On January 27, 1951, the first atomic weapon was detonated over a section of desert known as Frenchman Flat in southern Nevada, providing dramatic evidence of the Nevada Test Site's beginnings. Fifty years later, author A. Costandina Titus reviews contemporary nuclear policy issues concerning the continued viability of that site for weapons testing. Titus has updated her now-classic study of atomic testing with fifteen years of political and cultural history, from the mid-1980s Reagan-Gorbachev nuclear standoff to the authorization of the Nevada Test Site Research Center, a Desert Research Institute facility scheduled to open in 2001. In this second edition of Bombs in the Backyard , Titus deftly covers the post-Cold War transformation of American atomic policy as well as our overarching cultural interest in all matters atomic, making this a must-read for anyone interested in atomic policy and politics. "Titus tells this painful story with marvelous balance. She threads her way easily through the labyrinths of both the federal bureaucracy and the American legal system, and her explanations are models of lucidity.  Bombs in the Backyard  is directed primarily toward an academic audience, but the nation would be well served if it reached the public realm as well." — Ferenc M. Szasz , N evada Historical Society Quarterly -- Ferenc M. Szasz ― Nevada Historical Society Quarterly "Titus's book is a short but complete examination of American atomic testing . . . it is a valuable addition to historical literature on the atomic age, providing scholars with well-documented, comprehensive history of U.S. atomic testing and the political and health issues which have emerged as a result." — Peter Neushul ,  Journal of the Southwest -- Peter Neushul ― Journal of the Southwest "Titus's discussion of legal and legislative aspects of compensation holds special value because nothing really comparable exists." — Barton C. Hacker ,  Smithsonian -- Barton C. Hacker ― Smithsonian Dina Titus is a retired professor of political science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where she taught for more than thirty years. She also represented the people of Senate District 7 in the Nevada Legislature from 1988-2009, serving as the Democratic Minority Leader from 1993-2009. In 2012, she was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where she currently represents Nevada’s 1st Congressional District. Used Book in Good Condition