A VERY COMPELLING READ!
I
AM IN AWE. First in the research Garrett
Graff did on this book, unbelievable.
Secondly, I grew up in the 50’s and 60’s and entered the U. S. Coast
Guard in 1965 and stayed on active duty until 1985 and frankly, I was 99%
unaware of any of the material covered in this book. Raven Rock is a history book that takes the
reader BEHIND THE HISTORY WE WERE TAUGHT AND TOLD and reads like a science
fiction novel. Graff writes about school
children participating in Nuclear Attack Drills; I remember those. We were told to take cover beneath our desks
as if that would actually make any difference.
As
I read the book, I had a recurring question in my thinking, “Okay smart A….,
what would you do if YOU were the President of the United States and a foreign
government launched a Nuclear Attack on the USA?”
One
question and answer leads to another question and answer to another, etc. The book is so compelling to read and the
subject matter so complex to fully understand.
We have seen the devastation created by a hurricane upon our shores and
that would pale in comparison to a Nuclear Attack on one or more of our cities.
The
book is all about what our government will do if that should occur to maintain
a government in spite of the damage and deaths of so many of our government
officials. More importantly it is about
what our government has done until now and what it has done is very scary stuff
– the stuff science fiction movies are made of.
It was difficult for me to keep track of the billions upon billions of
dollars spent in creating evacuation sites, maintaining them and then upgrading
them in addition to the constant upgrading of airplanes and
communication/computer equipment.
There
were so many revelations, at least to me.
For example, I was always taught that the Vice President would naturally
assume the duties of the President in the case of his/her death. But as you read about what has happened in
our history you discover that no such ascendancy existed in the Constitution
until the 25th Amendment which was not ratified and signed until
February 10, 1967. Until that time Presidents
would sign a letter to the Vice President authorizing the ascendancy but the
legality of that document has never been tested.
Raven
Rock gives the reader an inside look at how our government operated or didn’t
operate during times of crisis like the Cuban Missile Crisis and 9/11 and more. Do I recommend this book? ABSOUTELY.
Who should read it? Anyone over
the age of 14 who wants to better understand the Constitution and the inner
workings of our government. Would I buy
it as a gift? Absolutely!
