Despite the end of the Cold War, nuclear disarmament remains one of the most contentious issues in international relations. Potential instability in Russia and the former Soviet republics has heightened concerns about the control of nuclear stockpiles, and in the wake of September 11, the possibility that terrorists might obtain and use nuclear weapons has become frighteningly real. In this book, photographer Paul Shambroom documents the nuclear reality we have created in a series of images that offer an inside look at America's nuclear arsenal. Taken between 1992 and 2001 at military bases in the United States and the South Pacific, these photographs reveal the missiles, warheads, bombers, submarines, and command centres that make up the United States's far-flung nuclear infrastructure. Shambroom's colour prints depict both historic, Cold War-era weaponry shortly before it was mothballed and new warhead designs and missile defence prototypes that may be deployed well into the 21st century.
Face to the Face with the Bomb also features an introductory essay by Pulitzer Prize--winning historian Richard Rhodes, who places Shambroom's photographs within the context of the the arms race with the Soviet Union, and a prologue by Shambroom, in which he discusses his experiences visiting the country's nuclear installations. Visually arresting and chillingly matter-of-fact, this volume provides a lasting document of one of the most uncertain, dangerous periods in human history.