"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."--BOOK JACKET.