A new age dawning --
The nuclear apocalyptic --
Morality and national identity at the shelter door --
Taking government, business, and shocks underground --
The theory and practice of Armageddon --
The shelters that were not built, the nuclear war that did not start.

"Tracing the ways in which the fallout shelter became an icon of popular culture, Kenneth D. Rose also investigates the troubling issues the shelters raised: Would a post-war world even be worth living in? Would shelter construction send the Soviets a message of national resolve, or rather encourage political and military leaders to think in terms of a "winnable" war?" "Investigating the role of schools, film, government bureaucracies, civil defense, and literature, and rich in fascinating detail - including a tour of the vast fallout shelter in Greenbriar, Virginia, built to harbor the entire United States Congress in the event of nuclear Armageddon - One Nation Underground goes to the very heart of America's Cold War experience."--Jacket.