Friendly Fallout 1953 (Hardcover)

Friendly Fallout 1953 is a hybrid work of literature that combines the actual history of atomic tests in the Nevada desert in 1953 with fictional vignettes that explore the impact of the tests on the people who participated in them and on civilian downwinders. Told through the perspectives of military personnel, scientists, ranchers, and others, the stories bring to life a turbulent era when Cold War fears, patriotism, scientific ambition, and popular excitement often collided with the welfare of ordinary citizens and the environment. Ronald compellingly evokes the test explosions in all their terrifying magnificence and explores the diverse and sometimes conflicting emotions of a generation that saw atomic energy as its best protection against the horrors of another world war, even to the sacrifice of the innocent people, wildlife, and livestock that became the accidental victims of this search for national power and security."