It is sixty years since the events of October 1962 brought the world close to nuclear catastrophe. The Cuban missile crisis has long been recognized as the moment of greatest danger in the life (and near death) of humanity. In those sixty years, our knowledge and understanding of events have undergone significant change. There are some reasons to be encouraged, inasmuch as we have learned how both President John F. Kennedy and Premier Nikita Khrushchev sought to avoid nuclear war. More ominously, we have learned of incidents and events that suggest nuclear weapons might have been used by subordinate military commanders, in circumstances frequently unknown to their political leaders. Decisions whether to use nuclear weapons lay in the hands of often junior military commanders, some of whom were perilously close to crossing the nuclear threshold. This does not mean as often assumed that if some nuclear weapons were used, escalation to all-out war was inevitable. Yet the undoubted risk of thermonuclear war in these circumstances threatened the very survival of civilization. Hundreds, if not thousands, of millions of people would have died from immediate and short-term effects, while the longer-term prospect of a Nuclear Winter portended the virtual extinction of humanity. Drawing lessons from sixty years ago faces significant challenges. If we draw lessons only to discover our understanding was mistaken, we might well have drawn the wrong lessons. Many received wisdoms about the crisis have been shown to be misleading. What is striking is how after forty or fifty or even sixty years, new evidence has emerged to challenge previously accepted explanations. It is for the reader to reach their own verdicts on the history of the crisis, and how much we owe to political leaders who averted catastrophe (as well as how their words and deeds helped create the crisis in the first place). It is for the reader to conclude how close we came to nuclear war. Whatever conclusions are reached, one overriding lesson looms large. However we judge the actions of political and military leaders, one factor was crucial in why we avoided nuclear war in 1962. It was luck. In October 1962, humanity was very lucky. Will we be so lucky next time?
Planning Armageddon provides the first detailed account of Britain's Command, Control, Intelligence and Communications infrastructure. A central theme of the book is the British-American atomic relationship and its implications for NATO strategy. Based on the recollections of officials and military officers in both Britain and the United States and
Boldly going€ where it all started! Presenting the first comic book adventures of the U.S.S. Enterprise and her crew! Fully re-mastered with new colors, this volume collects issues #7_12, including stories such as "The Voodoo Planet," "The Legacy of Lazarus," "The Brain Shocker," and more.
The legendary Swamp Thing has resurfaced for a new age-just as a new force threatens to rot away all life on Earth! Since the dawn of time, the planet's safety has depended on maintaining a balance of three great powers: THE GREEN, the force that unites all plant life; THE RED, the force that unites all animal life; and THE ROT, the force of death. Each generation, the Green selects an avatar to serve as its protector-the Swamp Thing. But Doctor Alec Holland, the Green's newest champion, is no longer interested in the role. The Rot's own avatar is growing stronger, and servants of decay gain more territory every day. If Alec doesn't return to his duties soon, there might not be any Green left to protect. The superstar team of #1 New York Times best-selling writer Scott Snyder (BATMAN, AMERICAN VAMPIRE) and artist Yanick Paquette (BATMAN, INC.), reworks one of comics' greatest characters for a new age, with support from wonderful talents Jeff Lemire, Marco Rudy, Becky Cloonan, Francesco Francavilla, Steve Pugh and more. Collects SWAMP THING #0-18, ANIMAL MAN #12, 17 and SWAMP THING ANNUAL #1, as well as never-before-seen sketches and an introduction by SWAMP THING co-creator Len Wein.
Featuring lush reproductions of the landscapes of American artist Len Chmiel, this book depicts four decades of the artist's melodic, evocative, and often abstracted depictions of the land. Amy Scott contributes a fine essay discussing Chmiel's formative years as an illustrator in Los Angeles through his subsequent move to Colorado, where he turned from illustration and dove into fine art exclusively.
Collects X-Men (1963) #1 & #129, Giant-Size X-Men #1, Uncanny X-Men #171, #200, #213, #267 & #287, New X-Men (2001) #116 And Free Comic Book Day: X-Men 2008. Ever since Charles Xavier opened his school's doors to the mutants of the world, his X-Men have welcomed those from all walks of life into their ranks! See how your favorite mutants joined your favorite mutant team! Witness the initiations of Marvel Girl! Wolverine! Colossus! Nightcrawler! Banshee! Storm! Kitty Pryde! Rogue! Magneto! Gambit! Bishop! And Pixie! Featuring the threats of the Hellfire Club, Fenris, Fitzroy, the N'Garai and the Shadow King!
This profile, the first publication in a series looking at Len Lye's life and works, was produced by the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in 2001 to mark the centenary of the artist's birth. The handsome publication presents a brief chronology of the late artist's life, and presents a selected range of Lye's own infectiously enthusiastic writing.
Planning Armageddon provides the first detailed account of Britain's Command, Control, Intelligence and Communications infrastructure. A central theme of the book is the British-American atomic relationship and its implications for NATO strategy. Based on the recollections of officials and military officers in both Britain and the United States and employing recently declassified government documents, Planning Armageddon presents a systematic analysis of British involvement in nuclear planning from Hiroshima to the development of Polaris. At the same time, it provides an important examination of the operational weaknesses of the British nuclear deterrent and the potential hazards presented by unwarranted secrecy.
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