Explores the dilemma that has existed since the dawn of the nuclear age : How do you deploy weapons of mass destruction without being destroyed by them? That question has never been resolved -- and Schlosser reveals how the combination of human fallibility and technological complexity still poses a grave risk to mankind. This work weaves the minute-by-minute story of an accident at a nuclear missile silo in rural Arkansas with a historical narrative that spans more than seventy years. Drawing on interviews and recently declassified documents, Command and control takes readers into a terrifying but fascinating world that, until now, has been largely hidden from view. -- Adapted from the back cover.

Part 1 : The Titan : Not good -- New wave -- No lone zones -- Spheres within spheres -- Potential hazards -- Part 2 : Machinery of control : The best, the biggest, and the most -- In violation -- Megadeath -- Part 3 : Accidents will happen : Acceptable risks -- The optimum mix -- Breaking in -- Part 4 : Out of control : Decapitation -- The brink -- An abnormal environment -- Part 5 : Damascus : Balanced and unbalanced -- The wrong tape -- Like hell -- Confirm or deny -- The end -- Epilogue.