Atomic America: How a Deadly Explosion and a Feared Admiral Changed the Course of Nuclear History

by Todd Tucker

Book Overview

"Incorporating the career of Admiral Hyman Rickover, the creator of the nuclear navy, Tucker's work importantly recalls a forgotten warning from nuclear history."--Gilbert Taylor, Booklist

On January 3, 1961, nuclear reactor SL-1 exploded in rural Idaho, spreading radioactive contamination over thousands of acres and killing three men. The army blamed "human error" and a sordid love triangle. Though overshadowed by Three Mile...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0803234023
• ISBN13: 9780803234024
• Release Date: November 2010
• Publisher: Bison Books
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Fascinating and informative.

I bought this book because I heard the author interviewed on the radio discussing the subject matter. I was completely unaware that a nuclear reactor had exploded in Idaho in 1961, killing the three men working on it. (I'm not spoiling anything; this comes up in the first few pages of the book...not to mention the title.) Admittedly, I was unusually interested because my son is a "nuke" in the Navy, but the book is written in a very accessible style, and even the few technical parts aren't difficult to comprehend. While I was leery that it might be dry as dust, the book reads much like a mystery novel with quick pacing that kept my interest all the way to the last page...which came too soon as I was so enjoying the read!

Great reading

I enjoyed reading Todd's book. I served in Rickover's Navy. He interviewed me before I got the job. He was nice to me during the interview. I must be very lucky. I served onboard USS Long Beach (pictured in the book), and also got tours from my buddies on USS Enterprise, USS Bainbridge, and two submarines, all awesome machines. During the Cold War, sometimes we chased the Russians, and some days they chased us. Sailing under nuclear power is a tremendous experience, when Dawn spreads on the eastern sky her fingers of pink light, you're standing topside, and you realize that you are pushing this very large warship across the sea by splitting atoms. Herman Melville, get back!

Great read

This is an excellent read about a little known but important event in American history. The author is detail oriented and it shows in his writing, but although the details are in some ways technical, he has a way of making it understandable to the layperson. If I could give this book six stars, I would. It is captivating reading. Well done!

Radioactive Dreams

In 1982, I was a student at the Naval Nuclear Power School in Orlando, Florida where I learned first-hand the principles of naval nuclear propulson. Although I flunked out late in the program, I came away with a unique perspective on the exotic way power is produced from the splitting of an atom. Mr. Tucker presents a nutshell history of the military's nuclear power programs where each branch of the Armed Services had ideas about how to harness the atom. The Army wanted nuclear power to power remote radar stations including those on the DEW line near the Arctic Circle; the Air Force wanted nuclear power to fly its bomber fleets around the world while the Navy wanted to power its submarines without refueling or surfacing. Under the guidance of Hyman Rickover, the Navy proved to be the most sucessful branch in achieving all things nuclear. Mr. Tucker balances the benefits of nuclear power with dire warnings about the misuse and neglect of the atom as evidenced by the SL-1 disaster in 1960. It is a very informative book and even though I am skeptical about the validity of global warming, a theory that Mr. Tucker seems to support, I recommend this book for all to read.

BEFORE THREE MILE ISLAND, THERE WAS THE SL-1 NUCLEAR EXPLOSION

Five RIVETING Stars. In this remarkable book, Todd Tucker gives us the details of a horrific incident at the dawn of the nuclear age that helped change US nuclear history. But was it an accident? The book also sets the stage as to where that history was likely headed until that day, weeks before President Kennedy took office. At the National Reactor Testing Station in Idaho which had more than 20 inter-military service reactors spread over a large expanse of land, on 3 January 1961 at 9:01 PM the Army's "inherently safe" SL-1 nuclear reactor exploded, killing the crew on watch. But this book covers much more than the incident itself, giving a capsule US nuclear history, rich in detail, emphasizing the military aspects and the dangers of nuclear realities. We also get the backstory on the creation of the Department of Defense, the AEC and other key agencies, star-crossed Secretaries of Defense, inter-service rivalry on an unprecedented level, the fate of the USS United States, the "revolt of the admirals", intra-service back stabbing at the highest levels, and Admiral Hyman George Rickover's key role in this country's nuclear history. And there are the SL-1 related incidents: a wild bachelor party, the alleged love triangle, public fist fights, coverups, and more. Then the true reasons leading up to the explosion are revealed and the true heroism that followed, along with the investigation of the explosion, the formidable cleanup attempts, and the aftermath of SL-1. The author makes no attempt to document every event & accident on the nuclear history timeline, instead he skillfully uses the SL-1 accident as the touchstone for targeted events that preceded it and what has followed. The activities of the Army with regard to Camp Century and the activities of the Air Force with regard to ANP are simply mind-boggling. There is some repetitiveness on the chapter 'switch backs', but the reader should enjoy this deep investigation and may be quite surprised at events that historically have been given 'short shrift'. This book will put 'Three Mile Island' in proper perspective. Highly Recommended!! Five FASCINATING Stars! (This review is based on a Kindle download.)