Customer Reviews
A GRAPHIC INSIGHT INTO THE MURKY WORLD OF NUCLEAR DEFENCE. - By: NEO, 14 Sep 2007 
I must admit that until I picked up this fantastic book I had no idea that these large undergound bunkers even existed. The rational behind these huge military civil defence bunkers came from the Cold War. And during the early 1950's billions of pounds were diverted from the already war torn country to nuclear civil defence. It was feared by the governments that a nuclear attack could happen at any moment & they would need to take shelter to still govern. But not only run the devistated country but to wage nuclear war on the other countrys. So during this post war period thousands of huge bunkers were builtin secret undergound across the country. This book delves into only just declassified files to look into the countries defence plans. The staggering idea is that only military & govenment personell would be housedin the large shelters. And if any civilain should find a bunker they would be killed on sight ! & not given refuge. A tell tale sign of a bunker are the large comm's masts not unlike mobile masts dotted about the countryside. I have been to Kelvingdon Hatch which is a large 3 floor 'Rotor' station & it's a revelation. With it's mix of 1950's to 80's technology which would run the main base as it wasin command of smaller council based defence stationsin the Essex area. The whole complex is very eerie indeed & it's like stepping back 50 years. It does show how seriously the then Governments took the reality of a Nuclear attack. And at how little it thought of the Civil population at large should an attack happen !. This is a must buy & the book itself feels like a forbidden text due to it's nature. The bunker sites themselves are also a shock & even two such's proximity to my own home In Orpington.
Still Cuts it!!! - By: berlin airlift, 25 Feb 2007 
Whilst this is a reprint it has to be said that McCamley's seminal work still cuts it. What helps this is the vast array of sites includedin the publication. If you need more of a contextual story of British defence then maybe Four Minute Warning by Clarke through Tempus is the one, however this book has some superb aspects to it. Read it or miss out.
Good Read - By: , 02 Sep 2003 An excellent well researched book writtenin an easy to read style. Plenty of photographs & illustrations support the text. The subject matter was facinating.
Very Interesting - By: Mr A S Chmielowski, 18 Aug 2003 Bought this book & have to say it was superbly intersting & captivating.
It describes ALL major construction projects over the world such as NORAD etc but also some of the projects I had never heard of such as the Diefenbunkerin Canada
Well worth buying for the excellent analysis of all major projects
Forgotten Hidden History - By: , 17 Jun 2003 As someone who used to workin the building pictured on the cover of Nick McCamley's book it was bound to hold some interest. Having read the book from cover to coverin one sitting I can only say that it is fortunate that somebody has been dedicated & indeed interested enough to research & documentin a truly scholarly fashion the years of hidden history of underground citadelsin the US & UK. The UK sites were for usein times of conflict, & latterlyin the worst scenario imaginable. As such many were not neccessarily secret, just not publicised, & with the outbreak of peace that we encounteredin Europein the early '90s so many of these buildings were abandoned, demolished or disposed of. The history of these sites is recorded herein an unbiased & realistic reference work that is well presented & accurate. An excellent book that far outstrips all others on the subject read to date.
