Bomboozled trademark symbol : how the U.S. government misled itself and its people into believing they could survive a nuclear attack / Susan Roy

Object Details

Notes: Illustrated end-papers.; Front cover has cutout revealing illustration on end-papers.
Contents: Bob Dylan's nuclear lament -- Atomic anxiety -- You can survive! -- Better homes & bunkers -- Nuclear housekeeping -- Drop-dead gorgeous -- Shelter skelter -- Plastic sheeting & duct tape
Summary: Conceived by a misguided government seeking to quiet the fears of an anxious public, the concept of the "Family Fallout Shelter" was Cold War paranoia at its finest, a massive bit of "propaganda by architecture" that has no more truth behind it than the absurd notion of "duck and cover." Inundated with government-sponsored films, posters, booklets, traveling caravans and exhibitions, the American family bought into the idea, investing millions of dollars in home shelters of every conceivable material and design. "Bomboozled" lays bare the buried truths of America's family fallout shelter obsession. The author charts the panic-fueled evolution of the shelter from a well-stocked basement pantry to a full-fledged (and often completely decorated) home addition, revealing through extensive archival photography, nuclear-era memorabilia, and previously unpublished media, a government and people in the grip of self-delusion. Fastidiously researched and sharply written, "Bomboozled" captures the absurdity and uncertainty of a culture that knew no better than to trust its government's message.

Title: How the U.S. government misled itself and its people into believing they could survive a nuclear attack

Topic: Civil defense--History; Civil defense; Fallout shelters--Design and construction; Fallout shelters; Fallout shelters--Social aspects; Nuclear warfare--Social aspects; Atomic bomb--Social aspects--History; Cold War--Social aspects; Nuclear bomb shelters; Atomic bomb--Safety measures