The Missile Next Door is an interesting book on the development of the MinuteMan missile system that dotted the Great Plains with nuclear tipped missile all pointed at the Soviet Union. The theory behind the missile build-up was simple. The US Air Force would place thousands of cheap ICBM missile in hardened silos around the mostly deserted plains in order to provide enough nuclear firepower to destroy our enemy even if we did not strike first.
This project developed swiftly in the early '60's and was a massive construction project that changed the face of the country without much discussion. The people of the US knew this was happening but seemed unable to grasp the magnitude of this project beyond the fact that it created local jobs and was supposed to save the country in case of a nuclear attack.
Could this happen in today? Hard to say, but with lowing information voters anything is possible. It sends chills to anyone who reads this book how easily a democracy can follow policies that can have global ramifications without too much discussion. I am not a fan of how the work was presented by the author. It could have been more tightly focused on the key issues of how this got developed and changed the lives of locals, but it is an important part of our Cold War history that needs to be understood.
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