Recreates a time when World War III seemed imminent. This book explores a central dimension of American culture and politics - the postwar preoccupation with captivity. It reveals how 'menticide', the calculated destruction of individual autonomy, struck many Americans as a more immediate danger than nuclear annihilation.
"Cold War Captives is a strikingly original, scrupulously researched, and endlessly provocative work of cultural history that offers countless new insights into the bipolar mind of postwar America. Enlightening and informative, erudite but never stuffy, this book is a model of historical retrieval and critical interpretation."-Thomas Doherty, author of Cold War, Cool Medium: Television, McCarthyism, and American Culture
"Cold War Captives is a wonderfully rich account of early cold war culture and politics. Carruthers writes with clarity and élan, illuminating aspects of the cold war that no one has heretofore explored."-Marilyn Young, author of The Vietnam Wars 1945-1990
