War Stars The Superweapon and the American Imagination

In this groundbreaking cultural analysis of the superweapon in American society, H. Bruce Franklin explores a pattern of thought that has beguiled Americans since the 18th century: the belief that miraculous new weapons will somehow end war and bring global triumph to American ideals. Franklin begins his analysis with Robert Fulton, who claimed that an Age of Reason--including an end to ignorance, poverty, and war--would be ushered in by his three "defensive" inventions: the submarine, the torpedo, and the steam warship. He then traces this seductive idea as it weaves through American cultural artifacts, such as the flood of "future war" novels appearing between 1880 and World War I, the animated Disney feature "Victory Through Air Power", and a 1940 novel in which America uses atomic bombs to win World War II and establish a Pax Americana along the lines of the 1946 Baruch Plan. In all, Franklin explores over two hundred movies, stories, and novels, rediscovering obscure works that directly influenced later decision-making and brilliantly reinterpreting such modern classics as Catch 22, Slaughterhouse Five, and Dr. Strangelove. More important, he shows how these cultural images shaped the imagination and public discourse responsible for the actual superweapons now looming over human destiny.