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

I've been repeatedly disappointed with recent books trying to spin a new narrated on an old subject and, honestly, I expected the same here. I'm very pleased to say that I was wrong. The writing, the technical accuracy and the readability were all excellent. The author was able to weave in his opinions with detailed justification that made them convincing rather than questionable fluff. I'll be looking for more of his work.

This is a must-read for all who have an interest in nuclear engineering or just plain old science. It has a VERY interesting way of keeping your attention. It is a page-turner, almost like a novel. The Navy clearly did things better than the Army and certainly better than the Air Force, but the book does not actually take sides. It presents the dark side of Admiral Rickover without villainizing him and celebrates his genius without making him into a saint. It is impossible to express what an enjoyable book this is.

Todd Tucker explores the history of a little-known Cold War nuclear accident shrouded in mystery and tears away the popular mythology in this history of the 1961 explosion of the SL-1 reactor in Idaho. Beyond dispelling tawdry innuendo, Tucker shows the political and technical origins of the accident stemming from inter-service rivalry, the allure of the atom, and contrasting visions of duty, safety, and attention to detail. "Atomic America" tells a compelling cautionary tale, finally treating the victims of this tragedy with the humanity and dignity they deserve.Tucker's tale follows two paths: the first, the sequence of events leading up to the power excursion and explosion at SL-1 and its aftermath; the second, the history of US military nuclear power development. The story of the development of the USS Nautilus (SSN-571) is well-documented in other books such as Ted Rockwell's  The Rickover Effect . Tucker does an admirable job isolating the most salient elements of naval reactor history to compare with the lesser-known power development projects carried out by the Air Force and the Army. Specific emphasis is placed on the origin and intent of the Army reactor program, from its successes at the secretive Camp Century beneath the ice in Greenland and at Fort Belvoir, less than 20 miles from the White House to the dramatic failure of SL-1 at the National Reactor Testing Station in Idaho. The Air Force's Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion (ANP) project gets a fair bit of attention as a thirteen year, billion dollar boondoggle finally put out of its misery by President Kennedy, ironically after Eisenhower had spent years trying to scuttle the costly endeavor.The changing technical and political landscape of the Cold War are set as backdrop, contrasting the attitude toward design, operation, and safety among the Army, Navy, and Air Force nuclear power programs. Originally designed to power the Army's air search radars of the Distant Early Warning (DEW) line in the far north, SL-1 was plagued with technical problems stemming from poor design and fabrication. Tucker presents the personal lives and drama surrounding the reactor operators on shift that fateful night but digs even deeper into the operational history of the doomed reactor. He illustrates how and why the Jerry Springer-esque speculations of infidelity and murder-suicide has gained traction over the less compelling but more likely explanation for the accident: poorly trained, overworked operators with insufficient supervision working on a badly designed, poorly maintained reactor. As with the Windscale accident in the UK a few years earlier, the book shows the political incentive to shift blame to operators, especially those who couldn't publicly defend themselves (see also  Windscale 1957: Anatomy of a Nuclear Accident ).Tucker weaves together history with an engineering detective story, clearly explaining technical concepts as they become relevant to his narrative. Explanations of reactor control, radiation, and radioactivity succinctly support Tucker's storyline rather than bogging the book down in detail; "Atomic America" is anything but dry and didactic. The presentation of Adm. Rickover is balanced, neither engaging in hagiography nor character assassination; a fair portrayal of a very divisive and colorful figure (contrast with  SuperFuel ). Like James Mahaffey's  Atomic Awakening , "Atomic America" also treats nuclear technology fairly, showing how early on its promise was oversold and risks downplayed, but never engaging in scaremongering or cheap rhetorical technique. Tucker stays within his sphere of evidence, pointing out with equal emphasis the insufficient technical analysis of the initial investigators as well as the unwarranted perpetuation of vulgar rumor. He neither downplays the significance of the SL-1 accident nor uses it as a sweeping indictment of persons, technologies, or institutions. The balance of scientific fact, history, and humanity make this a rare and intensely enjoyable work.As someone actively working the field of reactor safety, I found "Atomic America" eye-opening, refreshingly fair, and a compelling, sobering tale of avoidable tragedy, a little-known story well told. Highly recommended.

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!

This is a great book about a very little known nuclear accident and the circumstances both leading up to the accident and the aftermath. It has a local significance to me as one of the men killed, Navy Seebee Richard C. Legg, is buried not far from where I live. While this book covers some very technical and scientific topics it is written for the non-technical reader. A great read for those who are interested in military or nuclear history.

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!

Little known history of the development of atomic power in the United States, and of the only nuclear accident to have ever resulted in deaths. I've been driving past these places in Idaho for years and never realized what was going on out there in the lava fields. On a map I noticed Atomic City, out there west of I-15, and wondered why a town would have that name. A little research found this book. Pretty damn interesting book.

A most interesting read. I worked at the Idaho Nuclear Lab for many years, and remember the SL1 accident as a child growing up in Idaho Falls. It was rewarding to have many misconceptions about the accident, and nuclear energy, cleared up. Thank you to the author for his insightful research, which gives us an historical understanding of nuclear energy and Admiral Rickover. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand the politics and history of nuclear power.

This is one of the most fascinating books I've read on Nuclear history. It constrasts the personalities and the engineering of the American nuclear navy program with those of the US airforce - and US Army, who were responsible for the ONLY fatal accident in the history of the US nuclear power program, when the SL-1 research reactor "blew up" in 1961. As usual, the military attempted to blame those who died (like on the USS Iowa in the 1990s) for the accident, but the book explores the real reasons ( appalling design). SL-1 blew up when one of the operators accidentally withdrew a control rod - not the requisite 4" as required, but 26", and that caused the reactor to go from zero output to 20,000 x its rated output...in 4msec.The description of the clean up is particularly poignant, as the bodies of the dead constitute high level nuclear waste.Eye opening.