Radiation Nation: Three Mile Island and the Political Transformation of the 1970s

— —

Natasha Zaretsky

Radiation Nation

Three Mile Island and the Political Transformation of the 1970s

Natasha Zaretsky

$61.95

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Columbia University Press
13 February 2018

History of the Americas; Social & cultural history; Social impact of disasters; Nuclear issues

"On March 28, 1979, the worst nuclear reactor accident in U.S. history occurred at the Three Mile Island power plant in Central Pennsylvania. Radiation Nation tells the story of what happened that day and in the months and years that followed, as local residents tried to make sense of the emergency. The near-meltdown occurred at a pivotal moment when the New Deal coalition was unraveling, trust in government was eroding, conservatives were consolidating their power, and the political left was becoming marginalized. Using the accident to explore this turning point, Natasha Zaretsky provides a fresh interpretation of the era by disclosing how atomic and ecological imaginaries shaped the conservative ascendancy.

Drawing on the testimony of the men and women who lived in the shadow of the reactor, Radiation Nation shows that the region's citizens, especially its mothers, grew convinced that they had sustained radiological injuries that threatened their reproductive futures. Taking inspiration from the antiwar, environmental, and feminist movements, women at Three Mile Island crafted a homegrown ecological politics that wove together concerns over radiological threats to the body, the struggle over abortion and reproductive rights, and eroding trust in authority. This politics was shaped above all by what Zaretsky calls ""biotic nationalism,"" a new body-centered nationalism that imagined the nation as a living, mortal being and portrayed sickened Americans as evidence of betrayal. The first cultural history of the accident, Radiation Nation reveals the surprising ecological dimensions of post-Vietnam conservatism while showing how growing anxieties surrounding bodily illness infused the political realignment of the 1970s in ways that blurred any easy distinction between left and right."

By: Natasha Zaretsky
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm,
ISBN: 9780231179812
ISBN 10: 0231179812
Pages: 312
Publication Date: 13 February 2018
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

List of Illustrations List of Abbreviations Preface Introduction 1. The Culture of Dissociation and the Rise of the Unborn 2. The Accident and the Political Transformation of the 1970s 3. Creating a Community of Fate at Three Mile Island 4. The Second Cold War and the Extinction Threat Conclusion Notes Bibliography Acknowledgments Index

Natasha Zaretsky is associate professor of history at Southern Illinois University. She is the author of No Direction Home: The American Family and the Fear of National Decline, 1968-1980 (2007).

Reviews for Radiation Nation: Three Mile Island and the Political Transformation of the 1970s

This is an epic book, speaking to grand stakes. Centered on Three Mile Island, it is actually a chronicle of postwar America, touching on everything from atomic-age anxieties, to declining faith in expertise, to the long-grindng pessimism of the 'anthropocene.' It is, in short, brilliant, among the best works of history I have read in years.--Jeremy Varon, The New School