| The Imaginary War: Civil Defense and American Cold War Culture Contributor(s): Oakes, Guy (Author) |
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ISBN: 0195090276 ISBN-13: 9780195090277 Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA OUR PRICE: $158.40 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: January 1995 Annotation: "Duck and cover" are unforgettable words for a generation of Americans who listened throughout the Cold War to the unescapable propaganda of civil defense. Yet it would have been impossible to protect Americans from a real nuclear attack and, as Guy Oakes shows in The Imaginary War, national security officials knew it. Oakes contends that the real purpose of 1950s civil defense programs was not to protect Americans from the bomb, but to ingrain in them the moral resolve needed to face the hazards of the Cold War. Uncovering the links between national security, civil defense, and civic ethics, Oakes reveals three sides to the civil defense program: a system of emotional management designed to control fear; the fictional construction of a manageable world of nuclear attack; and the production of a Cold War ethic rooted in the mythology of the home, the ultimate sanctuary of American values. This fascinating analysis of the culture of civil defense is a strong indictment of the official mythmaking of the Cold War. It will be essential reading for all those interested in American history, politics, and cultural studies. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Political Science | Security (national & International) - Social Science | Sociology - General - History | United States - 20th Century |
| Dewey: 363.350 |
| LCCN: 93046098 |
| Lexile Measure: 1440 |
| Physical Information: 0.77" H x 6.35" W x 9.59" (0.88 lbs) 208 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - 1950-1999 - Chronological Period - 1940's - Chronological Period - 20th Century |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Duck and cover are unforgettable words for a generation of Americans, who listened throughout the Cold War to the unescapable propaganda of civil defense. Yet it would have been impossible to protect Americans from a real nuclear attack, and, as Guy Oakes shows in The Imaginary War, national security officials knew it. The real purpose of 1950's civil defense programs, Oakes contends, was not to protect Americans from the bomb, but to ingrain in them the moral resolve needed to face the hazards of the Cold War. Uncovering the links between national security, civil defense, and civic ethics, Oakes reveals three sides to the civil defense program: a system of emotional management designed to control fear; the fictional construction of a manageable world of nuclear attack; and the production of a Cold War ethic rooted in the mythology of the home, the ultimate sanctuary of American values. This fascinating analysis of the culture of civil defense and the official mythmaking of the Cold War will be essential reading for all those interested in American history, politics, and culture. |