The Story of the U.S. Government's Secret Plan to Save Itself--While the Rest of Us Die

Very interesting history of the U. S. plans to survive the Cold War, and its successors. Fascinating to read about the reactions of our government to various real and imaginary threats. Well worth the time to read.

A detailed and informative history. Found it quite readable. Having lived through most of this history it was interesting to learn the story of what was happening behind the curtains. Nukes have changed how we are governed and what our government might do in an emergency. Better to be informed than not. The more critical reviews seem to say more about the ignorance or impatience of the reviewers than the quality of the book.

Very well written, this book was a treasure trove of historical artifacts and a fascinating look into the US’ emergency preparedness strategies. Made me dislike Bush less and appreciate Carter more.

Garrett M. Graff’s Raven Rock is fascinating, insightful, compelling, and powerful. This history of the government’s Doomsday plans from the Cold War is a true page-turner for those who have any interest in the politics of the past, present, and future. Deeply researched and intelligently written, Raven Rock is nothing short of revelatory. Illuminating, addictive, and eye-opening! I highly recommend it.

This book is excellent! Once I started reading it I couldn't put it down. On most nonfiction books there is always another two, three, or ten other books on that exact subject. Here is a book about something you won't find any place elsewhere; the story of the Government's COG program. COG stands for continuity of government. It is the plan to survive a nuclear strike.

The book takes the reader through the history of the book from Truman to current days. He has two chapters on events around 9/11 with some hints of things today. The story is laced with intense details. The author takes you into the Oval Office for meetings and the exercises. The reader learns about the where and what of the program. It reads almost like a text book of what to do. It seems to me some of the book should be secret still. It lacks the why to explain the secrecy, fear, motivation of the program. Overall the book is well worth the time to read it.

A very good book; very detailed; very impressive research. However, I can't say that I enjoyed reading it. I found it depressing. If we ever enter into a nuclear war, I would certainly not want our leadership to survive, because our leadership will have failed us. Furthermore, they will have failed not only Americans, but the citizens of every other nation in the world, and all of the world's species. For those of us on top, our corpses will either be vaporized in a fraction or a second or rotting as a result of death due to radiation poisoning. Think of the vast biodiversity of this planet, all of which would come to a quick end. Some might argue that they would want our leadership to manage the country afterwards. Forget it. There will be no country to manage. The denizens of the shelters, the chosen ones, will never be able to emerge. Some might argue that they would want our leadership to manage the nation's counterattack, assuming that we didn't strike first (and that's a big assumption). Forget it. Throwing more radiation into the ecosystem will not do anyone or species any good at that time.

This book is tremendously enjoyable, especially if you like learning secrets and exploring hidden programs. Billions and billions of your tax dollars (or your parents' tax dollars) were spent during the Cold War on these programs, many of which probably would not have worked as intended. We all think we understand Presidential Succession, but actually it has never been fully worked out. It's fascinating stuff. Especially recommended if phrases like AJCC, PEOC, and HGTWMDQ0010 mean something to you....

Could very easily be half as long. Graff could have brought his readers up to date (9/11 and forward?) in maybe 50-100 pages with appropriate foot notes and "For further reading" bibliography. Instead he presents in tedious detail not just at every tree but each leaf in the forest of the evolution of nuclear war strategy, which is and should be the real focus of the story. This is very much all tree/leaf, very little forest.

I don't get the compliments of this being engagingly, compelling written. It isn't. It is filled with detail, often repetitive and needlessly detailed. I leave to others to fact check him on even easy stuff. Most, almost all, of the citations don't even attempt to provide support but merely add even more unnecessary detail.

Two stars for kinda/sorta interesting. But I would be very, very hesitant to cite this directly as a source on the subject.

Fascinating topic, bad book.

Each chapter starts off with a detailed and intriguing introduction, but then meanders off onto tangents that somehow - I guess - relate back to the topic of the chapter...sometimes I got the impression he was grasping for material to include. Every page is clogged with acronyms and square footage numbers that distract from the topic and make trying to remember (or connect) one chapter to the next incredibly frustrating. Graff's writing isn't particularly attention-grabbing, either. I frequently found my attention veering off because of bland writing or really dense specifications. To get a better idea of some issues mentioned in the book, I actually reverted to Wikipedia.

Reading this book was like getting a tour of an abandoned warehouse.

This is a well researched story, with plenty of riveting anecdotes. The conundrums pile up over the decades as the author details the practice of taking out an insurance policy on a country. The chapters grow shorter as the narrative approaches the present because so much is still classified. Great read, good photos.

The work will bring back many memories to those who lived through the cold war. Having been involved in emergency services for many years I was familiar with some of the books contents. Graff puts that content in tune with the politics and the emotions of the day. Very well documented and footnoted giving great credibility to the work. I highly recommend this read.

I enjoyed the entire book. It was well written and very informative in the content. It certainly makes you think differently when people claim that "the government paid $xxxxxxx for a toilet seat?!" That's when you think,"what is that money really being used for?"