Downwinders: An Atomic Tale

By Curtis Oberhansly

Book Overview

Downwinders: An Atomic Tale, a very well written legal and historical thriller, intertwines a contemporary ‘90’s story of the southwest with a bizarre chronicle of Nevada’s open air atomic testing... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0970796595
• ISBN13: 9780970796592
• Release Date: April 2001
• Publisher: Black Ledge Pr
• Length: 430 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 1.5" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Downwinders: an Atomic Tale

This is a well researched fictional thriller about people living in Arizona, Utah and some neighbouring states during the 1950-1960 atomic bomb testing in Nevada. If you know any person living then in those areas, read this expose' concerning radiation fall-out and the connection to cancer patients. There is a government compensation fund that pay those affected. Address is Radiation Exposure Compensation Program, U.S. Department of Justice, P.O. Box 146, Ben Franklin Station, Washington, DC 20044-146. [...]

Prepared to be entertained... and taught

Wow! Downwinders: An Atomic Tale, is really a tale. This is a thriller that easily could be a movie rivaling something like The Da Vinci Code. It has intrigue, bad guys, history, and great characters. It is also a sobering reminder of a dark page of American history... the above-ground testing of nuclear weapons in Nevada, the clans of one-breasted women, and the Cold War and its relics. For those from or knowledgeable about southern Utah, you will recognize life in the Mormon Belt. Curtis Oberhansly and Dianne Nelson Oberhansly write well (you never know who wrote what... always an interesting twist of coauthored books). Catch this description: "Trevor Mallory, a slight man standing five and a half feet, was in his mid-fifties, but he still had the energy of three. His astute gray eyes were shot through with flecks of black. They danced with curiosity and matched the color of his long hair bundled tight at the nape and running loosely past his shoulders" (p. 127). And this is a very minor character! The story is great... exciting, intriguing, and unpredictable. It deserves a much wider readership. Rated PG-13, for adult themes.

Where truth and fiction meet.....

If one enjoys being transported in time, to a rarely heard about place of unbelievable actions, deeds beyond reason, the incredible actual events of fifty years ago, then this book is a "must read"! Over 1000 Atomic Bombs were detonated in the name of the Cold War and National Security in the supposedly "uninhabited" area of the Nevada desert. These events, are central to the storyline of this book. The people who's lives were changed, forever, affected by these historic events, call themselfs Downwinders.... The story claims to be fiction, but the honesty and factuality of the description of events, which indeed happened as described, leaves the reader fascinated. It is a mystery plot, taking place in an around Las Vegas, Nevada. A murder triggers the events described and takes the reader on a journey where past and present events meet. The story is intriguing, active and very absorbing. A rancher and his niece, an attorney, a scientist, and various colorful charters make this a truly enjoyable and easy to follow book. Each character is pictured realistically, human in every sense, their actions are not contrived. The descriptions show a clear and deep understanding of the feelings and thoughts of the people who settled in the beautiful deserts of Utah and Nevada. The tale takes us litterally on a journey to Canyons of despair reminescent of the past, to the winding road of the present, and to the hope-filled halls of justice in the future. Given that this historical subject is still mostly hidden from the American public the writers should be highly commended for tackling it in such a truly enjoyable fashion.