On January 27, 1951, the first atomic weapon was detonated over a section of desert known as Frenchman Flat in southern Nevada, providing dramatic evidence of the Nevada Test Site's beginnings. Fifty years later, author A. Costandina Titus reviews contemporary nuclear policy issues concerning the continued viability of that site for weapons testing. Titus has updated her now-classic study of atomic testing with fifteen years of political and cultural history-from the mid-1980s Reagan-Gorbachev nuclear standoff to the authorization of the Nevada Test Site Research Center, a Desert Research Institute facility scheduled to open in 2001. In the second edition of Bombs in the Backyard, Titus deftly covers the post-Cold War transformation of American atomic policy as well as our overarching cultural interest in all matters atomic, making this a must-read for anyone interested in atomic policy and politics.

About the Author
A. Costandina Titus first became interested in the effects of atmospheric atomic testing as a researcher for former U.S. Senator Howard Cannon. Titus is currently professor of political science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, serves as a Nevada state senator, and sits on the board of directors for the Nevada Test Site Historical Foundation.

Reviews
"Bombs in the Backyard is a valuable addition to historical literature on the atomic age, providing scholars with a well-documented, comprehensive history of U.S. atomic testing and the political and health issues which have emerged as a result." -Journal of the Southwest; "Titus tells this painful story [of downwinders] with marvelous balance. She threads her way easily through the labyrinths of both the federal bureaucracy and the American legal system, and her explanations are models of lucidity." -Nevada Historical Society Quarterly"



Book Information
ISBN 9780874173703
Author University of Nevada Press
Format Paperback
Imprint University of Nevada Press
Publisher University of Nevada Press
Weight(grams) 385g
Dimensions(mm) 228mm * 153mm * 17mm