Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.)

As a Nuclear Engineer who started his course of study in 1962, the SL1 accident was one of the first items for review in the curriculum at the University of Wisconsin for me. In 1971 I progressed into the Commercial Nuclear Program and managed every aspect of Commercial Nuclear Power including holding a Senior Reactor Operator License and on shift management of Commercial Nuclear Reactors.
'Atomic America' is far different than the usual sensational writing one finds when reading books on this subject. I found it balanced, well written and very accurate except for two highly techincal points.
If you want a sense of Nuclear Power and its history, this book is a good starting point.

I purchased this book while killing time at Powell's near Portland. While I learned a bit about the USS US, I was a little disappointed by the end of the book. One might try to redeem the book from its subtitle about Rickover and nuclear aircraft, but I decided to write this review to balance out the more positive reviews I've written on Amazon.

I picked up the book hoping to learn more about the revolt of the admirals and carriers. The interwoven stories might work for followers of Tom Clancy novels but it doesn't work well here. If you want to read a book about Hyman Rickover, I got Norman Polmar's book from the public library: RICKOVER. Atomic America's author didn't even including Rickover's final sarcastic comment when the Navy came to naming a ship after him (a sub), it wasn't an aircraft carrier. Rickover knew who buttered his bread.

The SL1 disaster is also documented in Idaho Falls: The Untold Story of America's First Nuclear Accident which I purchased in Las Vegas for a retired friend in the nuclear weapons infrastructure. Regardless of whose version of the story you hear, you reading about blind men trying to describe an elephant. That's one story. The author tries to balance this with the USAF's failed attempt at nuclear aircraft. However, he completely leaves out the attempts at nuclear rocketry: the Kiwi, Rover, and NERVA prototypes still sit out in the desert visible using Google earth/maps. And that leaves out Dyson's and Stan Frankel's Orion at General Atomics.

I was left hoping for more (quantity) and better quality. Read the book if you must but be aware more exists out there. Not I can feel better about writing a more positive review on someone else's book.

I enjoyed the story. The fact that it is true made it that much better. I almost feel that I now know how a nuclear reactor works. Do you know why they put "poison" in the reaction chamber. If you read this book you will.
Maybe a little long winded, but well worth the time.

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.

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!

January 3, 1961, the quiet Idaho night was shattered by the sound of a fire alarm. The fire crew had already responded to the same location twice this night. The firefighters of the National Reactor Testing Station were assigned to SL-1, one of the more than twenty reactors the Army had assembled in Idaho. Three men were assigned to the reactor that night...John Byrnes, Richard McKinley and Richard Legg. The fire crew approached the reactor building and quickly realized that something had gone horribly wrong. The three men were in the control room appeared to be dead.

Several months ago I heard the tail end of an overnight talk show which featured Todd Tucker being interviewed about his book, Atomic America. I had never heard of a fatal nuclear accident within the United States...my familiarity with nuclear disasters began with Three Mile Island in 1979. Atomic America goes into great detail about the night of the accident, the personalities, military records, and known history of the three men working that night, the history of the Army's nuclear program and fallout from this accident. Tucker has interviewed people who responded that fateful night as well as reading through reams of previously classified documents and reports. He provides us with the history and personalities that brought the military into the nuclear arena. What is most striking is the amount of money and leeway given to the Army and Air Force as they tried to develop nuclear programs. Both were trying to catch up with the Navy's wildly successful program that produced the nuclear powered Nautilus submarine in (considered the gold standard). Both were looking to adapt nuclear energy to fit their needs...including providing power for an operational base under the arctic ice. What makes this a more readable book (given the subject it could have been a real snoozer) is Tucker's first hand knowledge of the military's nuclear programs, having completed training and serving on a nuclear submarine as a naval Nuclear Engineer. Not only does he peel back the layers of misinformation, myth and gossip connected with SL-1, he presents a viable and sadly all too probable explanation for the deadly explosion.

Atomic America covers the explosion at SL1 in Idaho, it's causes, and the military nuclear power struggle in which it occurred. It then compares SL1 to the Three Mile Island meltdown before discussing the military technology and monopoly of nuclear power in the Cold War. The Author, who served in the Navy, heard about the SL1 incident in the Naval Nuclear training program; also, being a historian, he covered hundreds of primary sources and survivor testimonies and interviews to research for his book.
I read this book,or rather the sections useful to myself, while researching for a Senior paper on Atomic Annie, a nuclear cannon. While only a brief part of the book was directly related to this topic, as much of it was focused on later naval developments, it was very helpful in giving insight into the military mindset and ambitions of the time frame. Before reading the book I read other reviews from people who claim to work in the nuclear field, all seemed to assert that the information was in their opinion unbiased and accurate. Combining this with the author's personal experience in the field and research, leads me to believe that the book is accurate.
As mentioned earlier the book starts by focusing on the SL1 explosion which killed three men. It then springboards into a history of the US military's nuclear achievements, technologies, and ambitions during the Cold War after contrasting the explosion to the melt down at Three Mile Island. This book is both informative and yet layman friendly in its organization and word usage. Anyone with a high school education should have no problem understanding the content.

As an ex-submariner and graduate of Rickover's navy nuclear program, I found this book to be very interesting. It indirectly answered many of the questions I have always had regarding the development of nuclear technology in the armed services. Its technical detail is minimal, but explained well for the laymen to easily understand.

Very interesting book -- I worked at INL about 20 years ago and heard stories about the accident. This filled in a lot of details. I also liked the discussion of the nuclear airplane -- I had seen the engines in the parking lot at EBR-I, but needed more detail. Highly recommended.