“A long overdue book that highlights issues of memory, scholarship, and the role of the archaeologist as part of a larger move to address the Cold War as a defining and significant period in human history.”—James P. Delgado, author ofSilent Killers: Submarines and Underwater Warfare
“An important contribution to the growing number of archaeological studies of the Cold War, for the first time synthesizing research undertaken in the United States.”—Wayne Cocroft, coeditor ofThe Home Front in Britain 1914–1918: An Archaeological Handbook
The Cold War remains one of the twentieth century's defining events, possessing broad political, social, and material implications that continue to have impact. In this book, Todd Hanson presents nine case studies of archaeological investigations conducted at famous—and some not so famous—historic American Cold War sites, including Bikini Atoll, the Nevada Test Site, and the Cuban sites of the Soviet Missile Crisis. By examining nuclear weapons test sites, missile silos, submarine bases, fallout shelters, and more, Hanson illustrates how archaeology can help strip away myths, secrets, and political rhetoric to better inform our understanding of the conflict's formative role in the making of the contemporary American landscape. Addressing modern ramifications of the Cold War, Hanson also looks at the preservation of atomic heritage sites, the atomic tourism phenomenon, and the struggles of atomic veterans.
