"On The Beach" (Nevil Shute)- One That Didn't Make The Shortlist To Jackanory!

I had heard about this one. It was talked about in hushed terms. An old book, published in 1957. A classic, also two films - old and new. So not wanting to be told off for getting "yet another book in the house" I used an Audible subscription token to listen to it, and if anything hearing it as the spoken word was much more traumatic than reading it. At times the dead pan delivery of "the way life went on" was truly chilling, a dystopian reflection of a normality that is not quite normal, against the nightmare world events and its approaching consequences (see below, Neil Shute, a fantastic read/listen. as relevant now as then):  

Bedtime reading for the young ones it is not and remember this was years before Carl Sagan's calculations of a "nuclear winter" hypothesis resulting from a strategic nuclear exchange.   

Audible Book: Nuclear War A Scenario

Well the title grabs your attention for sure. The theme tune of "Protect and Survive" rings in my ears but this is an American slant, so the melting milk bottles of Sheffield are not mentioned (see Threads, "THE" Nuclear War film). Nevertheless the scientific effects of nuclear hydrogen (H) bombs are chillingly accurate, well researched and repeats successfully what others have already stated, nuclear war is an Armageddon that you don't want to experience  (see below, the mushroom cloud cover will sell the book for sure):

Despite the warnings from history we never seem to earn and we are only happy when we are playing with fire. Annie Jacobsen then spins a scenario to draw the reader into a plausible sequence of events, albeit "unlikely" whereby a nuclear armed minor state (spoiler alert - North Korea) launches an attack on the United States of America .. twice, an ICBM and a submarine launched one. The response (because there may well be a third) is to obliterate North Korea, but because of technology defects on the Russia monitoring satellites they believe (falsely?) that this is an attack on Mother Russia and immediately fall into the "dead-man's hand" counter-strike mentality because they cannot talk to the US President (because he is "unavailable"). The Kremlin-Washington hotline goes very cold. What China would do in response to it meanwhile soaking up radioactivity by the mega-Currie is not deliberated, or India or Pakistan. The decapitation effect of not getting the President of the United States out of Washington in time is though. This is a curious thought experiment of things not going to plan. 

I have friends who are sceptical as to the plausibility of the scenario, stating that sixties-to-nineties technologies have been modernised (despite what detractors say of all things Russian) and the kind of mistakes Annie says could happen just don't add up. I do hope so. There is much that does not add up in the real world, but that is my worry. I read it (or rather listened to it) and had that morbid fascination of 'good when finished'. It did feel that Dr Strangelove had undergone a year 2000+ makeover, but highlighted that command elements of the Superpowers are (or could be) stuck in the 1970s.  

Links: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EKS_(satellite_system)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_warning_satellite

https://www.twz.com/39264/take-a-look-inside-russias-doomsday-ballistic-missile-warning-system

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/how-us-tracks-ballistic-missile-launches-2024-11-22/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_Soviet_nuclear_false_alarm_incident

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislav_Petrov

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_RYAN

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oko

The more I look the more I wonder how thin is the knife edge we walk?

Nuclear Close Calls: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_close_calls

Attack Warning Red (Julie McDowell): Audible Book

Not a light Xmas read, but a very rewarding one as it gave a fascinating glimpse of the "What if" or "What could have been" with a chilling reveal of strategic war planning - or rather, the lack of the ability to effectively plan for the unthinkable which on reflection .. makes sense. The Government's natural desire or want to "protect national assets" (even in a selfish way) was simply defeated by the Physics of Oppenheimer's and Teller's Hydrogen Bomb, "game changer"  (see below, not quite the happy nuclear family I was thinking about, I am more of a "The Simpons" man myself): 

My verdict: So good that, after listening to the Audible version I bought the hardback copy (I could not wait for the April paperback edition to come out). It caused much stimulating conversation with the older members of the family who lived through the Cuban Missile Crisis and Cold War 1980's! I also need to watch Threads again as well as catch up on the latest Podcast of The Atomic Hobo.

Nuclear Folly: Audible Audio Book

You read all about it in the history books, the popular press and the papers so you think you know all about the story at least at a superficial level, thinking no more real shocks to come out. Then you settle down with a book like "Nuclear Folly" and then and only then does it dawn on you, how "stupidly comfortable you are in your thinking" - you were lapping it all up and sitting in a "history with the benefit of hindsight" syndrome. Facts drawn out long after the events push a new interpretation and open up "the things that could have been"! (see below, a "good read" rating underestimates the staggering impact of the Soviet perspective on events): 

Most disturbing was the Epilogue that quite rightly pointed out what a dangerous time we are living in, remiss without some of the safeguards that existed in teh Cold War. I intend to follow up this with Max Hasting's Abyss. Need a strong coffee first.

Note: I was parallel streaming two very different books (one over Alexa in the kitchen and one from Audible in the car) hence such a sudden turn around in my reading speed ;)   

Podcast: The Atomic Hobo - Fascinating Stuff

This is really good material and very thought provoking stuff about the modern and Cold War eras!

Podcast: 

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/atomic-hobo/id1355527336

Dr Strangelove, I finally managed to watch the whole thing :)

Confession: I has seen snippets but not the whole film; so therefore long overdue I treated myself tonight (see posting date) to watch the "whole thing" on Netflix .. "Dr Strangelove; or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Bomb". Oh boy, do you laugh or cry or laugh crying? Peter Sellers was brilliant multiple time (easy as the comic genius plays multiple characters) over and George C. Scott is no longer "Patton" in my eyes but General Buck Turgidson (see below, I cannot decide which photograph I like or fear better):

The "Thinking General":

Or the "Flustered General":

Meanwhile the President slowly sees his legacy to the world, "Nuclear Armageddon", unfolding before his disbelieving eyes (see below):

But the film is ultimately stolen by the wheelchair bound Dr Strangelove and his rational but crazy thought processes that define the principles of Cold War MAD [Mutually Assured Destruction] (see below):

Our ultimate fate is unfortunately decided (or rather doomed) by good old fashioned American ingenuity and know how that opens the bomb bay doors (see below):

So, how close to the truth was it?
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/almost-everything-in-dr-strangelove-was-true

Even more bizarre are the bits that Kubrik cut from the film because it they were too strange enough or he deemed tasteless:
http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/features/rare-images-dr-strangelove-custard-pie-fight

On a final note the President ultimately has the last say:
"Gentleman. You can't fight in here. This is the war room!"