The Oscar-shortlisted documentary Command and Control directed by Robert Kenner finds its
origins in Eric Schlosser's book and continues to explore the little-known history of the
management and safety concerns of America's nuclear aresenal. A myth-shattering exposé of
America's nuclear weapons Famed investigative journalist Eric Schlosser digs deep to uncover
secrets about the management of America's nuclear arsenal. A groundbreaking account of
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? That question has never
been resolved-and Schlosser reveals how the combination of human fallibility and technological
complexity still poses a grave risk to mankind. While the harms of global warming increasingly
dominate the news the equally dangerous yet more immediate threat of nuclear weapons has been
largely forgotten. Written with the vibrancy of a first-rate thriller Command and Control
interweaves the minute-by-minute story of an accident at a nuclear missile silo in rural
Arkansas with a historical narrative that spans more than fifty years. It depicts the urgent
effort by American scientists policy makers and military officers to ensure that nuclear
weapons can't be stolen sabotaged used without permission or detonated inadvertently.
Schlosser also looks at the Cold War from a new perspective offering history from the ground
up telling the stories of bomber pilots missile commanders maintenance crews and other
ordinary servicemen who risked their lives to avert a nuclear holocaust. At the heart of the
book lies the struggle amid the rolling hills and small farms of Damascus Arkansas to
prevent the explosion of a ballistic missile carrying the most powerful nuclear warhead ever
built by the United States. Drawing on recently declassified documents and interviews with
people who designed and routinely handled nuclear weapons Command and Control takes readers
into a terrifying but fascinating world that until now has been largely hidden from view.
Through the details of a single accident Schlosser illustrates how an unlikely event can
become unavoidable how small risks can have terrible consequences and how the most brilliant
minds in the nation can only provide us with an illusion of control. Audacious gripping and
unforgettable Command and Control is a tour de force of investigative journalism an
eye-opening look at the dangers of America's nuclear age.
