Attack Warning Red! :How Britain Prepared for Nuclear War
Attack Warning Red! :How Britain Prepared for Nuclear War
paperback
Published:
4 April, 2024
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
**A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK and A GUARDIAN BEST PAPERBACK FOR APRIL 2024 **
'So entertaining' THE TIMES
'Cracking' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
The atomic bombs of 1945 changed everything. For the next forty years, the mushroom cloud loomed large in public imaginations and fear of the blast’s apocalyptic power coloured every aspect of British daily life.
From makeshift shelters and herbal remedies to sirens that offered four-minute escapes, ordinary people were taught how to save themselves in the face of a catastrophe that was not survivable. Meanwhile, bunkers were readied for those officials and experts who would ensure life continued after Armageddon.
At once chilling and darkly funny, this is the story of how Britain braced for nuclear conflict – and of how, so long as nuclear weapons exist, the threat of total annihilation will always be with us.
'Thrilling and profoundly important' JULIET NICOLSON
'Simultaneously horrifying, weirdly nostalgic and darkly hilarious' MARK HADDON
'Impossible to believe, just as hard to put down' DAN SNOW
More Details
| Type | Book |
|---|---|
| ISBN13 | 9781529920017 |
| ISBN10 | 1529920019 |
| Number Of Pages | 256 |
| Item Weight | 193 g |
| Product Dimensions | 129 x 198 x 16 mm |
| Publisher / Reseller | Vintage Publishing |
| Format | paperback |
Media Reviews
Timely ... McDowall's excellent book is a chilling reminder of the horrific reality of nuclear war -- Guardian *April 2024's Best Paperbacks*
Cracking * Sunday Telegraph *
So entertaining * The Times *
Very good ... A sobering book, but a gripping one * Spectator *
Julie McDowall's thoroughly gripping study ... makes for genuinely startling and sometimes darkly funny reading... [it's] brilliantly chilling and sparkily engaging * Mail on Sunday *
Attack Warning Red! is a timely reminder of the mind-blanking horror of nuclear warfare, as it menaces Europe once more * Sunday Times *
An atomic Dad's Army, McDowall's history of the UK's nuclear civil defence is full of hilarious gems * Daily Telegraph *
Most interesting * Times Literary Supplement *
Simultaneously horrifying, weirdly nostalgic and darkly hilarious * Mark Haddon, author of The Porpoise *
Impossible to believe, just as hard to put down. Urgent. Terrifying * Dan Snow, historian and host of History Hit *
GoodReads Reviews
Author's Bio
Julie McDowall is a freelance journalist and book critic specialising in the nuclear threat. Her writing has appeared in The Times, Economist, Spectator, Guardian, TLS, Prospect and Independent, and she is also the host of the Atomic Hobo podcast in which she reveals findings in the nuclear archives and reports on her travels to nuclear bunkers and other Cold War sites.