By the Bomb's Early Light - 2nd Edition by Paul Boyer (Paperback)

About the Book

By the Bomb's Early Light: American Thought and Culture At the Dawn of the Atomic Age

Book Synopsis

Originally published in 1985, By the Bomb's Early Light is the first book to explore the cultural 'fallout' in America during the early years of the atomic age. Paul Boyer argues that the major aspects of the long-running debates about nuclear armament and disarmament developed and took shape soon after the bombing of Hiroshima.

The book is based on a wide range of sources, including cartoons, opinion polls, radio programs, movies, literature, song lyrics, slang, and interviews with leading opinion-makers of the time. Through these materials, Boyer shows the surprising and profoundly disturbing ways in which the bomb quickly and totally penetrated the fabric of American life, from the chillingly prophetic forecasts of observers like Lewis Mumford to the Hollywood starlet who launched her career as the 'anatomic bomb.'

In a new preface, Boyer discusses recent changes in nuclear politics and attitudes toward the nuclear age.

From the Back Cover

Originally published in 1985, By the Bomb's Early Light is the first book to explore the cultural "fallout" in America during the early years of the atomic age. The book is based on a wide range of sources, including cartoons, opinion polls, radio programs, movies, literature, song lyrics, slang, and interviews with leading opinion-makers of the time. Through these materials, Boyer shows the surprising and profoundly disturbing ways in which the bomb quickly and totally penetrated the fabric of American life, from the chillingly prophetic forecasts of observers like Lewis Mumford to the Hollywood starlet who launched her career as the "anatomic bomb". In a new preface, Boyer discusses recent changes in nuclear politics and attitudes toward the nuclear age.

Review Quotes

A highly perceptive, well-researched, and eloquent, often passionate, account."--American Historical Review

Sobering. . . . [A] rich and disturbing chronicle."--Newsweek

Very well written. . . . Both far-ranging and thorough."--SpeedReaders.info