Underground Structures of the Cold War: The World Below

by Paul Ozorak

The World Below. A world-wide guide to the underground structures of the Cold War, including sites in Europe, North America, Africa, Asia, the Middle East and the Far East. This guide covers government and public shelters, military and weapons bases, storage depots, medical facilities and communications centres. It also describes when and where these bunkers were built and what has happened to them. With over 150 illustrations. Paul Ozorak is an amateur historian with a passion for former military bases.

Genres: Nonfiction

362 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2012

Reviews

[Anne Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to admit a bit of bias in rating this book as I personally have a fascination with underground structures. Having visited the sites of Atlas F missile silos and seeing some of the incredible things that are being done with former AT&T nuclear-hardened communications bunkers, this book sparked my interest in seeing just what else is out there. Or, should I say, under there.

The book confirmed my suspicions about certain areas that I suspected hid much under the surface (Site R at Fort Richie comes immediately to mind), but the book goes far beyond that. As the book title professes, this is about structures built during the Cold War, and it delves heavily into discussions of not just what those structures are but why they were built. As such, it gives a remarkable overview of just what was going on during that era. It also includes a couple of chilling events that demonstrate just how close the world has come to nuclear conflict in the past. Richly illustrated with photos, most of which were taken by the author, the reader gets a vivid picture of what has become of many of them.

For the person interested in this part of our world's history, this is a must-read book. And for Mr. Ozorak, if you ever decide to do an update, I have some really nice photos of an Atlas F silo that I took recently. Y'know, just in case you might want to include them.

[Rictor]

Read under the title "Bunkers Bunkers Everywhere"