Nuclear Rites: A Weapons Laboratory at the End of the Cold War

by Hugh Gusterson

Book Overview

Based on fieldwork at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory--the facility that designed the neutron bomb and the warhead for the MX missile--Nuclear Rites takes the reader deep inside the top-secret culture of a nuclear weapons lab. Exploring the scientists' world of dark humor, ritualized secrecy, and disciplined emotions, anthropologist Hugh Gusterson uncovers the beliefs and values that animate their work. He discovers that many of the scientists are Christians, deeply convinced of the morality of their work, and a number are liberals who opposed the Vietnam War and the Reagan-Bush agenda. Gusterson also examines the anti-nuclear movement, concluding that the scientists and protesters are alike in surprising ways, with both cultures reflecting the hopes and anxieties of an increasingly threatened middle class.

In a lively, wide-ranging account, Gusterson analyzes the ethics and politics of laboratory employees, the effects of security regulations on the scientists' private lives, and the role of nuclear tests--beyond the obvious scientific one--as rituals of initiation and transcendence. He shows how the scientists learn to identify in an almost romantic way with the power of the machines they design--machines they do not fear.

In the 1980s the "world behind the fence" was thrown into crisis by massive anti-nuclear protests at the gates of the lab and by the end of the Cold War. Linking the emergence of the anti-nuclear movement to shifting gender roles and the development of postindustrial capitalism, Gusterson concludes that the scientists and protesters are alike in surprising ways, and that both cultures reflect the hopes and anxieties of an increasingly threatened middle class.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520213734
• ISBN13: 9780520213739
• Release Date: November 1996
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 392 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Shows This Small Town!

While I enjoyed this book and all it's talk about nuclear weapons, I had to add a side note that I love the way it really does capture this small town.

A Fascinating Look at the Soul of Nuclear Weapons Lab

I have been working across the street from Lawrence Livermore National Labs (LLNL) as an intern at Sandia National Labs, and picked this book up in Sandia's library to get a better sense for the community around me.The culture in a nuclear weapons lab is utterly unique. Coming from a background where most of my friends are against nuclear weapons, it is interesting to work among people who believe with their heart that what they're doing is good for society.Hugh Gusterson does a great job at documenting the culture of the LLNL and how it fits in with the culture of Livermore, CA, and how it clashes with the culture of anti-nuclear weapons activists. Gusterson's objectivity is refreshing, and the material is fascinating.If you've worked at a national lab, want to get into the minds of a nuclear weapons scientist, or just want to learn a bit about one of the US's biggest national laboratories, I highly recommend this book.

A Fascinating Look at the Soul of Nuclear Weapons Lab

I have been working across the street from Lawrence Livermore National Labs (LLNL) as an intern at Sandia National Labs, and picked this book up in Sandia's library to get a better sense for the community around me.Hugh Gusterson does a great job at documenting the culture of the LLNL scientists and how they face their jobs and those who protest them. This is a fascinating work by a keen anthropologist who has researched a culture that is foreign in its secrecy.

A phenomenal read

An anthropologist looks at a nuclear weapons plant. Instead of making an exotic culture familiar, Gusterson takes apart the social workings of Livermore. In doing so, he shows that scientists aren't always rational, that there are elements of hazing rituals in an FBI background check, and that employees internalize their training to a fundamental level.Intelligent, thorough, and an 8 out of 10 on the readability scale, this is a must for anyone skeptical that anything in the US is rational - least of all our nuclear weapons program. Five stars.