Doomsday Men: The Real Dr Strangelove and the Dream of the Superweapon

by PDSmith (Author)

• Used

  Hardcover
  2007

  $3.50

  In this gripping narrative, Peter Smith tells the untold story of the doomsday bomb. In 1950, for the first time in history, mankind realised that he had within his grasp a truly God-like power - the ability to destroy life itself. Doomsday Men reveals the personalities behind the technologies of nuclear doomsday and shows how, in the end, the doomsday machine became the ultimate symbol of humanity's deepest fears about the science of destruction. As Smith forcefully shows, the culture that grew up in the shadow of this frightening weapon has helped shape all our contemporary anxieties about science, technology, and the future.

• Used

  Paperback
  2008

  $6.36

  It was the weapon to end all weapons: the doomsday device. A huge nuclear bomb so powerful that it could envelop the entire planet in a cloud of radioactive dust, and bring about instant extinction. This is the untold story of the Cold War's most insane plan, the men behind it and how it nearly happened. It is also the history of humanity's nightmare vision of a superweapon, showing how popular culture, from the stories of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne to films such as Planet of the Apes , Mad Max and Dr Strangelove itself have both shaped and reflected our darkest dreams.