Cold War Secret Nuclear Bunkers: The Passive Defence of the Western World During the Cold War (Pen & Sword Military Classics) [Paperback]

N. J. McCamley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2007 | Series: Pen & Sword Military Classics (Book 80)

In recent years full details have gradually begun to emerge about US and British preparations for defense against Nuclear attack during the cold war. It as believed that both the civilian and military command could continue to operate from a nationwide series of underground bunkers. These bunkers were actually built at enormous expense. McCamley's revelations are intriguing in their own right and also have some disturbing broader implications

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 281 pages
• Publisher: Pen & Sword Books (April 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1844155080
• ISBN-13: 978-1844155088
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,480,827 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Good Attempt, November 26, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Cold War Secret Nuclear Bunkers (Hardcover)

Nick McCamley has done a good job at covering the the extensive network of passive defense sites in the UK. This is a difficult subject that the author has obviously spent quite a long time researching and documenting. McCamley should have stopped with the UK.

McCamley's treatment of North America lacks the thoroughness that his chapters on the UK show. The first part of the book attempts to cover the bunkers in the US and Canada. While he covers the Texas Towers in the middle of the ocean, he fails to even mention the RCAF bunker at North Bay in his chapter on Canada.

Additionally, the author's explanation of the causes of the Cold War and the effects are sophomoric at best. He attempts to summarize the complex political, economic, military, historical, and philosophical forces up in trite blame America explanations. He should have kept to his area of expertise.

The book shows a sloppy preparation by the publisher. For example, on the rear dust cover, it has a picture of a Titan II ICBM labeled as a "Peacemaker." The Peacemaker was the Convair B-36 bomber. Either the publisher was ignorant or they were mistaken and confused a "Peacekeeper" ICBM with a Titan II. There is no excuse for this kind of error, especially on the dust jacket. It can only lead you question the fact checking that the publisher did through the rest of the volume. The editing has typos, such as B-39 instead of B-29, and the book is choppy. Chapters seem to have been written independently and for different places than they were eventually put in the book.

I recommend this work as a starting point for those who want to know about the bunker system in the UK. If you can see past the short comings mentioned above, this is a good attempt at a difficult subject.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Better As a General Reference Book., August 23, 2005

By 

S. Reid "Milhouse-Vanhouten" (London, England) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cold War Secret Nuclear Bunkers (Hardcover)

Mr. McCamley has certainly jumped right in to the world of bunkers, but frankly, this book is much better as a general reference book than it is as a good read. McCamley could have used the services of a good editor as the book is disjointed and contains a number of snide comments concerning the Cold War. Certainly one need not agree with Herman Kahn, but reality dictates that nuclear calculus is a bleak and callous field. McCamley doesn't seem to understand that, and continually editorializes, offering uneducated commentary and his feelings instead of clear, concise analysis.

The book begins with a brief overview of American and Canadian defense preparations during the Cold War, but spends too much time on actual dollar amounts and radar sites that were, for the most part, not hardened at all--they weren't bunkers.

He only briefly mentions American nuclear missile bunkers, and focuses on the large ones: Cheyenne Mountain, Mt. Weather, the Greenbriar, Mt. Pony, and Raven Rock. Again, he seems more interested in sneering at the people that built them and their likely effectiveness than giving any real insight to their reason for existence.

The rest of the book is very nearly just a catalog of the rather small bunkers throughout the UK, which are relatively similar to each other. There is a brief description of the Carrier Warning System that would have been used for warning the UK populace, but again this is glossed over.

As others have mentioned, the book could have used some fact-checking. While plenty of the errors are glaring, one has to wonder how many other things are wrong when it comes to more obscure facts.

Overall, I would suggest this book as a brief intro to American and Canadian Cold War defense systems and a catalogue of bunkers in the United Kingdom. Those looking for more will be disappointed.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars US material contains mistakes, March 6, 2004

By 

Erich Weinfurter (Baton Rouge, LA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cold War Secret Nuclear Bunkers (Hardcover)

This maybe a good book on UK bunkers of which there are many listed and detailed. US information contains many errors in the first edition. Example: Mount Pony Currency Vault for "North" of the Mississippi, should be "East" (the Mississippi flows North to South). The book is also full of the author anti-commentary, rather than descriptive analysis of the preparations. Does however have a map of Raven Rock which is rare to find.