A work with the multi-layered density of an ambitiously conceived novel

Command and Control is how non-fiction should be written ... By a miracle of information management, Schlosser has synthesized a huge archive of material, including government reports, scientific papers, and a substantial historical and polemical literature on nukes, and transformed it into a crisp narrative covering more than fifty years of scientific and political change. And he has interwoven that narrative with a hair-raising, minute-by-minute account of an accident at a Titan II missile silo in Arkansas, in 1980, which he renders in the manner of a techno-thriller

The strength of Schlosser's writing derives from his ability to carry a wealth of startling detail on a confident narrative path

Disquieting but riveting ... fascinating ... Schlosser's readers (and he deserves a great many) will be struck by how frequently the people he cites attribute the absence of accidental explosions and nuclear war to divine intervention or sheer luck rather than to human wisdom and skill. Whatever was responsible, we will clearly need many more of it in the years to come

Reads like a thriller ... A fascinating read and a gripping one

[Praise for Eric Schlosser]:

He tells us things we already suspect to be true, but don't dare think about

Eric Schlosser may be the Upton Sinclair for this age ... He has a flair for dazzling scene-setting and an arsenal of startling facts

Schlosser's reportage is as good as it gets

As always, Mabey's thoughts make compelling reading... This is a book by a man who doesn't just know, but understands trees

It's a scientific, historical, poetic account written in a quietly humorous, thoughtful style

He found his best form as a storyteller and interpreter of the dynamic nature of our native woodlands.

An informative history of the English relationship with trees

Elegant and heartfelt… Part eco-memoir, part monograph, wholly engrossing

Fantastic

A truly compelling book, savage and sparkling by turns

Alan Root’s overflowing life as a dedicated, adventurous film-maker and naturalist is almost the story of wild East Africa itself in those glorious and tragic years surrounding the advent of political independence…a fresh, honest, often moving (and humorous) account, a terrific contribution to the literature

Required reading for anyone who wants to experience the joys and sorrows of conservation in today's Africa

Root’s enthralling memoir…is the best true-life adventure story to come out of Africa for years

His is a funny, harrowing, beautifully written love letter to Africa

In this captivating memoir [Root] documents his brushes in the bush and his passion for wildlife

Oscar-nominated filmmaker Root has written the most extraordinary love letter to Africa – packed with drama and knowledge, tragedy and hope... A completely gripping and important study of this complex and disappearing natural environment

His is an extraordinary story laced with tragedy

[Root's] life story, vividly related here, is crammed with incident and adventure. Curious, creative and fearless, he has diced with death on numerous occasions and been mauled several times in his efforts to capture the daily lives of everything from silver-back gorillas to leopards in the wild on film. A gripping account of a life well lived