Command and Control

by Eric Schlosser

632 pages

Published Jan. 6, 2013 by Penguin Press.

ISBN:: 978-1-59420-227-8
OCLC Number:: 843228712

(18 reviews)

From investigative journalist Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation, comes an account of the management of nuclear weapons. Through 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?

4 editions

Ed reviewed Command and Control by Eric Schlosser

Great read for generalists about the US's Nuclear arsenal

4 stars

I had this recommended to me after some of the previous reads - and found it to be a compelling read.

Using a single Delta II missile silo accident as a starting point to explore the history of the nuclear program, policies and management it covers a lot of detail across the decades of the cold war. As someone who did not know any of the history I found it highly engaging if a little unnerving given some of the events noted in the book.

Alex Morse reviewed Command and Control by Eric Schlosser

Review of 'Command and Control' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

terrifying

braintoast reviewed Command and Control by Eric Schlosser

Review of 'Command and Control' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Super fascinating and a little unnerving. The author does a great job of tempering loads of research and informational background with the recounting of the events surrounding a missile facility in Damascus Arkansas. You get a real sense of the people involved and the extraordinary things that many of them did.

It might not be a book for everyone. But if it seems remotely interesting, I'd wager that you'll enjoy the hell out of it.

markm reviewed Command and Control by Eric Schlosser

Review of 'Command and Control' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

A riveting history of the nuclear weapon that is mostly about how dangerous they are, both to whomever is bombed with them, and to the user when they accidently fall out of airplanes (again and again). The story is gripping, but there is very little analysis. There are comments in the Epilogue pointing out that in an incredibly complex and dangerous system like our nuclear weapons and their command and control, an error rate of .000001% would still be unacceptable since the detonation of a 5 megaton device in Greensboro would be unthinkably horrible. Studies of mistakes in Medicine are similar, since mistakes occur no matter what you do, and they are usually completely unacceptable. I think one could also discuss the old conundrum, that the type of brave arrogant fast-acting no-nonsense guy who rises to the top in a complex organization like a branch of the military, might not …

Robin reviewed Command and Control by Eric Schlosser

Review of 'Command and Control' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Read this. It's a very well done narrative of the history of US nuclear weapon development, from the start to the present day. There are so many near misses, so much internal bickering, that it's surprising that nothing terrible actually happened. More good luck than good management.

Don't skip the epilogue too.

It makes me happy to live in a deliberately nuclear free country. The risks are high.

I'd love to see a version of this from the Soviet perspective, but I expect it'll never happen.