Attack warning red!

McDowall, Julie

£22.00

A fascinating, frightening and sometimes funny window into an all-too recent world – everyday life in Britain in the shadow of the mushroom cloud. There have been many histories of the Cold War: this is the first book to tell the domestic story of day-to-day life on the nuclear home front. The dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 changed the nature of war forever. The awesome power of the atomic blast and its deadly fallout meant that nowhere was safe: every town, village, street and home in Britain fell under the nuclear shadow, and the threat of annihilation coloured every aspect of ordinary life for the next forty years. As the media reported on the inevitability of approaching conflict with the Soviet Union, the British people were told to prepare for the coming apocalypse.

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Publish Date: 06/04/2023

Description

The first book to tell the story of day-to-day life on the nuclear home front – from the host of #1 podcast Atomic Hobo

So entertaining’ The Times
‘Cracking’ Sunday Telegraph
Impossible to believe, just as hard to put down’ Dan Snow

The atomic bombs of 1945 changed war forever. The awesome power of the blast and its deadly fallout meant home in Britain fell under the nuclear shadow, and the threat of annihilation coloured every aspect of ordinary life for the next forty years.

Families were encouraged to construct makeshift shelters with cardboard and sandbags. Vicars and pub landlords learnt how to sound hand-wound sirens, offering four minutes to scramble to safety. Thousands volunteered to give nuclear first aid, often consisting of breakfast tea, herbal remedies, and advice on how to die without contaminating others. And while the public had to look after themselves, bunkers were readied for the officials and experts who would ensure life continued after the catastrophe.

Today we may read about the Cold War and life in Britain under the shadow of the mushroom cloud with a sense of amusement and relief that the apocalypse did not happen. But it is also a timely and powerful reminder that, so long as nuclear weapons exist, the nuclear threat will always be with us.

‘Thrilling and profoundly important’ Juliet Nicolson, author of Frostquake
‘Simultaneously horrifying, weirdly nostalgic and darkly hilarous’ Mark Haddon, author of The Porpoise

Additional information

Weight 480 g
Dimensions 238 × 158 × 30 mm
Author

Publisher

Imprint

Cover

Hardback

Pages

388

Language

English

Edition
Dewey

363.35094109045 (edition:23)

Readership

General – Trade / Code: K