Cold War Oklahoma

by Landry Brewer

Oklahoma might seem like an unexpected place for Cold War tensions to boil over, but the state played a key role in a conflict that threatened global annihilation. Altus Air Force Base served as a hub for twelve intercontinental ballistic missile launch sites; in 1964, a missile housed at the Frederick site exploded, although the nuclear warhead remained unaffected. Ordinary citizens lived under the shadow of nuclear war as well. A former OU faculty member accused of committing espionage for the Soviet Union fled the country, while a SWOSU professor dug his own fallout shelter in Weatherford--by hand. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, an emergency siren malfunction sent terrified Elk City parents scurrying to local schools to pick up their children. Landry Brewer presents a fascinating cross-section of the era, from top-level strategy to the details of daily life.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

144 pages, Paperback

Published April 29, 2019

Reviews

[Megan Plaumann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book but it did not deliver. The first couple chapters were good and the chapter about the spy was interesting but this is not a good example of academic writing, which is what I was expecting from a college history professor. If you are looking for a comprehensive book on the role Oklahoma played during the Cold War this is not it. There are several chapters where the author describes his personal experiences of researching and learning about the topic but I don't think it was necessary to recount that in historical writing. For example, he spent an entire chapter talking about the people he met and thanked them for their help. That type of information should be in the acknowledgements not in the middle of the book. I also did not like the use of "I" throughout the book. It was frustrating to read and is not a professional way to write. While he used "I" a lot, I did not learn about his interpretation of historical material, which ultimately makes up historical books. It was more of regurgitating information he had learned into a narrative format. As a historian I would not suggest this book to anyone seriously interested in the topic but a casual reader may enjoy it more than I did.

[Jade Dove · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this was educational for me as a lifelong Oklahoman who never learned much about my state beyond its days as “Indian Territory.”
The stuff about the military bases and fallout shelters was neat but the truly interesting part was reading about Maurice Halperin, a prof at University of Oklahoma who was a bonafide soviet spy passing intel to the KGB. That was by far the most interesting thing in the book.
But it’s still neat to read stuff about world events affecting the area you live in.

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and enlightening stories about the state where I was born. I clearly remember duck and cover drills, but growing up I was clueless about the extent of weapons placements and the civil defense programs in Oklahoma.

[Jo Moran · Rating 5 out of 5]

After living in SW Oklahoma for over 30 years...never knew of the importance Oklahoma played in the Cold War era.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed learning about this time in the history of my home state.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 29 of Nuclear Studies:

A well-researched and thorough assessment of the few events and people associated with Oklahoma and the Cold War.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative. Even though most of the focus is on southwestern Oklahoma, it provides a general sample of what life was like during the earlier years of the Cold War.

[Echo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I reviewed this for the newspaper where I work, and I completely forgot to add it to my Goodreads. I have forgotten too much of it to write an entirely new review, so I will just link to the one I wrote for the newspaper: https://www.news-star.com/news/201905...