Gods of Metal

by Eric Schlosser

'Sitting not far below my feet, there was a thermonuclear warhead about twenty times more powerful than the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima, all set and ready to go. The only sound was the sound of the wind.'Seventy years after the bombing of Hiroshima, Eric Schlosser's powerful, chilling piece of journalism exposes today's deadly nuclear age. Originally published in the New Yorker and now expanded, this terrifying true account of the 2012 break-in at a high-security weapons complex in Tennessee is a masterly work of reportage. 'Schlosser's reportage is as good as it gets' GQ

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Politics, Journalism, Military Fiction, American, Biography

123 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 6, 2015

About the author

Eric Matthew Schlosser is an American journalist and author known for his investigative journalism, such as in his books Fast Food Nation (2001), Reefer Madness (2003), and Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety (2013).

Reviews

[Alexander Peterhans · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The short-grass prairie that stretched before me was windswept, gorgeous, dotted with small homes. You would never think that hidden beneath this rural American idyll, out of sight, out of mind, were scores of intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Just yards away from my rental car, sitting not far below my feet, there was a thermonuclear warhead about twenty times more powerful than the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima, all set and ready to go. The only sound was the sound of the wind."

[Yi Jian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short and incredibly informative read, the final line is such a painful kick in the head

[Iain · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enjoyable companion piece to Command and Control. Here Schlosser focuses on those who oppose the nuke and what it symbolises within American and global culture. I was shocked to learn that the main pacifist groups who break into nuclear facilities are mostly Catholic. They are Christian in a sense many people have lost touch with or couldn't imagine, living in our current times. I'm not religious myself but I have a deep respect for the figures Schlosser both describes and speaks to in this book. Additionally as was covered in C&C we are once again shown how disturbingly easy it is to break into a base which houses nuclear arms or any of the nuclear stockpiles across America. Essential reading for those who enjoyed C&C and I would also reccomend it to anyone interested in nuclear arms and those who are brave enough to carry out protests in the bases where the actual weapons are housed. Also it's a very short book so it will take hardly any time to read in order to gain a grasp of pacifism in American history and their resistance to the nuclear program in the States.

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick factual read.

[Simon Zohhadi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book proves that good people can end up in prison. Christian men and women whose sole aim is to remove nuclear weapons, in this case, from American soil. It is both amusing and terrifying (if you think about it too much) how people in their 80s were able to break into "highly secure" nuclear sites. This has happened many times over the years although not all were in their 80s ! All these high level international nuclear agreements seem somewhat pointless as it is clear that the biggest threat of a nuclear catastrophe comes from terrorists penetrating one of these nuclear sites and either blowing it up or stealing nuclear materials or bombs. This book is an eye-opener. I have two messages to the American people: get rid of your nuclear weapons and release the three prisoners who are in prison for trespassing onto the Y-12 nuclear site and highlighting the evil of these weapons and how poorly protected the site and many others are from real terrorists.

[Amit · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting short book about the threat of nuclear winter - which could be caused not by warring nations but by rogue elements who could lay their hands on it and put it to catastrophic misuse.
It’s a work highlighting the brave and non violent resistance to the nuclear world by activists - notable the plowshare movement. Their intrepid but principled stance and a symbolic intrusion at a material storage site in the US was a message to the world. The nukes spell doom for humanity. In many ways reminiscent of Mahatma Gandhi.

[Ben Olsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

An in-depth if somewhat jumbled account of a bunch of Catholic anti-nuclear weapons protesters who break into bomb storage facilities in order to prove how terrifyingly easy it is. One of them was a nun in her eighties. This, in today's absurd world, really does need sorting out. The book shines a light on the utter madness of the existence of nuclear weapons and then the lack of any coherent plan to guard them or reduce the likelihood of them being used. Depressing and informative reading.

[KapitiKats · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scary. Nuclear security in the US is corporatised.

[Damien · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brief book but a long investigative article into the shortcomings of nuclear security, this book was an excellent companion to Eric’s earlier work, Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety. It scratched an itch I had to learn more about modern nuclear facilities, and opened my eyes to Catholic pacifism and the Plowshares movement.

[Dan Cohen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great little book on the issues of nuclear material security and on the Plowshares anti-nuclear pacifist Christian movement. On the former subject I wasn't overly shocked as I've previously read John McPhee's "The Curve of Binding Energy", but it was good to get an update. The Plowshares movement was new to me and the author writes about them powerfully and with compassion. Recommended.

[Evangeline Rowe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really wasn’t that keen on this book. Read about 80% and then gave up. Wish the author has written a bigger book everything was very rushed and short, written almost like a memo. Would have been so much better if it was more descriptive and detailed as I think the message is so important but the book does these activists no justice.

[Silasgreenback · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and quite a frightening history of the accidents, insecurities and potential mishaps surrounding nuclear weapons and their proliferation. The second book I have read by this author and he has a great way of making the somewhat complex into an understandable and interesting narrative.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really engaging piece of investigative journalism detailing the anti-WMD and pro-disarmament Plowshare movement. Schlosser effectively confronts issue such as the privatization of national security and associated institutional failings, the morality of imprisoning peaceful protestors, and the global security of nuclear weapons and fissile materials. Terrifying stuff.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Something of a sidebar to “Command and Control” I found this book a depressing indictment of the US government’s fragile ego. Rather than admit that privatising security of its nuclear facilities was problematic it would rather put gentle retiree peace protesters in federal prison for extended periods on excessive charges. Well researched and written, a quick read.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

More a longer-than-usual piece of investigative journalism than a book, Schlosser looks at how well the USA protects its arsenal of nuclear weapons, and what happens to those who try to expose lax security.

Try not to be frightened after reading it...

[Thomas Hale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short book about nuclear weapons and campaigns for disarmament, particularly focusing on the Ploughshares activists in the US. Troubling statistics and journalism combine with the humbler human stories of people trying to stop untold devastation. A quick and sobering read.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this for my boyfriend because it's the kind of thing he is interested in.

I'm left with a profound admiration for those utterly committed to their belief in non-violence. They must have such clarity of purpose.

[BMK · Rating 4 out of 5]

While not as good, this is a great little companion piece to Command & Control.

[Simon Garnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Amazing and terrifying at once.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Privatised security for nuclear sites? Nice

[Joey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting sobering read.

[Conor Tannam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very short but an engrossing read about peaceful protests against nuclear weapons in the USA. The author has an impressive style and my only complaint is that it was not longer.

[Mike Little · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this! Really an extended essay rather than a book but fascinating to read.

[Jeddy B · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 rounded down.
Wordy and surprisingly lengthy feeling for such a small book, but mega informative and (for me) anger provoking lol

[Paul Westwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book in box on a wall outside a church with a sign saying 'please take'. There was only this and a big old atlas, which I left. I must have skim-read the blurb on the back because I thought it was a novella.
The opening chapter immediately goes into minute detail about the present day situation regarding the United States's nuclear arsenal and I was thinking, this must be the most boring start to a novel ever. After a few pages of clinical information I turned to the back cover and re-read it, only to realise it's a journalistic piece, not a work of fiction. That crucial piece of information allowed me to engage with it in the right way because I'm not against reading lots of technical details, I just don't want my escapism to be doused by it.
So, what this is, rather than a piece of fiction, is a very well researched journalistic piece about a group of non-violent, civil disobedience anti-nuclear protesters in the United States, known as Ploughshares. What makes their story so significant is that they are willing to accept extremely harsh prison sentences in the name of their belief that nuclear weapons shouldn't exist and are an abomination against god. I may have made up those last three words but I don't think they're inaccurate because the final, significant factor in this story is that most of the activists are priests and nuns and if they aren't, they're still extremely devout Christians. It shows an enormous amount of faith to continuously break the law to protest against something and spend years behind bars for doing so.
The punishments which the activists have received seem overly harsh to me. They've spent years and years in jail for basically cutting a few fences, spray-painting a few walls and hanging up some banners.
For decades these Ploughshares activists have been meticulously planning their protests, carrying them out, then accepting whatever punishment they're given. When jailed they take it as their duty to do what they can to help their fellow prisoners, people they see as the most deprived in society. Schlosser tells us the personal stories of a number of the activists along with the histories of their protests so you can really appreciate their dedication and selflessness.
As I mentioned at the beginning, this book goes into a lot of detail on the technical aspects of the US's nuclear weapon's program, especially the individual facilities which are dotted around the country. These decentralised facilities are managed by private firms and the security was extremely patchy, which is why the Ploughshares have been able to break in on so many occasions. One clear benefit of their activism is that the security around all the nuclear facilities has been greatly improved making them safer against more malign break-ins. This isn't the aim of the Ploughshares because they want the complete disarmament of all nuclear weapons but they're obviously not ignorant of the terrorist risk so have taken some solace in the changes that have been made.
So, to summarise, this is a very interesting story about a group of amazingly dedicated people whose efforts to protest against the proliferation of nuclear weapons show a level of commitment very few people could ever understand but everyone should appreciate.

[Mark Glover · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up at the Festival Of Dangerous Ideas(FODI for the scenesters) intrigued by the premise of what sounded from the blurb like an undercover heist undertaken by the reporter. In truth the book whilst a great piece of investigative journalism is somewhat removed from what it claims to be with the acctual infiltration taking up a small part of its short length, the rest is filled with a relatively indepth look at the work of hardcore anti nuclear activist group Plowshare who make a point of breaking into supposedly secure nuclear facilities and undertaking acts of vandalism and trespass in order to get arrested. What comes across as the biggest revelation in the books is just how farcically easy this process seems to be and how these weapons which are capable of awesome and terrifying acts of destruction are seemingly left lying around for anyone to get hold of.It seems patently ridiculous in a post 9/11 world where you can't go through an airport without taking your shoes off to think that the most awesomely destructive weapons made by man are so poorly secured. The stories of the activists are equally revealing and in turn heart rending as we witness each of them get taken down for pointing out the failures of the security systems. In a world where apathy and slacktivism rule it is a reminder that radicalism in it's true form was truly given wings only by a very small generation of activist's who believed in direct action over inifference. The portraits of Sister Ardeth and Sister Carol offer us an insight into a generation that has all but passed us by in the digital age of distraction and perhaps an insight into where things went wrong. Here are true heroes prepared to face prison and even death for their cause despite the general hopelessness of their struggle. Schlosser as ever writes well and keeps you engaged with the subject matter though the book does lag in some parts. All in all a good and frightening insight into the arms trade and the hidden potential for destruction that we all seem to have forgotten about.

[Warren Gossett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the story of 1960's to current protesters against American nuclear weapons. Specifically, in July 2012, three Plowshares activists broke through the fencing at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where American weapons grade uranium is fabricated and stored. It was a peaceful protest limited to slogans painted in blood and minor damage to walls with small sledgehammers. I remember meeting Dan Berrigan in a lounge room at Cornell university. He and his brother Phil were later involved in Plowshares anti war activism. Eric Schlosser paints a picture of this protest and puts it in perspective. The perspective must be described as our uncertainly whether we will have nuclear war or not. Not just in America but anywhere on earth. I am looking forward to reading Schlosser's new novel, Ghost Fleet, about current dangers of such a catastrophic war happening. We can only try to help humanity survive and prosper.

[Tammam Aloudat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is more of a journalistic investigation than a book, and it is a damn good one at that.

First, it did teach me a lot of things, about the American protesters who have spent decades breaking into nuclear weapon facilities and going to jail for it to oppose nuclear weapons. I didn't know that and I'm happy those people stand strong for it.

Second, I have learned a lot about how the state of nuclear weapons is today in the US and in other places. I have learned that it is very possible for terrorists to break in and possibly acquire fissile fuel and possibly pose a real threat. This scares me.

More importantly, the book makes me want to do something. And this is, in essence, one of the things that make journalism great.

[Dave McNeely · Rating 4 out of 5]

This brief reprint of an extended New Yorker essay (currently only available in the UK) provides an excellent introduction to the state of nuclear weapons in the United States today, particularly both their vulnerabilities and the vulnerabilities they present to our world. Using the break-in at Oak Ridge, TN's Y-12 plant by three Christian peace activists in 2012 as a window into our current nuclear state, Schlosser offers a glimpse of what is most likely the biggest threat in our world today. Pacifists and war hawks alike would find many of the realities described in these pages intensely disturbing.

[saizine · Rating 2 out of 5]

A tiny little book (a reprint of an extended essay that appeared in The New Yorker) which addresses the state of nuclear weapons/material in the contemporary United States, particularly through following the movements of pacifist and activist groups (see: Plowshares) who have repeatedly broken into nuclear facilities in order to protest. A fascinating bit of journalism, although the brightest moments come relatively late (though I cannot praise the final section enough); I personally preferred the more general discussion of nuclear politics rather than following the lives of individual protesters. Worth reading if you’re at all interested in the modern iterations of nuclear weaponry.