Laura McEnaney is Assistant Professor of History at Whittier College in California. Dad built a bomb shelter in the backyard, Mom stocked the survival kit in the basement, and the kids practiced ducking under their desks at school. This was family life in the new era of the A-bomb. This was civil defense. In this provocative work of social and political history, Laura McEnaney takes us into the secretive world of defense planners and the homes of...

Every day in Washington, DC, the blue-and-gold 1st Helicopter Squadron, codenamed "MUSSEL," flies over the Potomac River. As obvious as the Presidential motorcade, most people assume the squadron is a travel perk for VIPs. They're only half right: while the helicopters do provide transport, the unit exists to evacuate high-ranking officials in the event of a terrorist or nuclear attack on the capital. In the event of an attack, select officials would...

Shane Mueller is a Homeland Security agent who runs the Wire Room, a high-tech command center surveilling the most dangerous criminals. Recruit Justin Rosa must monitor arms-smuggling cartel member Eddie Flynn, and keep him alive at all costs. When a SWAT team descends on Flynn's home, Rosa breaks protocol and contacts the gangster directly to save his life. As Gunmen break into the Wire Room and chaos erupts, Mueller and Rosa make a final, desperate...