
Tracing the debate among scientists and intellectuals over military and civilian uses of atomic power as well as the waxing and waning of popular protest, Life Under a Cloud reveals the irony, anxiety, and official insanity of the atomic age. Winkler explores the cultural manifestations of public concern over the nuclear dilemma by using popular songs, movies, novels, poems, paintings, and television programs--from Stanley Kubrick's film Dr. Strangelove to Tom Lehrer's satirical verses ("In the land of the AEC / Where the scenery is attractive / And the air is radioactive")--to detail the curious mix of humor and dread that has characterized the way most Americans have tried to relate to a world filled with atomic weapons and the threat of instantaneous annihilation.
"A lively, first-rate survey of the nation's encounter with the nuclear era." -- Lawrence S. Wittner, Journal of American History
"The best overview history of nuclear arms control and related issues yet published." -- Roger M. Anders, Diplomatic History
ALLAN M. WINKLER, a professor of history at Miami University of Ohio, is the author of Home Front, U.S.A.: America during World War II and other books.
