Cold War Secret Nuclear Bunkers: The Passive Defence of the Western World During the Cold War

by Nick J. McCamley

“Draws on previously classified documents to reveal the sums spent on underground shelters for British and American leaders during the Cold War.” —Publishers Weekly  Cold War Secret Nuclear Bunkers tells the previously undisclosed story of the secret defence structures built by the West during the Cold War years. Author Nick McCamley reveals the various bunkers built for the U.S. Administration, including the Raven Rock alternate war headquarters (the Pentagon’s wartime hideout), the Greenbrier bunker for the Senate and House of Representatives, and the Mount Weather central government headquarter, as well as developments in Canadas and extensive coverage of the UK, including the London bunkers and Regional War rooms built in the 1950s to protect against Soviet threat. The book examines the provision, (or more accurately, lack of provision), of shelter space for the general population, comparing the situation in the USA and the UK with some other European countries and with the Soviet Union.   McCamley also provides in fascinating detail the vast umbrella of radar stations that spanned the North American continent and the north Atlantic from the Aleutian Islands through Canada to the North Yorkshire moors, all centered upon an enormous secret control center buried hundreds of feet below Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado. This is complemented in the United Kingdom with a chain of secret radars codenamed ‘Rotor’ built in the early 1950’s, and eight huge, inland sector control centers, built over 100’ underground at enormous cost. Also included is the UK Warning and Monitoring Organization with its underground bunkers and observation posts, as well as the little known bunkers built by the various local authorities and public utilities.

Genres: Nonfiction, Military Fiction

550 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 31, 2013

Reviews

[Chad Manske · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many fans and historians are well aware of the Cold War history relative to the spies, intelligence, and nuclear triad, however, not much was intimately known about the West’s Cold War secret nuclear bunkers, infrastructure, fall out shelters and radar warning lines of defense until Nick McCamley’s groundbreaking book, published in 2013. Primarily a loose collaboration between the US, Canada, and the UK, McCamley portrays in exhausting detail, and with illustrations from his personal collection, the back stories and history of most all of the above. Readers will learn about the U.S. Raven Rock alternate war headquarters, the Greenbrier bunker for Senate and House members, and the Mount Weather government headquarters facilities. He also details the government plans to subsidize personal Cold War bunkers that eventually went bust at the War’s high tension time—the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. McCamley delves into Canada’s North Warning System, the war rooms for both Canada and the UK, and other special chains of radars extending from Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, across Canada, and to the UK’s North Yorkshire moors. Finally, McCamley details the Rotor, the UK’s vast inland and underground control sectors. No history of the Cold War would be complete without such a comprehensive detailing of the command centers and infrastructure prepared by those who would make decisions and fight from it should it become ‘hot.’

[George Poppenwimer · Rating 3 out of 5]

What could have been an excellent book was ruined by the author's persistent attacks on both the UK and US government. It's easy to play Monday morning quarterback years later and accuse the them of being "paranoid" about the capabilities of the Soviet Union's military during the Cold War. After WWII and rude awakening that came about from both Germany and Japan's military capabilities in the early part of war, it's hard to think how they could have have regarded the Soviet Union as less than a serious threat. Had he stuck the story of the bunkers, it would have been 4 stars but his smug assertions about the reasoning behind him were both unreasonable, unnecessary, and a detraction from what should have been the focus of the book.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A history of secret installations in America, Canada, and the UK. Informative with interesting accompanying photographs and diagrams. Arranged by purpose of site and location, so the timeline was hard to follow and hold in my head, but otherwise clearly written and useful.

[C Mijares · Rating 3 out of 5]

I dont know why i have this, my dad would have put it there, but hey, couldnt hurt to know a thing or two about secret tunnels during office small talks