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Len Ackland
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Making a Real Killing: Rocky Flats and the Nuclear West Paperback – February 19, 2002

by Len Ackland (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 30 ratings
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p>Just as huge nuclear explosions result from small spheres of plutonium, the story of the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant near Denver, Colorado is much larger than itself. It is about the Church family, who came West seeking gold in 1861, stayed to raise cattle, watched the federal government take a large piece of its land for the weapons plant in 1951--and now is busily developing real estate in the booming suburbs next to the contaminated plant site. It is about the government and private corporations that produced the deadliest devices in history for thirty-seven years, concealed problems behind the wall of national security secrecy, and came close to a Chernobyl-scale disaster during a 1969 fire. It is about plant managers who cut corners to maintain weapons production, workers who saw themselves as loyal Cold War soldiers, and citizen activists who challenged the plant's very existence. And it is about a community that profited from thousands of jobs and contracts but now faces long-term environmental and health risks.

Making a Real Killing examines the way Americans participated in building a nuclear weapons arsenal capable of destroying the human species. To read it is to learn some sobering lessons, including the fact that the democratic process lagged decades behind technological developments.


"As Americans reckon with the legacy of the Cold War, Making a Real Killing deserves a place at the center of our attention. Len Ackland's integrity and hard work remind us how crucial energetic journalism is for a successful democracy."--Patricia Nelson Limerick

Previous page
  1. Print length
    320 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    University of New Mexico Press
  4. Publication date
    February 19, 2002
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 0.75 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0826327982
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0826327987
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

""Making a Real Killing" is a model for making sense of the Cold War Atomic West. . . . It combines personal stories, excellent Cold War historical context, simplified technical explanations of complicated nuclear science, labor history, and corporate history into a compelling narrative. . . . "Making a Real Killing" should find its place not only alongside other recent atomic histories, but also next to the best books on understanding the American West of the last half-century."

"[Ackland] skillfully weaves together individual experience with nuclear technology and politics. It's a model of investigation that should be read by all with concerns over the problems that accompany nuclear weapons and power."

"A hard-edged history of a center of Cold War death-dealing technology. . . . Ackland also serves up a useful summary of American nuclear policy in the Cold War era . . . . The scary workings of Rocky Flats were far from ordinary. So, too, is this fine book of reportage and history."

"ÝAckland¨ skillfully weaves together individual experience with nuclear technology and politics. It's a model of investigation that should be read by all with concerns over the problems that accompany nuclear weapons and power."

"Making a Real Killing" is a model for making sense of the Cold War Atomic West. . . . It combines personal stories, excellent Cold War historical context, simplified technical explanations of complicated nuclear science, labor history, and corporate history into a compelling narrative. . . . "Making a Real Killing" should find its place not only alongside other recent atomic histories, but also next to the best books on understanding the American West of the last half-century.

A hard-edged history of a center of Cold War death-dealing technology. . . . Ackland also serves up a useful summary of American nuclear policy in the Cold War era . . . . The scary workings of Rocky Flats were far from ordinary. So, too, is this fine book of reportage and history.

From the Back Cover

A chilling, fast-moving study of the nuclear weapons plant in the Denver suburbs, told through the experiences of managers, workers, activists, and neighbors who were all so deeply affected by the hazardous plant.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ University of New Mexico Press; Updated edition (February 19, 2002)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0826327982
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0826327987
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.75 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 30 ratings

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Len Ackland

Len Ackland

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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
30 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Uehara Amy
5.0 out of 5 stars "This was once ranch land"
Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2012
Verified Purchase
This book is a must read. I would have done well to read it when it came out. It took an earthquake, a tsunami, and a nuclear disaster to wake me up from a slumber and a recollection of the place I grew up.
March 11, 2011, found many of us wondering what to do. Those of us living in Japan were faced with the question of leaving our homes and pets and families to escape what had happened or would potentially happen.
Many did leave and they have their own stories. Many stayed and have their own stories to tell.
I remembered my fourth grade teacher saying in 1974 that "the Soviets have a missile pointed at your back yard." Along with KGB novels, this is how he disciplined our class.
I remembered the rumors about "two headed goats" or "glowing fish". This was way before "The Simpson's" and Three Mile Island or Chernobyl. I remembered my parents saying our suburban home north of Denver "used to be ranch land." Our streets were named after the ranchers who sold their ranch land to make the red-bricked suburban homes built in the 1960's.
I began to read and found Len Ackland's well-researched book explaing this history to me and from reading it, it all became so clear and I realized that from the close proximity of my home to Rocky Flats, the water I grew up drinking that flowed under Rocky Flats into the reservoir that brought the water into our kitchen, the leaking drums of nuclear waste out on the prairie, winds, fires, that I was much further from Fukushima than I was from Rocky Flats and the Rocky Mountain Arsenal between both of which my home sat. Both are now claiming to be "wildlife refuges." Will there one day be a "Fukushima Wildlife Refuge?"
I decided to stay in Japan. Ironically, I am in Japan because my Japanese husband did a homestay with my friend whose father worked at Rocky Flats. It touched our lives in many ways we were not aware of perhaps.

This is a very good way to learn about the history of the Denver area as well. It is a "colorful" history and the research is impressive.
4 people found this helpful
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Lana File
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2017
Verified Purchase
Interesting book, if you want to know details about Rocky Flat and plutonium.
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trialsbike
5.0 out of 5 stars Yes, .... The REAL STORY BEHIND the SCENES !
Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2014
Verified Purchase
This is a superb and in depth study of the ever growing, problematic nuclear weapons plants that are now a plague spread across our country and world wide ! Ackland has shown the details of the deliberate lies and cover ups that are based from the AEC thru the prime contractors and down to the management level then push onto the workers who's very lives have been sacrificed in the game of Cold War politics ! The promise of good paying jobs and steady employment betrays the growing communities that spring up in the down-wind path of radioactive fallout and drainage runoff that now and forever will continuously poison each generation of families who live in it's wake. Proof that the govt. and Pentagon will do anything to maintain it's veil of secrecy via it's propaganda machine, muting the FBI and bypassing grand jury indictments while the DOE , Rockwell and DOW walk away from their criminal activities ! Who will pay the ultimate price , ..... ? The workers with their hands in the glove boxes !
One person found this helpful
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DNA
5.0 out of 5 stars Please someone make a movie of this!
Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2022
Verified Purchase
The people need to hear this story. History has already swept this under the rug. Unfortunately, the half life has not.
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Kyle Wilshusen
5.0 out of 5 stars Very Interesting, even in the nuclear history genre
Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2015
Verified Purchase
I grew up near Rocky Flats and have always found these stories of the nuclear arms industry really interesting, but this one is a good one. The early history goes in depth and the political connections at the time are explained which led to the selection of Colorado for the site selection, and the downfall and abysmal management are also "fun" to read about. I always feel that these stories are similar to the space race, where it is a story of science that is disconnected from reality.

If you are reading this for fun then the voice will be interesting to you, and if you are writing a paper or the like, there are plenty of facts in the ~200 pages that you can cite. This story has something for every reader.
3 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars I worked there too.
Reviewed in the United States on July 1, 2006
Verified Purchase
I look forward to reading this book. I was a Nuclear Engineer at Rocky Flats in the 80's. I quit after less than a year on site because I feared for my health. The plant was a mess. Everyone should read about what the cold war did to our country.

*I have read the book now* and I can say honestly that what I knew then was not half what I know now....this Nuclear plant was a disaster. I quit for fear for my health, and now I know I did the right thing....EVERY American should read this book...The price that the weapons race cost our country. And to think that suburban Denver is only a short distance away from this site...scarey.
17 people found this helpful
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Rockhound
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book. Thoughtful
Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2015
Verified Purchase
Excellent book. Thoughtful, well researched, balanced. Ackland's analysis of the Rocky Flats saga is possibly the best and most accurate of the various "histories" of the site. Written from the perspective of an investigative journalist it digs into all the nooks, cranies and crevices to tell an absolutely amazing story of human hubris and arrogance as well as "cold war" stupidity. Well done.
One person found this helpful
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Steven Pitts
3.0 out of 5 stars Want to be scared about nuclear stuff, dont buy this book.
Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2014
Verified Purchase
There are better editions of this informational book out there. There was one on the cover, of a woman leaning on a barbed wire fence with a sign saying something like "keep out, US Government" or something. That book went into the real details of the place, where the nuclear stuff was, who did what and on and on. Knowing about nuclear "stuff", this other book scared the crap out of me!! Making a real killing is weak and doesnt tell all the truths and is very mild, considering.
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Top reviews from other countries

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on August 12, 2017
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