Spirit of America Bookstore
Atomic U.S.A.
• Page Two •
Trinity Test Site
at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico
The first atomic explosion in history occurred on 16 July 1945;
the location is now within White Sands Missile Range [est. 1942] in New Mexico.
"The devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was catastrophic. But we have to realize that
the United States bombed New Mexico first." — Joni Arends, anti-nuclear activist
Trinity Test Site official website
Trinity nuclear test entry at Wikipedia
Atomic Tourist page about the Trinity Test Site
'Trinity Remembered' website
Trinity 50th Anniversary pages at Albuquerque Journal
 | "O Shepherd, Speak!" [Viking 1949] by Upton Sinclair The tenth book in Sinclair's "World's End (Lanny Budd)" series of eleven historical novels, this book covering 1944-45. The adventures of President Roosevelt's special agent Lanny Budd include the Battle of The Bulge, the Yalta Conference, Roosevelt's death, the A-bomb test at Trinity, and the Nuremberg Trials. Viking hardcover [1949] out of print/used "O Shepherd, Speak! - Part I" Simon Publns 9x6 pb [7/2001] for $29.95 "O Shepherd, Speak! - Part II" Simon Publns 9x6 pb [7/2001] for $29.95 |
 | "The Day The Sun Rose Twice: The Story of The Trinity Site Nuclear Explosion, July 16, 1945" [1984] by Ferenc Morton Szasz [1940-2010] Univ NM Press 9x6 pb [7/95] for $12.89 Univ NM Press hardcover [12/84] out of print/used |
Ending the War with Japan
The fire-bombing of Tokyo, Japan in March 1945 caused more deaths than the atom bomb in Hiroshima.
Within months, Japan's economy was collapsing and the country faced catastrophic starvation.
Germany surrendered unconditionally on 7 May 1945.
The U.S. dropped a 20 kiloton atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan on August 6th (killing an estimated 140,000 people)
and a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan on August 9th (killing an estimated 74,000 people).
Japan announced unconditional surrender on August 14th,
and formally surrendered aboard the U.S.S. Missouri on September 2nd.
browse 'History / World War II / Hiroshima & Nagasaki'
category books at Amazon.com
August 6-9: No Nukes * No Wars * No Profiteers
 | "The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki" [1946] from The Manhattan Engineer District official report from the Manhattan Project, dated 29 June 1946 BookSurge Classics pb [2/2004] for $7.99 Kessinger 11x8¼ pb [6/2004] for $10.85 IndyPublish 8¾x6½ pb [12/2001] for $17.99 IndyPublish 8¼x6¼ hardcover [12/2001] for $22.99 |
"Japan's Longest Day"
[Toho Japan Aug 1967, USA March 1968]
 | This is the true story of 15 August 1945, as Japan's government considered surrender to the Allies; the 2-hour 40-minute film is broadcast in Japan every year on the anniversary of the surrender. After the atomic bombings of Hiroshima & Nagasaki, Japan's Army Minister Anami proposed to fight on, even to the death of every Japanese citizen. Emperor Hirohito and his other ministers considered the unthinkable – the peaceful surrender of Japan. When Anami learned of a military plot to overthrow the Emperor's civilian government, he faced the choice between his desires and his loyalty to the Emperor.
Directed by Kihachi Okamoto; adapted by Shinobu Hashimoto from the 1965 book; starring Toshirô Mifune, Koshiro Matsumoto {as Emperor Hirohito}, Sô Yamamura, Chishu Ryu, Seiji Miyaguchi, Takashi Shimura, Toshio Kurosawa, Shogo Shimada, Susumu Fujita, Rokko Toura, Yûnosuke Itô, Daisuke Katô, Etsushi Takahashi, Jun Tazaki, Takao Inoue & Nobuo Nakamura; won Kinema Junpo Award for Best Script
Animeigo widescreen b&w/color DVD [9/2006] for $26.99 full credits from IMDb |
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based on the renowned history “Nihon no Ichiban Nagai Hi” [1965] by The Pacific War Research Society & Soichi Oya Kodansha Intl. 7½x5¼ pb [9/2002] for $13.57 Ballantine Books mass pb [9/93] out of print/used |
 | "The Day Man Lost: Hiroshima, 6 August 1945" [1972] by Pacific War Research Society Kodansha America 7¼x4½ pb [8/81] out of print/used Kodansha America hardcover [12/97] out of print/used |
 | "The Atomic Bomb: Voices From Hiroshima and Nagasaki" [1990] Edited by Kyoko Iriye Selden & Mark Selden Kindle Edition from Routledge [3/2015] for $31.69 {sic} Routledge 9x6 pb [1/90] for $45.53 Routledge 9¼x6¼ hardcover [1/90] for $158.00 {sic} |
 | "Rain of Ruin: A Photographic History of Hiroshima & Nagasaki" [1995] by Donald M. Goldstein, Katherine V. Dillon & J. Michael Wenger Brassey's/Potomac Books 11x8½ pb [11/99] for $13.57 Brassey's/Potomac Books hardcover [7/95] for $33.94 |
 | "Hiroshima In America: A Half Century of Denial" [1995] by Robert Jay Lifton & Greg Mitchell Two historians argue that information and debate about President Truman's decision in August 1945 to drop the bomb on Japan have been suppressed in order to prevent criticism of America Harper Perennial 9x6 pb [8/96] out of print/40+ used Putnam Adult 9¼x6 hardcover [7/95] out of print/60+ used |
 | "Judgment At The Smithsonian: The Bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki" [1995] Edited by Philip Nobile Marlowe & Co. 8¼x5½ pb [8/95] out of print/used |
 | "Harry S. Truman and The Bomb: A Documentary History" [1996] Edited by Robert H. Ferrell High Plains Publng 9½x6¼ pb [7/96] out of print/used see also Spirit of America Bookstore's Harry S. Truman [1884-1972] Page |
 | "The Enola Gay and The Smithsonian Institution" [2005] by Charles T. O'Reilly & William A. Rooney McFarland & Co. 9x6½ pb [1/2005] for $39.95 |
 | "Shockwave: Countdown To Hiroshima" [2005] by Stephen Walker Harper Perennial 8x5½ pb [5/2006] for $9.72 HarperCollins 9x6½ hardcover [8/2005] for $17.79 |
 | "White Light, Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima & Nagasaki" [H.B.O. TV movie Aug 2007] Written & directed by Steven Okazaki H.B.O. Home Video color DVD [8/2007] for $22.99 official sites: U.S.A. + Japanese |
 | "To Hell and Back: The Last Train From Hiroshima" [2015] by Charles Pellegrino Interviews with survivors of the two atomic bombings in August 1945, including Tsutomu Yamaguchi – the only person to survive both events. Kindle Edition from Rowman & Littlefield [8/2015] for $19.99 Rowman & Littlefield Publrs 9¼x6¼ hardcover [8/2015] for $24.09 |
Hiroshima, Japan - 6 August 1945
Hiroshima page at Free Information Society
Pres. Truman's announcement of the Hiroshima atomic bomb {25 sec. soundbite}
 | "Hiroshima" [1946 classic] by John Hersey First published as the entire 31 August 1946 issue of The New Yorker Magazine Vintage mass pb [3/89] for $6.95 Knopf expanded edition 8x5½ hardcover [8/85] for $16.98 Recorded Books audio CD [10/2005] for $13.59 Audio Partners UNABR audio [12/95] for $14.93 Grupo Oceano Spanish-language pb [6/2002] for $17.62 |
 | "Hiroshima Diary: The Journal of A Japanese Physician, August 6 - September 30, 1945" [1955] by Michihiko Hachiya, MD; edited & translated by Warner Wells
Univ NC Press 8x5½ pb [1/95] for $18.95 Univ NC Press hardcover [1/55] out of print/used |
 | "Death In Life: Survivors of Hiroshima" [1982] by Robert Jay Lifton Univ NC Press 9x6 pb [10/91] for $37.50 Basic Books hardcover [9/82] out of print/used |
 | "I Remember Hiroshima" [1983] by Stephen Kelen Text and photographs from an Australian Army correspondent who was on the ground soon after the atomic blast. Hale & Iremonger pb [1/83] out of print/rare |
 | "Hiroshima In History and Memory" [1996] Edited by Michael J. Hogan Cambridge Univ Press 9x6 pb [3/96] for $23.99 Cambridge Univ Press 9¼x6¼ hardcover [3/96] for $56.99 |
 | "Hiroshima: 60th Anniversary" DVD Box Set [History Channel 2005] Five 50-minute episodes from diverse History Channel series: "Hiroshima: The Decision To Drop The Bomb" [1995] {IMDb}; "Tech Effect: Hiroshima" [2004] {IMDb}; "Oppenheimer: Father of The Atomic Bomb" {IMDb}; "Man, Moment, Machine: Oppenheimer & The Atomic Bomb" [2005] {IMDb}; and "Modern Marvels: The Manhattan Project" [2002] {IMDb} A&E 4-hour-plus DVD set [undated] 2 disks - out of prodn/SOLD OUT! |
 | "Shockwave: Countdown To Hiroshima" [New York Times bestseller 2005] by Stephen Walker Kindle Edition from HarperCollins e-books [3/2009] for $13.99 HarperPerennial 8x5¼ pb [5/2006] for $12.39 Harper 9x6 hardcover [7/2005] out of print/70+ used Feature film adaptation by Hossein Amini announced 2/2017 by Universal Pictures and Working Title • not yet listed at IMDb |
 | "Hiroshima: A Survivor's Story Bridging The New Education" [J.F.M.F. 2011] 36-minute documentary video focusing on Keijiro Matsushima and his odyssey on the day that the bomb dropped; a testimony to the strength and endurance of atomic-bomb survivors, and 'a lesson as to why nuclear war damages not just lives, but our planet'. Produced by Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund; written & directed by Marianne Tomasic; featuring Keijiro Matsushima, Lloyd Bowman, Jessie Jones, Sebastian Pensinger, Benjamin Rapp 347 Productions color DVD-R [2/2011] for $14.95 no entry at either IMDb or Wikipedia |
"Barefoot Gen" aka 'Hadashi no Gen' [1973]
classic manga novels by Keiji Nakazawa
 | first serialized in 1972-73 in the 'Shukan Shonen Jampu' comic weekly The tale of a child surviving the bombing of Hiroshima in 1945; the manga books are important anti-war works, and the film is a landmark in animé art. Volume 1: A Cartoon Story of Hiroshima Last Gasp 8¼x6 pb [10/2004] for $14.95 Volume 2: The Day After Last Gasp 8¼x6 pb [10/2004] for $14.95 Volume 3: Life After the Bomb Last Gasp pb [5/2005] for $10.17 Volume 4: Out of the Ashes Last Gasp pb [5/2005] for $10.17 |
 | "Barefoot Gen" aka 'Hadashi no gen' animé feature film [1983]
Directed by Mori Masaki; written & produced by Keiji Nakazawa Image Ent. bilingual color DVD [4/99] out of stock/used Orion Home Video color VHS [7/95] out of stock/used full credits from IMDb "Barefoot Gen 2" aka 'Hadashi no gen 2' animé feature film [1986] Co-directed by Toshio Hirata & Akio Sakai; written by Keiji Nakazawa video not available; full credits from IMDb |
Nagasaki, Japan - 9 August 1945
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"The Last Bomb: A Marine Remembers Nagasaki" [2001] by David C. Milam {with his photos} Eakin Press 10x7 pb [1/2002] for $15.95 Eakin Press hardcover[11/2001] for $21.94 |
 | "First Into Nagasaki: The Censored Eyewitness Dispatches On Post-Atomic Japan & Its Prisoners of War" [2006] by George Weller, edited by Anthony Weller, Foreword by Walter Cronkite Kindle Edition from Crown [2006 edition] for $9.99 Three Rivers Press 8x5¼ pb [12/2007] for $16.00 Crown 9½x6½ hardcover [12/2006] for $22.67 |
 | "Nagasaki: Life After Nuclear War" [2015] by Susan Southard Kindle Edition from Viking/Penguin [7/2015] for $6.99 Penguin 8½x5½ pb [8/2016] for $14.76 Viking 9½x6¼ hardcover [7/2015] for $25.65 |
Pacific Island Atomic Testing Programs
Bikini Atoll entry at Wikipedia
Eniwetok Island entry at Wikipedia
Operation Crossroads: 2 detonations in July 1946
Operation Ivy: 2 detonations in November 1952
Operation Castle: 7 detonations March-April 1954
Operation Redwing: 17 detonations May-July 1956
Operation Hardtack I: 35 detonations April-August 1958
 | "America's Atomic Bomb Tests - Operation Ivy" [Dept. of Defense/U.S.A.F. 1952] docu film released to the public became instantly controversial; original film 63 minutes, DVD/VHS are 28 minutes • featuring host/narrator Reed Hadley, nuclear physicist Norris E. Bradbury, MajGen P.W. Clarkson, nuclear physicist Alvin C. Graves • credits at IMDb Atomic Historical Archive b&w/color DVD-R [8/00] for $14.95 U.S. National Archives b&w/color DVD [10/2008] for $10.95 Atwood/Keeney/Superior b&w/color VHS [9/2006] for $4.00 |
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"Radio Bikini: The Most Terrifying & Unbelievable Story of The Nuclear Age" [PBS/WGBH documentary Oct 1987] U.S. Navy personnel are exposed to the radiation during a series of atomic tests in the Marshall islands, with devestating effects on their health • Produced, directed & edited by Robert Stone; nominated for Best Documentary Feature Oscar • full credits at IMDb New Video Group b&w DVD [12/2003] for $44.99 New Video Group b&w VHS [12/2003] for $23.70 |
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"The Bomb" [1995 YA novel] by Theodore Taylor Vivid descriptions of Micronesian culture, thru the eyes of a native youth. Bikini Island is liberated from the Japanese Army in 1944, and then the islanders are forced to evacuate so that America can set off nuclear tests, and some of the natives revolt. HarperTrophy YA mass pb [8/97] for $5.99 Sagebrush 7x4¼ hardcover [10/99] for $14.15 Harcourt Children's 8½x5¾ hardcover [10/95] out of print/used |
The Thermonuclear Hydrogen Bomb - since 1952
'thermonuclear weapon' entry at Wikipedia
 | "Dark Sun: The Making of The Hydrogen Bomb" national bestseller [1995] by Richard Rhodes Kindle Edition from Simon & Schuster Digital Sales [9/2012] for $14.99 Simon & Schuster 9¼x6 pb [8/96] for $14.29 Simon & Schuster 9½x6¾ hardcover [8/95] out of print/100+ used |
 | "Building The H Bomb: A Personal History" [2015] by Kenneth W. Ford Author worked at both Los Alamos and Princeton University's Project Matterhorn; book provides illuminating insights into the personalities, strengths, and quirks of co-workers Edward Teller, Enrico Fermi, Stan Ulam, John von Neumann, and John Wheeler Kindle Edition from World Scientific Publng [3/2015] for $9.99 World Scientific Publng 9x6½ pb [3/2015] for $18.49 World Scientific Publng 9¼x6¼ hardcover [3/2015] for $48.26 |
http://www.amazon.com/The-Atomic-Times-Pacific-Proving-ebook/dp/B004H1TLQ2/
http://www.amazon.com/Atomic-Awakening-History-Future-Nuclear-ebook/dp/B004GUS68I/
Civil Defense, Daily Life & Aftermath
'U.S. civil defense' entry at Wikipedia
Conelrad [atomic civil defense]
Cold War Era Civil Defense Virtual Museum
 | "Nuclear War Survival Skills: Lifesaving Nuclear Facts and Self-Help Instructions" [orig 1979, rev 1987 & 2001] by Cresson H. Kearny, Introduction by Don Mann, Foreword by Dr. Edward Teller the newest 340-page 2022 edition is updated by Steven Harris Knowledge Publns Corp. 11x8½ pb [4/2022] for $26.97 Kindle Edition from Skyhorse [1/2016] for $1.99 Skyhorse 9x6¼ pb [1/2016] for $10.19 Replenishing Press pb [2001] out of print/used Interbooks 11x8½ hardcover [1987] for $29.99 1987 edition as FREE online .PDF file |
 | "The Atomic Cafe" [indep March 1982] collection of 1960s U.S. government-issued propaganda films designed to reassure Americans about surviving nuclear war • A film by Jayne Loader, Kevin Rafferty & Pierce Rafferty; featuring archival footage of actor Hugh Beaumont, Cong. Lloyd Bentsen, Albert Einstein, Dwight D. Eisenhower, J. Edgar Hoover, Sen. Lyndon Johnson, Nikita Khrushchev, Douglas MacArthur, Sen. Joseph McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, atomic spies Julius & Ethel Rosenberg, Joseph Stalin, Lewis Strauss of the A.E.C., Harry S. Truman, and Cong. James E. Van Zandt Kino Classics color Blu-ray [12/2018] for $8.29 Docurama Collectors Edition color DVD [11/2008] 2 disks for $11.99 extras? New Video Group color DVD [3/2002] for $13.97 Kino Classics color DVD [3/2002] for $16.61 New Video Group color VHS [3/2002] for $10.68 full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
 | "When The Wind Blows" graphic novel [1982] by British illustrator Raymond Briggs
Viking Childrens pb [2/88] for $11.78 Schocken hardcover [1/87] out of print/used Hamish Hamilton hardcover [3/82] out of print/used stage play adaptation: Samuel French pb [1/83] out of print/used B.B.C. radio drama: Soundelux audio [3/90] out of stock/used |
 | "By The Bomb's Early Light: American Thought & Culture At The Dawn of The Atomic Age" [1985] by Paul S. Boyer Univ NC Press 9¼x6¼ pb [9/94] for $21.95 Pantheon hardcover [10/85] out of print/used |
 | "Justice Downwind: America's Atomic Testing Program In The 1950s" [1986] by Howard Ball Oxford Univ Press 8x5½ pb [4/88] out of print/used Oxford Univ Press 9¾x6½ hardcover [3/86] out of print/used |
 | "When The Wind Blows" animated film [T.V.C./Film Four Intl. U.K. 1986, USA March 1988] Directed by Jimmy T. Murakami, based on the 1982 graphic novel by British illustrator Raymond Briggs Channel 4 color DVD [9/2005] out of prodn/used LionsGate Home Video color VHS [6/88] out of prodn/used Phantom soundtrack CD [11/96] out of prodn/used full credits at IMDb |
 | "Under The Cloud: The Decades of Nuclear Testing" [1986] by Richard L. Miller Two-Sixty Press 9x6 pb [7/99] for $33.43 Free Press hardcover [9/86] out of print/used |
 | "Homeward Bound: American Families In The Cold War Era" [1988] by Elaine Tyler May Basic Books 9¼x6¼ pb [1/90] for $14.96 Basic Books hardcover [9/88] out of print/used |
 | "Fallout: An American Nuclear Tragedy" [1989] by Philip L. Fradkin
The title refers not to the radiation resulting from atomic bomb tests, but to the societal events when victims {'down-winders') of such tests sued the U.S. government, who consistently hid behind the National Security Excuse – and got away with it. Johnson Books 8½x5½ pb [3/2004] for $12.84 Univ Arizona Press 8½x5½ pb [6/89] out of print/used Univ Arizona Press 8½x5½ hardcover [6/89] out of print/40+ used |
 | "American Ground Zero: The Secret Nuclear War" [1993] by Carole Gallagher, Foreword by Keith Schneider Random House 10x10 pb [5/94] out of print/used The M.I.T. Press 10½x10½ hardcover [3/93] out of print/40+ used |
 | "The Atomic Express" [1997] by Richard L. Miller Two-Sixty Press 9x6 pb [1/97] for $12.89 |
 | "Civil Defense Begins At Home: Militarization Meets Everyday Life In The Fifties" [2000] by Laura McEnaney
Princeton Univ Press 9½x6¼ hardcover [8/2000] for $30.91 |
 | "Downwinders: An Atomic Tale" [2001 novel] by Curtis & Dianne Nelson Oberhansly Three Utahans discover classified documents about operations at the Nevada Test Site in the Fifties, and risk their lives to transport the incriminating information to victims of A-test fallout. Black Ledge Press 9¼x6 pb [4/2001] for $14.95 official booksite |
 | "One Nation Underground: The Fallout Shelter In American Culture" [2001] by Kenneth D. Rose NY Univ Press 8¾x6 pb [4/2004] for $20.00 NY Univ Press 9¼x6¼ hardcover [8/2001] for $43.66 |
 | "Uncertainty Underground: Yucca Mountain & The Nation's High-Level Nuclear Waste" [2006] Edited by Allison M. Macfarlane & Rodney C. Ewing M.I.T. Press pb [5/2006] for $29.00 M.I.T. Press hardcover [5/2006] for $72.00 U.S. Senate testimony by Macfarlane on 1 March 2006 |
 | "Duck and Cover: Civil Defense Images In Film and Television From The Cold War To 9/11" [2011] by Melvin E. Matthews, Jr.
Kindle Edition from McFarland & Co. [10/2011] for $14.74 McFarland & Co. pb [9/2011] for $40.00 |
Nuclear Weapons {equal} Nuclear Disasters
Chart of Strategic Nuclear Bombs at Strategic Air Command fansite
Nuclear Information and Resource Service [est. 1978] is based in Maryland
Since 1945, there have been 2,056 nuclear weapons tests by at least eight countries. The United States conducted 1,030 of those tests,
while the USSR carried out 715 - leaving only 311 by other countries. From 1945 to 1962, there were 528 above-ground nuclear tests;
the last one was in November 1962: it took place 860-miles southwest of Hawai'i above a remote, Pacific atoll called Johnston Island.
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"Broken Arrow: The Declassified History of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Accidents" [2008] by Michael H. Maggelet & James C. Oskins LULU.com 11x8¼ pb [1/2008] for $49.95 |
U.S.A.F. B-36 bomber crash in British Columbia (Feb 1950)
U.S. Air Force B-36 bomber 2075 (tail number) was flying from Alaska back to its home base in Texas and lost 3 of its 6 engines; the crew jettisoned the Mark-IV test bomb payload over the ocean; of the seventeen crew members, 12 survived; the weapons officer was found in the wreckage and the others were assumed to have died at sea from hypothermia. The airplane was pointed back toward the ocean, but the autopilot failed, and it crashed in the mountains of British Columbia. Canadian authorities were never told of the nuclear payload; the wreckage was found four years later. A Discovery Channel program aired in 2004, with multiple later repeats. The book by Norman Leach was published in October 2007, and the book by Dirk Septer in 2011. A recreational diver accidentally discovered the missing nuclear bomb in early November 2016; the U.S. Navy is sending ships to the site to recover the bomb.
incident entry at Wikipedia
 | "Lost Nuke" [Discovery Channel 2004] 46-minute documentary about the last flight of B-36 bomber 2075 Produced, written & directed by Michael Jorgensen; narrated by Colm Feore credits at IMDb • watch full movie [4/2013 upload; 45:45] online at YouTube |
 | "Broken Arrow: America's First Lost Nuclear Weapon" [2007] by Norman S. Leach Red Deer Press 9x6 pb [2/2008] out of print/used |
 | "Lost Nuke: The Last Flight of Bomber 075" [2011] by historian Dirk Septer Kindle Edition from Heritage House [3/2012] for $8.69 Heritage House 9x6 pb [5/2016] for $19.95 Heritage House 9x6 pb [10/2011] out of print/used |
U.S.A.F. B-47 bomber mid-air event in Georgia, USA [Feb 1958]
A U.S.A.F. B-47 bomber successfully hit its mark in a training exercise on 5 February 1958 off Tybee Island, Georgia; F-86 jets were scrambled as part of the exercise and one of them crashed into the B-47; the fighter pilot ejected safely, the unarmed Mark-15 test H-bomb payload was jettisoned over the ocean, and the B-47 landed at the nearest airbase. Air Force and Navy search teams began work next day, but gave up on March 17, concluding that the bomb was buried under 5-15 feet of silt at the bottom of Wassaw Sound.
incident entry at Wikipedia • DE's 'Tybee Bomb' fansite
 | "America's Lost H-Bomb" TV documentary [Discovery Science Channel Aug 2007] 52-minute documentary, plus 37-minute interview with Robert McNamara [1916-2009], former U.S. Secretary of Defense • exec producer Allan Butler; producer, writer & director Mark Marabella 89-minute Longtail Distrbn widescreen color DVD [11/2011] for $19.85 via Amazon third party 89-minute Marabella Prodns widescreen color DVD-R [1/2012] for $39.95 89-minute Marabella Prodns widescreen color DVD-R [1/2012] for $69.95 {sic} credits at IMDb • official movie site |
 | "Lost Nuke: 'Broken Arrow' On The Georgia Coast" [2012 novel] by Jon Traer, MD A doctor-nurse couple retire to the coast of Georgia and become entangled in a government search for a lost nuclear warhead in Wassaw Sound, a project that is under time pressure because Syrian terrorists are also looking for it . . . Kindle Edition from Amazon Digital Services [11/2012] for $7.12 CreateSpace 9x6 pb [11/2012] for $18.99 |
bomb release incident in South Carolina [March 1958]
A Mark-6 nuclear bomb was accidentally released inside a U.S.A.F. B-47 bomber above Mars Bluff, South Carolina on 13 March 1958; the bomb's weight forced the bay doors open and it fell 15,000 feet (4,600 meters). The bomb's conventional explosives blew a 70-foot crater and destroyed the home of Walter Gregg, injuring six people.
incident entry at Wikipedia •
1958 newsreel [4/2005 upload; 55 seconds of 1:55 clip] at Internet Archive
U.S.A.F. B-47 bomber in Georgia, USA [March 1959]
1959 March 11: A U.S.A.F. B-47 bomber in Georgia jettisoned an unarmed nuclear bomb casing above a rural area; the conventional explosives in the device destroyed a residence, produced a 55-foot crater, and injured several people.
U.S.A.F. B-52 bomber over Kentucky [Oct 1959]
1959 Oct 15: A U.S.A.F. B-52 bomber from Mississippi collided with a KC-135 tanker during refueling over Kentucky; eight men died, both aircraft crash landed, and the two damaged nuclear bombs were recovered and dismantled.
U.S.A.F. B-52 bomber in North Carolina [Jan 1961]
A U.S.A.F. B-52 bomber carrying nuclear weapons on 24 January 1961 suffered structural failure and attempted to land at Seymour Johnson AFB in North Carolina; the havoc of disintegration loosened the two bombs, one landed safely by parachute, the other smacked into a swamp near Goldsboro, NC; stories vary, but the tail was recovered at 22 feet, and work crews quit at 55 feet due to uncontollable ground water flooding; the government bought the land to prevent any nearby development.
incident entry at Wikipedia •
Goldsboro, NC incident fansite
 | "The Goldsboro Broken Arrow: The B-52 Crash of January 24, 1961 and Its Potential As A Tipping Point For Nuclear War" [2013] by Joel Dobson Lulu Publng Services 9x6 pb [6/2013] for $24.99 |
U.S.A.F. B-52 bomber over Spain [Jan 1966]
U.S.A.F. B-52G bomber carrying four unarmed Mark 28 H-bombs collided on 17 January 1966 with a KC-135 tanker plane during refueling and both planes blew up over the coastal town of Palomares, Spain; seven airmen died, two bombs exploded on land, the third bomb was recovered on land next day; the fourth H-bomb was recovered four months later from the bottom of the ocean (depth 2,850 feet/870 meters). • incident entry at Wikipedia
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"America's Lost H-Bomb: Palomares, Spain 1966" [1997] by Randall C. Maydew Sunflower Univ Press hardcover [12/97] out of print/used |
 | "The Day We Lost The H-Bomb: Cold War, Hot Nukes, and The Worst Nuclear Weapons Disaster In History" [2009] by Barbara Moran
Kindle Edition from Presidio Press/Random House [4/2009] for $12.99 Presidio Press 9¼x6¼ hardcover [4/2009] out of print/used author's official website |
U.S.A.F. B-52 bomber in Greenland [Jan 1968]
1968 Jan 21: U.S.A.F. B-52 bomber carrying four unarmed Mark 28 H-bombs crash-landed on sea-ice near Thule AFB in Greenland, detonating conventional explosives inside the bombs.
Titan missile explosion near Damascus, Arkansas [September 1980]
Inside the Titan missile silo north of Damascus, Arkansas in 1980, a technician dropped a 6-pound tool; it fell 80 feet and bounced up and pierced the skin of the I.C.B.M delivery rocket, causing a fuel leak. The facility was safely evacuated, but the leak eventually caused an explosion; one Airman was killed and 21 others injured in the explosion and the nuclear warhead landed just inside the main gate. No radiation was released but the silo was destroyed and later dismantled and removed.
incident entry at Wikipedia
 | "Disaster At Silo 7" TV movie [ABC-TV 1988] loosely based on the 1980 Titan missile explosion in Damascus, Arkansas Directed by Larry Elikann; co-produced & co-written by Mark Carliner; co-written by Douglas Lloyd McIntosh; starring Michael O'Keefe, Peter Boyle, Perry King, Joe Spano, Dennis Weaver, Ray Baker, Patricia Charbon-neau, Joe Urla, Brent Jennings, Christian Clemenson, Ken Jenkins, Maureen Teefy, Jack Kehler, Olivia Burnette, Justin Burnette, Jace Kent, Lisa Schnebly, Raleigh Bond, Marianne Muellerleile, Lisle Wilson, Tom Rolfing Triboro Ent. Group color VHS [1/92] out of prodn/used full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
 | "Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, The Damascus Accident, and The Illusion of Safety" [2013] by Eric Schlosser book was a finalist for the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for History • book entry at Wikipedia Kindle Edition from Penguin Books [9/2013] for $10.99 Penguin Books 8½x5½ pb [8/2014] for $11.58 Penguin Press 9½x6½ hardcover [9/2013] out of print/100+ used |
Hanford Plutonium Finishing Plant [2017]
2018 late March: Officials at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington State issued a report that said a total of 42 Hanford workers inhaled or ingested radioactive particles from demolition of the sprawling Plutonium Finishing Plant; they were exposed during contamination events in June and December of 2017; workers inhaled or ingested radioactive particles, and even carried some of that radiation into their vehicles. The incidents prompted the federal government, along with state regulators, to halt the demolition of the Plutonium Finishing Plant 'until a safe plan can be developed'. The work costs the federal treasury around $2 billion a year; Hanford is about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southeast of Seattle.
Woolsey Fire in Simi Valley, California [2018]
October 2021 article "Radioactive Microparticles Related To The Woolsey Fire In Simi Valley, CA"
on the Fairewinds Energy Education [est. 2008] website
2018 November: The Woolsey Fire burning north of Los Angeles, California potentially remobilized radioactive contaminants at the former Santa Susana Field Laboratory, a shuttered nuclear research facility contaminated by chemical and radiochemical releases. Three weeks after the Woolsey Fire was controlled, sampling of dusts, ashes, and surface soils (n = 360) began and were analyzed by alpha- and beta-radiation counting. Samples were collected up to a 16km radius from the perimeter of the laboratory. Controls and samples with activities 1? greater than background were also examined by alpha and/or gamma spectroscopy or Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis. Of the 360 samples collected, 97% showed activities at or close to site-specific background levels. However, offsite samples collected in publicly-accessible areas nearest to the Santa Susana Field Laboratory site perimeter had the highest alpha-emitting radionuclides radium, thorium, and uranium activities, indicating site-related radioactive material has escaped the confines of the laboratory. In two geographically-separated locations, one as far away as 15km, radioactive microparticles containing percent-concentrations of thorium were detected in ashes and dusts that were likely related to deposition from the Woolsey fire. These offsite radioactive microparticles were colocated with alpha and beta activity maxima. Data did not support a finding of widespread deposition of radioactive particles; however, two radioactive deposition hotspots and significant offsite contamination were detected near the site perimeter.
The Woolsey Fire Project analyses of collected samples determined that one out of every 30-samples, fully 3 percent, contained much higher radioactivity than anticipated. This research also revealed that the radioactivity migrated from the S.S.F.L. site. We know that 3% does not sound like a large number, but let’s put it in perspective. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, 730,000 people are living within ten miles of S.S.F.L. So, three percent of 730,000 means that at least 22,000 people may have been exposed to significant radiation carried by the Woolsey Fire on ash contaminated by the Santa Susana Field Lab radioactivity.
Atomic Energy {equals} Nuclear Disasters
Bad things kept happening and this section grew quite large, and so it was cut to Page 3 in Spring 2022.
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