The Dragon's Tail ─ Americans Face the Atomic Age

Even people who can recall the "duck and cover" years have lost the fullness of that new atomic America experience, its stories and images and fears. In this book, Jacobs (research, Hiroshima Peace Institute, Hiroshima City University) examines how the arrival of nuclear weapons influenced the American psyche and culture. Even without knowing the bomb, its science and power, Americans felt the bomb through what Jacobs calls "nuclear narratives." American nuclear scientists called one critical experiment "tickling the dragon's tail," and from this Jacobs takes his title. His book considers the dangerous dragon that entered the room at the start of the nuclear age. Many illustrations capture the tone of the times, including a cartoon downwinder couple, mannequin survivors, an imperiled boy and his dog. Annotation c2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Robert A. Jacobs is research assistant professor, Hiroshima Peace Institute, Hiroshima City University.