Bomboozled: How the U.S. Government Misled Itself and Its People into Believing They Could Survive a Nuclear Attack

“Susan Roy pairs illustrations with incisive commentary to reveal just how deluded we used to be about prepping for the all-too-thinkable nuclear attack.” - O, The Oprah Magazine “An enticing visual history of the fallout shelter, which allowed cold war anxiety to be cheerfully reconfigured as a home story and gave the phrase ‘nuclear family’ new meaning…a piquant analysis of nuclear housekeeping.” - The New York Times “Bomboozled” actually does bring back lots of memories and a certain anger that we were so bamboozled by so many who had something to gain from our primal fears. The book addresses…how industry collaborated with government to scare the bejeesus out of us, and then convince us everything would be just fine - if we protected ourselves with expensive products.” - The Atlantic

Susan Roy is a writer and editor on architecture, design, and cultural history. The founding managing editor of Allure magazine, she has also held senior editorial positions at This Old House, SELF, Good Houskeeping and Avenue. She holds a master’s degree in architectural history from Columbia University; Bomboozled is loosely based on the subject of her master’s thesis, “The Family Fallout Shelter During the Cold War.”