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Nuking the Moon: And Other Intelligence Schemes and Military Plots Left on the Drawing Board
The International Spy Museum's Historian takes us on a wild tour of missions, schemes, and weapons that were planned, but ultimately deemed too dangerous, expensive, ahead of their time, or even certifiably insane
In 1958, the US Air Force nuked the moon as a show of military might. In 1967, the CIA implanted recording devices in live cats and sent them into Russia as spies. In 1942, the British built an aircraft carrier made of ice and sawdust, impervious to German torpedoes. Of course, none of these things ever happened.
But in Nuking the Moon, intelligence historian Vincent Houghton shows us that what didn't happen is just as illuminating, and every bit as engrossing. WWII and the Cold War were periods of desperation and innovation, a combination that led to brilliant missions and technological advances. But for every Argo or Operation Mincemeat, there were countless abandoned plans. Some are laughable, like the US Navy's plan to train pigeons to pilot missiles; some are implausible, like the Kennedy administration's plan to build a command center 4,000 feet underground; and some are legitimately terrifying, like the cornucopia of US plans to justify attacking Cuba. Through extensive archival research and expert interviews, Vincent Houghton has dug up more than thirty of these fascinating abandoned plans, and recounts the story behind each one in vivid, captivating detail, revealing not only what might have happened, but also what each one tells us about the history and people around it. The first-ever book to bring these historical episodes together, this wholly original work--alternatively terrifying and hilarious, but always riveting--is the unique story of history left on the drawing board.
In 1958, the US Air Force nuked the moon as a show of military might. In 1967, the CIA implanted recording devices in live cats and sent them into Russia as spies. In 1942, the British built an aircraft carrier made of ice and sawdust, impervious to German torpedoes. Of course, none of these things ever happened.
But in Nuking the Moon, intelligence historian Vincent Houghton shows us that what didn't happen is just as illuminating, and every bit as engrossing. WWII and the Cold War were periods of desperation and innovation, a combination that led to brilliant missions and technological advances. But for every Argo or Operation Mincemeat, there were countless abandoned plans. Some are laughable, like the US Navy's plan to train pigeons to pilot missiles; some are implausible, like the Kennedy administration's plan to build a command center 4,000 feet underground; and some are legitimately terrifying, like the cornucopia of US plans to justify attacking Cuba. Through extensive archival research and expert interviews, Vincent Houghton has dug up more than thirty of these fascinating abandoned plans, and recounts the story behind each one in vivid, captivating detail, revealing not only what might have happened, but also what each one tells us about the history and people around it. The first-ever book to bring these historical episodes together, this wholly original work--alternatively terrifying and hilarious, but always riveting--is the unique story of history left on the drawing board.
304 pages, Audiobook
First published May 14, 2019
About the author
Vince Houghton
3 books58 followersVince Houghton is the historian and curator of the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. He is also the host and creative director of the Museum's podcast, SpyCast, which reaches a national and international audience of over 2.5 million listeners each year. He is a veteran of the US army and served in the Balkans before receiving his Masters and PhD in Diplomatic and Military History from the University of Maryland. He has appeared on CNN, NBC News, Fox News, NPR and other major outlets as an expert in intelligence history.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 153 reviews
September 27, 2019
This was pretty funny or sad depending on how you view it.
Hindsight isn't always 20-20, but you have the luxury of multiple perspectives, of course, you have to live life forwards not backwards and as much as Houghton relays the absurdity of some of these schemes--what were they thinking?--he always rightly points out that what you're thinking in the heat of the moment in relation to what you're aware of and fearing what you're not, you make decisions. And honestly, they're not always the best ones.
The book had different sections, though I was particularly fond of the animal cohorts. Napalm bats and Acoustic Kitty were pretty awesomely insane. Werner von Braun shows up more than you'd expect, or maybe not, and Carl Sagan gets thrown under the bus.
High entertainment factor.
Hindsight isn't always 20-20, but you have the luxury of multiple perspectives, of course, you have to live life forwards not backwards and as much as Houghton relays the absurdity of some of these schemes--what were they thinking?--he always rightly points out that what you're thinking in the heat of the moment in relation to what you're aware of and fearing what you're not, you make decisions. And honestly, they're not always the best ones.
The book had different sections, though I was particularly fond of the animal cohorts. Napalm bats and Acoustic Kitty were pretty awesomely insane. Werner von Braun shows up more than you'd expect, or maybe not, and Carl Sagan gets thrown under the bus.
High entertainment factor.
October 23, 2021
This isn't just a list of seemingly crazy schemes, but a look at how & why they were considered & even funded to the tune of billions of dollars. Houghton does a good job of describing the times, the people, & the problems they faced. Most of these happened during wartime, whether active or Cold, during a time of unprecedented technological growth, when both paranoia & hope abounded. That brings them into a more forgiving & different perspective, but some are still howlers. I wouldn't be surprised to see others recycled, though.
Sometimes the ideas were simply ahead of their time. "Acoustic Kitty" is the first chapter & good example. Most like cats & don't suspect them of being enemy spies. Technology had brought down the size of listening devices considerably & we were butt hurt by Soviet victories in the area, so the idea to implant one in a cat in the 1960s actually made it into a testing phase. I won't spoil the outcome, but since it made it into this book that should be obvious. Today though we're attaching bugs to bugs & implanting chips into pets, so I wouldn't be surprised if our top leaders don't have to have security clearances for theirs. My one issue with this book is that Houghton didn't mention this sort of possibility.
Other ideas led to some fascinating discoveries. Just how much & fast the ice sheets in Greenland move wasn't known until we'd poured far too much time & money into a project. Others would have been scrapped far sooner if someone had bothered to do a little math such as controlling hurricanes by nuking them since the energy contained in a hurricane is orders of magnitude greater than that of even the most powerful bombs. Oh yeah, some thought of the environment wouldn't have hurt, either. Houghton makes this clear, but also provides some mitigating insights. He also provides informative sidebars & histories of the people involved when it was applicable. That he couldn't provide some information because portions of these schemes are still classified is instructive.
Overall, a lot of fun, interesting, & well narrated. It's quick, too. Highly recommended.
CONTENTS
Because some of the chapter names don't make much sense, I'll put a little explanation after those that need it.
Introduction: Left on the Drawing Board
Part I Adventures in the Animal Kingdom
1. Acoustic Kitty
2. Operation Capricious - goat poo as biological warfare
3. Project X-Ray - bats as pyromaniacs
4. Project Fantasia - glowing foxes as psychological warfare
5. Blue Peacock - nuclear landmines scattered about Europe
Part II Astonishing Operations
6. Operation Foxley - an umbrella name to cover schemes to kill Hitler
7. Operation Northwoods - kill Castro, somehow
8. Felix and His Rifle - ditto above
9. Project Seal - man-made tsunamis
10. Operation Monopoly - tunneling for a listening post
11. Operation House Party - a deceptive death ray
Part III Truly Extraordinary Technology
12. Project Habakkuk - an ice ship/fortress
13. Tagboard - jet/rockets & surveillance
14. The X-20 and the MOL - more of the same
15. Brilliant Pebbles - This chapter is singled out for "The Day After" (1983) starring Jason Robards, John Lithgow, Jo Beth Williams, Steve Guttenberg. I knew it scared the crap out of me, but apparently it also gave legs to Reagan's Star Wars program & Houghton does a great job explaining it all.
16. The Sun Gun - James Bond got it right
Part IV “Fun” with Nuclear Weapons
17. The Plowshare Program’s Strangest Idea - nuking hurricanes
18. Protecting the Peacekeeper - Keeping the missile safe
19. Project Iceworm - a village in Greenland's ice sheet
20. Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion and Project Orion - nukes as propellant
21. Project A119 - nuking the moon
Conclusion: And Then What? Summation; a good one but I don't think he took it far enough.
Sometimes the ideas were simply ahead of their time. "Acoustic Kitty" is the first chapter & good example. Most like cats & don't suspect them of being enemy spies. Technology had brought down the size of listening devices considerably & we were butt hurt by Soviet victories in the area, so the idea to implant one in a cat in the 1960s actually made it into a testing phase. I won't spoil the outcome, but since it made it into this book that should be obvious. Today though we're attaching bugs to bugs & implanting chips into pets, so I wouldn't be surprised if our top leaders don't have to have security clearances for theirs. My one issue with this book is that Houghton didn't mention this sort of possibility.
Other ideas led to some fascinating discoveries. Just how much & fast the ice sheets in Greenland move wasn't known until we'd poured far too much time & money into a project. Others would have been scrapped far sooner if someone had bothered to do a little math such as controlling hurricanes by nuking them since the energy contained in a hurricane is orders of magnitude greater than that of even the most powerful bombs. Oh yeah, some thought of the environment wouldn't have hurt, either. Houghton makes this clear, but also provides some mitigating insights. He also provides informative sidebars & histories of the people involved when it was applicable. That he couldn't provide some information because portions of these schemes are still classified is instructive.
Overall, a lot of fun, interesting, & well narrated. It's quick, too. Highly recommended.
CONTENTS
Because some of the chapter names don't make much sense, I'll put a little explanation after those that need it.
Introduction: Left on the Drawing Board
Part I Adventures in the Animal Kingdom
1. Acoustic Kitty
2. Operation Capricious - goat poo as biological warfare
3. Project X-Ray - bats as pyromaniacs
4. Project Fantasia - glowing foxes as psychological warfare
5. Blue Peacock - nuclear landmines scattered about Europe
Part II Astonishing Operations
6. Operation Foxley - an umbrella name to cover schemes to kill Hitler
7. Operation Northwoods - kill Castro, somehow
8. Felix and His Rifle - ditto above
9. Project Seal - man-made tsunamis
10. Operation Monopoly - tunneling for a listening post
11. Operation House Party - a deceptive death ray
Part III Truly Extraordinary Technology
12. Project Habakkuk - an ice ship/fortress
13. Tagboard - jet/rockets & surveillance
14. The X-20 and the MOL - more of the same
15. Brilliant Pebbles - This chapter is singled out for "The Day After" (1983) starring Jason Robards, John Lithgow, Jo Beth Williams, Steve Guttenberg. I knew it scared the crap out of me, but apparently it also gave legs to Reagan's Star Wars program & Houghton does a great job explaining it all.
16. The Sun Gun - James Bond got it right
Part IV “Fun” with Nuclear Weapons
17. The Plowshare Program’s Strangest Idea - nuking hurricanes
18. Protecting the Peacekeeper - Keeping the missile safe
19. Project Iceworm - a village in Greenland's ice sheet
20. Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion and Project Orion - nukes as propellant
21. Project A119 - nuking the moon
Conclusion: And Then What? Summation; a good one but I don't think he took it far enough.
May 22, 2019
Spook history from a spook historian
Some very laughable moments when one realizes the full potential of our [clandestine] overseers’ incompetence. Houghton’s humor was not for me but made for an easier and informal read. It would’ve been more enjoyable for me if it weren’t for his giddiness for spies and arms, and his random tangents on Russian collusion and climate change. One can wholeheartedly feel the intelligence agencies’ input in this production and I should have figured that going into it.
Some very laughable moments when one realizes the full potential of our [clandestine] overseers’ incompetence. Houghton’s humor was not for me but made for an easier and informal read. It would’ve been more enjoyable for me if it weren’t for his giddiness for spies and arms, and his random tangents on Russian collusion and climate change. One can wholeheartedly feel the intelligence agencies’ input in this production and I should have figured that going into it.
August 20, 2019
A bit of interesting information about the CIA and some of their weirder plans. It was just an ok read for me.
May 15, 2022
There's a good book to be written about the wild-but-failed schemes proposed during the Cold War to gain an edge. This isn't it!
The tone is gratingly cutesy, the anecdotes are padded as hell, and the author still mysteriously leaves out interesting stuff I can rattle off the top of my head! For example: one chapter is about the quest to build a secret tunnel for espionage under the Soviet embassy in Washington DC, a quixotic effort eventually abandoned. He rattles off a pocket history of the Soviet spying on the US embassy (including the revolutionary, RFID predecessor that was the passive listening device aka "the thing"), but completely leaves out the actual tunnel that was successfully built and used (albeit immediately compromised by other leaks) in Berlin against the Red Army HQ there. Straight-up the most famous example, even echoed in a Bond movie if I remember right (where they had a weird little underground periscope), but completely unmentioned here.
Another case is the bit on creating nuclear-powered aircraft and spacecraft. He spends pages bringing up the genesis of the nuclear-powered airplane project, the various times it was reviewed, etc. but fails to mention entirely that they actually DID build a nuclear reactor into a test plane that didn't power the aircraft, but was simply for testing purposes. And they flew it around, always accompanied by a special nuclear response team in a trailing aircraft that would respond in case the reactor crashed, causing an instant radiological catastrophe. Pretty wild stuff. Nowhere in the book!
There's also some bizarre and jarring asides where he talks about how wacky Florida is (?) to introduce a chapter on the Project Plowshares, and another where he wrongly claims that Russian intelligence was behind pizzagate. Anyways, skip it!
The tone is gratingly cutesy, the anecdotes are padded as hell, and the author still mysteriously leaves out interesting stuff I can rattle off the top of my head! For example: one chapter is about the quest to build a secret tunnel for espionage under the Soviet embassy in Washington DC, a quixotic effort eventually abandoned. He rattles off a pocket history of the Soviet spying on the US embassy (including the revolutionary, RFID predecessor that was the passive listening device aka "the thing"), but completely leaves out the actual tunnel that was successfully built and used (albeit immediately compromised by other leaks) in Berlin against the Red Army HQ there. Straight-up the most famous example, even echoed in a Bond movie if I remember right (where they had a weird little underground periscope), but completely unmentioned here.
Another case is the bit on creating nuclear-powered aircraft and spacecraft. He spends pages bringing up the genesis of the nuclear-powered airplane project, the various times it was reviewed, etc. but fails to mention entirely that they actually DID build a nuclear reactor into a test plane that didn't power the aircraft, but was simply for testing purposes. And they flew it around, always accompanied by a special nuclear response team in a trailing aircraft that would respond in case the reactor crashed, causing an instant radiological catastrophe. Pretty wild stuff. Nowhere in the book!
There's also some bizarre and jarring asides where he talks about how wacky Florida is (?) to introduce a chapter on the Project Plowshares, and another where he wrongly claims that Russian intelligence was behind pizzagate. Anyways, skip it!
Shelved as 'dnf'
June 11, 2021Dnf w 37%.
Nigdy nie odłożyłam książki, zawsze wolałam się męczyć do końca, więc jestem z siebie dumna.
Pierwsza część była naprawdę ciekawa, ale po przeczytaniu paru rozdziałów drugiej zorientowałam się, że nie ważne jak się staram, nie rozumiem niczego z tego co jest napisane. Za dużo polityki (wiem, że jest to dość ważny aspekt), często poruszane sprawy, które kompletnie mnie nie interesują. Męczyłam się z nią bardzo długo a wiem, że jedyne co robi to powstrzymuje mnie przed sięgnięciem po inne książki.
Nigdy nie odłożyłam książki, zawsze wolałam się męczyć do końca, więc jestem z siebie dumna.
Pierwsza część była naprawdę ciekawa, ale po przeczytaniu paru rozdziałów drugiej zorientowałam się, że nie ważne jak się staram, nie rozumiem niczego z tego co jest napisane. Za dużo polityki (wiem, że jest to dość ważny aspekt), często poruszane sprawy, które kompletnie mnie nie interesują. Męczyłam się z nią bardzo długo a wiem, że jedyne co robi to powstrzymuje mnie przed sięgnięciem po inne książki.
May 15, 2021
Wavered between 3 and 4 stars on this one. Not all of the stories grabbed me, but at the same time some of them were so wild I had to go tell people about what happened! It's a book that I'll keep around as fun reference material.
May 29, 2019
Nuking The Moon was an entertaining book about various military and intelligence plans that never got off the drawing board. Most of the schemes discussed fell into the categories of too expensive or ridiculous. Houghton writes about CIA plans to use housecats as listening devices, unsupervised nuclear weapons floating out at sea, and spray painting foxes in dayglo colors to scare the Japanese people. At times, this book runs the gamut of frightening and hilarious.
January 24, 2021
great gift for white dads
March 12, 2022
Kirja sinänsä ihan mielenkiintoisista ja onneksi kuopatuista hankkeista, mutta jestas tällainen mukahassutteleva kirjoitustyyli on kyllä aivan punainen vaate itselleni.
December 16, 2021
I could not make it past chapter 2 of this book. Good subject matter, but bad delivery. Content was primarily fluff and I found myself rolling my eyes at the author’s attempt at being funny.
October 18, 2021
Occasionally trying too hard to be funny but for the most part an interesting and entertaining look at covert plans.
September 10, 2024
I think it's a stellar book that discusses the very outlandish projects that thankfully never came to fruition. Vince Houghton is a very entertaining writer who clearly has a deep understanding of science and history. He is able to break down complex projects and technology with plenty of humour and wit to spare. I don't think I would be able to read any single book on any of these projects given how dry and technical the reading would be, but he does a great job in 10-15 pages per project. I do want to emphasise how capable he is as a writer while also being very knowledgable.
At times I found his comedy to be excessive and he could go off on minor tangents that did not relate to the subject. If that is what it takes to have the book we got, I'm fine with that. But it's a minor detraction. As well, the book is very US-centric so if you want details on similar projects by other countries, this is not it, though there are allusions to the British and Soviets.
Overall this was an entertaining and light read and I am quite pleased with it.
At times I found his comedy to be excessive and he could go off on minor tangents that did not relate to the subject. If that is what it takes to have the book we got, I'm fine with that. But it's a minor detraction. As well, the book is very US-centric so if you want details on similar projects by other countries, this is not it, though there are allusions to the British and Soviets.
Overall this was an entertaining and light read and I am quite pleased with it.
January 9, 2021
As the subtitle indicates, this is a compendium of intelligence and military plans that were never put fully into action, though many of them did make it off the drawing board. Most of them combine elements of hilariously stupid and horrifyingly “why would you think that was a good idea (ethically or practically)?!” I mean: exploding bats, glowing foxes, nuking hurricanes, flying ICBM’s around on hovercraft…your tax dollars at work! Much of it was a reminder of just how MAD the Cold War was.
The author, who is a curator of the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C., appears knowledgeable and offers numerous links to his (sometimes heavily redacted) primary source material. There were times when I felt like he was trying a little too hard to be funny, but I think his snarky delivery works for the most part. Overall, the book is an amusing yet terrifying reminder that desperate people can try some incredibly stupid things [snarky comment about recent events in DC redacted], and it’s well worth reading.
The author, who is a curator of the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C., appears knowledgeable and offers numerous links to his (sometimes heavily redacted) primary source material. There were times when I felt like he was trying a little too hard to be funny, but I think his snarky delivery works for the most part. Overall, the book is an amusing yet terrifying reminder that desperate people can try some incredibly stupid things [snarky comment about recent events in DC redacted], and it’s well worth reading.
January 6, 2022
Olihan tässä ihan mielenkiintoisia juttuja, mutta kirjoittajan tyyli ja asenne aiheutti ärsytystä.
July 20, 2019
A whole bunch of really, really bad ideas (and a few interesting ones that just didn't work out) are explored in this book of failures. From exploding bats, to giant space mirrors, to the titular nuking of the Moon, Dr. Vince Houghton takes us on a guided tour through the drawing boards (and frighteningly the test sites) of some strange ideas. For History and tech buffs, this one is a must read. But it's also just fun (and scary) if you want good stories well told. Dr. Houghton's style is conversational and filled with humor. (I actually know Vince, and the book reads just like he talks, which is great, because he's an excellent storyteller). He doesn't drown you in technobabble. He doesn't talk down to you or past you. You don't need to be an expert to 'get' it.
You'll recognize some of the names of folks who get wrapped up in these bad ideas. You'll remember a few of the headlines that came from them...at least the ones that made a public splash. A few ideas were more victims of timing than of conception, but many should never have been considered, and certainly not funded for any amount of time. I can't promise this book will help you sleep better, 'cause you know bad ideas are still out there.
You'll recognize some of the names of folks who get wrapped up in these bad ideas. You'll remember a few of the headlines that came from them...at least the ones that made a public splash. A few ideas were more victims of timing than of conception, but many should never have been considered, and certainly not funded for any amount of time. I can't promise this book will help you sleep better, 'cause you know bad ideas are still out there.
April 16, 2023
Houghton has an entertaining writing style and intertwines humor with facts. However, I think I went into this book with the wrong frame of mind - I was expecting conspiracy theory-esque stories but it’s truly just factual evidence of out-of-the-box ideas. Which isn’t bad! Just not what I was expecting.
May 11, 2019
What a marvelous dinner guest Mr. Houghton must be! This book was highly informative & written in a witty, down-to-earth manner. I received an ARC from a Goodreads giveaway shortly after paying my taxes & had to laugh at the follies financed by my sweat & blood. I actually prefer having my money go toward such lunacy than to our corrupt mayor who is running the city into debt (while collecting 200K/year for a 2 hour consultation from a bank) or our useless governor with the voice - but not the charisma - of Kermit the Frog.
August 21, 2020
4.5. I really enjoyed this. Like stifling laughter while I read in my office at work level enjoy. The author has a snarky nerdy humour that suits me perfectly. This sparked so many 'did you know?' moments that started some really cool conversations. It was a refreshing reminder as to the level of insanity and absurdity that defined the cold war era. Also this entire book is an argument for heavy oversight of DoD spending because it is sad sometimes to think of what better good all the billions of dollars wasted on these projects could have done. Occasionally there were tangential beneficial discoveries or scientific advancement but it seemed so much of this was just in vain.
July 16, 2020
This book started with an interesting premise, to show all the interesting and weird projects that were funded and developed from the 1940s until now in the intelligence and military field. The author, who has a doctorate in history, tried hard to make some of this book funny and found some interesting projects to cover in this book. There are 21 projects on a whole, a chapter for each and roughly grouped by a common theme. Yet, for someone who is well educated about history and the weirdness of both military and cold war history, there is rehashing of a number of projects that are covered in more detail in other books (such as the MOL and X-20 DynaSoar projects or the Habakkuk project). I mean, there was a whole chapter in a book on the B-36 dedicated to the nuclear propelled bomber project and where it went, the testing, and similar data points. While this book tried to combine two stories, the nuclear powered aircraft with the nuclear bomb powered space craft. Realistically, these should have been two seperate things since, surprise!, if you do the research you find out that at various times since the 1950s, NASA has examined the nuclear bomb powered space vehicle.
Beyond the rehash of well known "secret" projects, the 3-4 pages dedicated to each of these programs, with about half of it being poor filler via pop culture references (talking about nuclear bombs to kill weather events the author spends about a page on dumb "Florida Man" jokes or again ways to be funny prior to the run up with the project description (in one chapter trying to find a good term for bodily waste, as the joke). So each of these chapters is very hit and miss with the information presented. He also closes out each chapter with a rest of the story segment about the future state of either the technology, program, or people. However, in most of these the rest of the story portion either becomes a quick dead end and falls flat to a good build up or works hard and leaves you wanting more from the few meager scraps found about the project. Again, very hit and miss. One of the biggest issues I had, was the almost constant repeating of historical events that killed some projects. I mean about half of the WW2 projects were killed off due to the development of nuclear weapons. While most of the space projects with people were killed off as the space race was "won" during the landing on the moon or due to the changing geo-political landscape with the end of the 1963 and the lust for space . Each time, the author tries to hide the fact that these historical events had already been talked about by trying to make some cryptic reference to same event over and over and over and over again.
Still if you haven't heard of some of these programs, this book would be interesting item to pick up. I would say this might be a beach read if you were looking for something with a little more education than the standard summer fiction beach book. It also isn't a heavy tome of a history book. Still if you have read a few kilotons of history, subscribe to megatons of magazines on history; then you have seen about 85% of this book already in other sources and probably with out the horrid puns, dad jokes and other silly attempts at humor. If anything, I would recommend to get this from the library; that way if you think it sucks you can send it back and it costs you not a single penny.
Beyond the rehash of well known "secret" projects, the 3-4 pages dedicated to each of these programs, with about half of it being poor filler via pop culture references (talking about nuclear bombs to kill weather events the author spends about a page on dumb "Florida Man" jokes or again ways to be funny prior to the run up with the project description (in one chapter trying to find a good term for bodily waste, as the joke). So each of these chapters is very hit and miss with the information presented. He also closes out each chapter with a rest of the story segment about the future state of either the technology, program, or people. However, in most of these the rest of the story portion either becomes a quick dead end and falls flat to a good build up or works hard and leaves you wanting more from the few meager scraps found about the project. Again, very hit and miss. One of the biggest issues I had, was the almost constant repeating of historical events that killed some projects. I mean about half of the WW2 projects were killed off due to the development of nuclear weapons. While most of the space projects with people were killed off as the space race was "won" during the landing on the moon or due to the changing geo-political landscape with the end of the 1963 and the lust for space . Each time, the author tries to hide the fact that these historical events had already been talked about by trying to make some cryptic reference to same event over and over and over and over again.
Still if you haven't heard of some of these programs, this book would be interesting item to pick up. I would say this might be a beach read if you were looking for something with a little more education than the standard summer fiction beach book. It also isn't a heavy tome of a history book. Still if you have read a few kilotons of history, subscribe to megatons of magazines on history; then you have seen about 85% of this book already in other sources and probably with out the horrid puns, dad jokes and other silly attempts at humor. If anything, I would recommend to get this from the library; that way if you think it sucks you can send it back and it costs you not a single penny.
October 3, 2019
Could be good 3 stars, for the main topic, with - Recommended.
But I ended up with 2 stars because of all stupid jokes and some subjective "funny" opinions, especially in audiobook version, where you can't skip them. Really annoying. They could be ok for young college students, but I don't think that they are buyers of such a book.
Maybe jokes were for filling the space?
Because I was expecting more stories.
But I ended up with 2 stars because of all stupid jokes and some subjective "funny" opinions, especially in audiobook version, where you can't skip them. Really annoying. They could be ok for young college students, but I don't think that they are buyers of such a book.
Maybe jokes were for filling the space?
Because I was expecting more stories.
August 29, 2021
While Houghton's amiable and approachable voice very much shines through and the book is very cleanly organized, Nuking the Moon fell flat for me. I found the humour was a bit sophomoric at times, and while Houghton has done well in researching and condensing some topics, others feel like they're better covered elsewhere, including some free resources on the web.
August 11, 2019
If this was any lighter weight history, the book would have floated out of my hands.
September 5, 2019
Condescending to the reader's intelligence and painfully unfunny despite the otherwise interesting subject matter. Couldn't finish this.
November 23, 2019
A delightful mix of conspiracy, scientific chaos, wtf moments, and political miscalculations.
December 16, 2019
Breezy writing and a complete lack of citations make this more of an extended blog post than an actual history.
September 6, 2024
The history of things that never happened
This is a hilarious book about things that never happened. It is about those weird inventions that were almost created by America's first intelligence agency (Office of Strategic Services (1942-1945)), its successor the CIA, as well as the bizarre operations ideas by the military, all during the fight against the Axis forces in World War 2 and the proceeding Cold War.
Yes, intelligence weapons. We're talking about James Bond's Q type of gadgets and military grade weaponries that have the invention of U-2 and SR-71 spy planes among the rare success stories (relative to the sheer amount of ideas), with "rare" as the key word here.
"“Outcome history” is the traditional way of viewing historical events," the author Vince Houghton remarks, "but it leaves much to be desired. It has severe limitations, primarily because its lessons are predicated on things that cannot be accurately quantified: fate, luck, misfortune, whatever you want to call it."
Houghton then elaborates, "if the D-Day invasion of Normandy had failed because of a freak weather system, or a lucky shot from a German soldier that took out a key American leader on the beach (or any number of other misfortunate scenarios), would we think any less of Eisenhower’s plan? Using outcome-based history: yes. And therein lies the problem. Intent can be a very powerful tool for historians."
Hence, the fresh approach of this book that uses not the outcome of history, not the alternate version of history, but the intent of what could have happened but never did. And the list of intent is long (like long, long). And reading it is like having a wild journey into the wacky and bizarre that will make us think "what the hell were they thinking?"
We're talking about projects, missions, operations, and technology that they were seriously thinking about, but they're either too risky, too expensive, too dangerous, way ahead of their time, or simply too dumb.
Inventions and operations such as: acoustic kitty, synthetic goat poop, cat suicide bomber, bat missiles, sun gun, giant inflatable balloon that looks like an omen in Shintoism, a chicken utilized as a thermoregulated weapon, an idea to create artificial tsunami, an operation involving digging a tunnel near the Soviet embassy, or covert air bases using not giant ships but floating icebergs.
It is also about the staggering 638 times the CIA tried (and failed) to assassinate Fidel Castro, plan to spike Hitler's food with female hormones to make "his mustache fall out and his voice turn soprano", a device they called Dyna-Soar (yeah I know, dinosaur), another one called the Ballistic Missile Boost Intercepts Project (or BaMBI), and many, many more, including the most bizarre idea of them all that becomes the title of the book, the plan to nuke the moon (with a contribution by Carl Sagan. Yes, THAT Carl Sagan).
And you know what the messed up part is? They're all true stories!
Perhaps the most unsuspecting part of the book is where Houghton actually explains the science and technicality of the devices and operations, while also providing the full historical context for the intent of usage of the devices. Which makes this book not only highly amusing, but also very informative.
He is, after all, the historian and curator of the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC, who earned a PhD in Diplomatic and Military History from the University of Maryland. And it shows in the quality of the book, a mix of expertise and madness that made me learn a lot and laugh a lot along the way. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book.
This is a hilarious book about things that never happened. It is about those weird inventions that were almost created by America's first intelligence agency (Office of Strategic Services (1942-1945)), its successor the CIA, as well as the bizarre operations ideas by the military, all during the fight against the Axis forces in World War 2 and the proceeding Cold War.
Yes, intelligence weapons. We're talking about James Bond's Q type of gadgets and military grade weaponries that have the invention of U-2 and SR-71 spy planes among the rare success stories (relative to the sheer amount of ideas), with "rare" as the key word here.
"“Outcome history” is the traditional way of viewing historical events," the author Vince Houghton remarks, "but it leaves much to be desired. It has severe limitations, primarily because its lessons are predicated on things that cannot be accurately quantified: fate, luck, misfortune, whatever you want to call it."
Houghton then elaborates, "if the D-Day invasion of Normandy had failed because of a freak weather system, or a lucky shot from a German soldier that took out a key American leader on the beach (or any number of other misfortunate scenarios), would we think any less of Eisenhower’s plan? Using outcome-based history: yes. And therein lies the problem. Intent can be a very powerful tool for historians."
Hence, the fresh approach of this book that uses not the outcome of history, not the alternate version of history, but the intent of what could have happened but never did. And the list of intent is long (like long, long). And reading it is like having a wild journey into the wacky and bizarre that will make us think "what the hell were they thinking?"
We're talking about projects, missions, operations, and technology that they were seriously thinking about, but they're either too risky, too expensive, too dangerous, way ahead of their time, or simply too dumb.
Inventions and operations such as: acoustic kitty, synthetic goat poop, cat suicide bomber, bat missiles, sun gun, giant inflatable balloon that looks like an omen in Shintoism, a chicken utilized as a thermoregulated weapon, an idea to create artificial tsunami, an operation involving digging a tunnel near the Soviet embassy, or covert air bases using not giant ships but floating icebergs.
It is also about the staggering 638 times the CIA tried (and failed) to assassinate Fidel Castro, plan to spike Hitler's food with female hormones to make "his mustache fall out and his voice turn soprano", a device they called Dyna-Soar (yeah I know, dinosaur), another one called the Ballistic Missile Boost Intercepts Project (or BaMBI), and many, many more, including the most bizarre idea of them all that becomes the title of the book, the plan to nuke the moon (with a contribution by Carl Sagan. Yes, THAT Carl Sagan).
And you know what the messed up part is? They're all true stories!
Perhaps the most unsuspecting part of the book is where Houghton actually explains the science and technicality of the devices and operations, while also providing the full historical context for the intent of usage of the devices. Which makes this book not only highly amusing, but also very informative.
He is, after all, the historian and curator of the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC, who earned a PhD in Diplomatic and Military History from the University of Maryland. And it shows in the quality of the book, a mix of expertise and madness that made me learn a lot and laugh a lot along the way. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book.
January 18, 2020
This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 4.0 of 5
Who doesn't like reading about secret government plots and massively ridiculous ideas that were once seriously considered? Well, if you don't, then just move on as this clearly isn't for you. But if the idea of reading about stupid, top-secret government plans puts an evil grin on your face, then consider this!
Whether it's the CIA's plan to implant live cats with listening devices and releasing those cats in Russia (because, well, top-level Russian figures just love to have stray cats sit on their laps while they discuss their plans to conquer America, right?) or actually detonating a nuclear bomb on the moon (because, ah, because the Russians were reportedly planning to do it, so we needed to do it too, and the resulting mushroom cloud would be impressive, right? Um...no. You actually need an atmosphere to form a mushroom cloud) author Vince Houghton has pulled together a delicious collection of wacky ideas from the government archives that have been declassified.
On the surface, most of these ideas seem reasonable (okay ... maybe not sending cats as spies). I mean, I can see the government brain-trust sitting around coming up with ideas that are off-the-wall because they hoped no one else would suspect them for being anything other than what they appear to be. But ... where this book is most interesting is that we would like to believe that people are smart enough to recognize a stupid idea and not actually spend the time and money on a stupid idea.
One of my favorites was the idea, repeatedly tested!, was the idea of attaching bombs to the backs of bats. The man behind the idea was convinced his idea was still better than what the government eventually went with (dropping nuclear bombs on Japan) and would have brought about an end to the war with fewer civilian deaths.
There are quite a few ridiculous ideas here and Houghton's writing style is easy, relaxed, and quite personable, addressing the reader directly and making some fun, snide, sarcastic remarks along the way.
This isn't really the sort of book one just sits and reads from cover to cover (though you could). Each chapter is its own story segment and so for me it's the sort of book I would pick up between novels and read a chapter or two. Or perhaps as a bathroom reader. However you read this, it's a lot of stupid fun.
Oh...and one of the brains behind nuking the moon? Someone most of us will recognize as a very brilliant man.
Looking for a good book? Nuking the Moon by Vince Houghton is a delicious look at brilliant stupidity.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, though Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
Who doesn't like reading about secret government plots and massively ridiculous ideas that were once seriously considered? Well, if you don't, then just move on as this clearly isn't for you. But if the idea of reading about stupid, top-secret government plans puts an evil grin on your face, then consider this!
Whether it's the CIA's plan to implant live cats with listening devices and releasing those cats in Russia (because, well, top-level Russian figures just love to have stray cats sit on their laps while they discuss their plans to conquer America, right?) or actually detonating a nuclear bomb on the moon (because, ah, because the Russians were reportedly planning to do it, so we needed to do it too, and the resulting mushroom cloud would be impressive, right? Um...no. You actually need an atmosphere to form a mushroom cloud) author Vince Houghton has pulled together a delicious collection of wacky ideas from the government archives that have been declassified.
On the surface, most of these ideas seem reasonable (okay ... maybe not sending cats as spies). I mean, I can see the government brain-trust sitting around coming up with ideas that are off-the-wall because they hoped no one else would suspect them for being anything other than what they appear to be. But ... where this book is most interesting is that we would like to believe that people are smart enough to recognize a stupid idea and not actually spend the time and money on a stupid idea.
One of my favorites was the idea, repeatedly tested!, was the idea of attaching bombs to the backs of bats. The man behind the idea was convinced his idea was still better than what the government eventually went with (dropping nuclear bombs on Japan) and would have brought about an end to the war with fewer civilian deaths.
There are quite a few ridiculous ideas here and Houghton's writing style is easy, relaxed, and quite personable, addressing the reader directly and making some fun, snide, sarcastic remarks along the way.
This isn't really the sort of book one just sits and reads from cover to cover (though you could). Each chapter is its own story segment and so for me it's the sort of book I would pick up between novels and read a chapter or two. Or perhaps as a bathroom reader. However you read this, it's a lot of stupid fun.
Oh...and one of the brains behind nuking the moon? Someone most of us will recognize as a very brilliant man.
Looking for a good book? Nuking the Moon by Vince Houghton is a delicious look at brilliant stupidity.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, though Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
June 26, 2019
Imagine you've just wandered into the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. You run into the museum's historian in the hallway, and for some reason he opens up to you. In the coffee shop downstairs, he starts telling you about all the crazy stuff that never made it off the drawing board at the CIA and the Pentagon. And it's hard not to listen, because he speaks in a breezy, conversational style, and he's often funny. These are comic misadventures that are sometimes, well, comic. And that's exactly what you'll find when you open up Nuking the Moon. The author is Vince Houghton, and, yes, he's the museum's historian and curator.
Now, that's actually Dr. Houghton. He holds a PhD in Diplomatic and Military History from the University of Maryland. He's an Army veteran besides. But there's nothing in Nuking the Moon that's suggestive of Pentagon bureaucracy or wooden academic jargon. Houghton relates a long list of cockamamie schemes—some of them silly, even downright stupid, and some dangerous beyond belief—that ostensibly serious and intelligent men (it was almost always men) dreamed up in the name of national security over the past three-quarters of a century. As the author explains, "Most history books are full of stories of things that happened; this is a history book full of stories behind things that didn't happen."
The comic misadventures in national security that you never heard about
Along the way in this recitation of comic misadventures, you'll meet a smattering of name-brand individuals: Ronald Reagan, Edward Teller, Werner von Braun, and Carl Sagan, as well as others who were equally accomplished but less well known. And every one of them at some point in his storied career got behind some unbelievably stupid (and usually expensive) plan to do something like embedding a listening device in a cat or exploding a nuclear weapon on the moon. The CIA actually field-tested what they called Acoustic Kitty (it got run over by a car) and that nuke was never rocketed to the moon because the Cold War ended. Yes, as Houghton notes, "all of these stories should have you saying, 'What were they thinking?'" And believe me, you'll be saying that.
Now, that's actually Dr. Houghton. He holds a PhD in Diplomatic and Military History from the University of Maryland. He's an Army veteran besides. But there's nothing in Nuking the Moon that's suggestive of Pentagon bureaucracy or wooden academic jargon. Houghton relates a long list of cockamamie schemes—some of them silly, even downright stupid, and some dangerous beyond belief—that ostensibly serious and intelligent men (it was almost always men) dreamed up in the name of national security over the past three-quarters of a century. As the author explains, "Most history books are full of stories of things that happened; this is a history book full of stories behind things that didn't happen."
The comic misadventures in national security that you never heard about
Along the way in this recitation of comic misadventures, you'll meet a smattering of name-brand individuals: Ronald Reagan, Edward Teller, Werner von Braun, and Carl Sagan, as well as others who were equally accomplished but less well known. And every one of them at some point in his storied career got behind some unbelievably stupid (and usually expensive) plan to do something like embedding a listening device in a cat or exploding a nuclear weapon on the moon. The CIA actually field-tested what they called Acoustic Kitty (it got run over by a car) and that nuke was never rocketed to the moon because the Cold War ended. Yes, as Houghton notes, "all of these stories should have you saying, 'What were they thinking?'" And believe me, you'll be saying that.
July 22, 2022
Nuking the Moon provides a history of some less than stellar ideas the government explored over the past 70 years. While easy to poke fun at these ideas, and a bit sad that so much money was expended, it is important to note that innovation most often is the result of many failed attempts. If the U.S. wants to continue to advance its technologies and ideas, one has to accept that you will have some dead ends. If all you want are ideas that will have a guarantee of success, then your brainstorming sessions will be less dramatic/technology stretching. Key excerpts below:
- "Outcome history" is the traditional way of viewing historical events, but it leaves much to be desired.... if the D-Day invasion of Normandy had failed because of a freak weather system, or a lucky shot from a German soldier that took out a key American leader on the beach, would we think any less of Eisenhower's plan? Using outcome-based history: yes. p xiii. PJK: very interesting way to assess history. Had never thought of this before.
- But there's one thing we know Castro wasn't stupid. He wasn't about to give the United States a perfectly valid excuse to invade his country. p 88. PJK: believe North Korea follows this type of strategy. Walk right up to the red line (often), but don't cross it in a big way.
- "Without communications all I command is my desk, and that is not a very lethal weapon." USAF SAC Commander in 1957. p161. PJK: outstanding quote! And so true.
- According to reports, not one of the principles knew the plans in any detail, and four of the five top successors to the presidency declined to follow the continuity-of-government protocols. p 173. PJK: having served in DC, and having read some of the these COOP plans and visited key locations, it is sad that the leaders didn't know these plans. Since all the underlings (like me) were there to move and support them, I find it interesting that they didn't know where they were to go. I guess if the worst did happen, the underlings would be in charge! Especially if one thinks about the SAC Commander's quote above. :)
- "Outcome history" is the traditional way of viewing historical events, but it leaves much to be desired.... if the D-Day invasion of Normandy had failed because of a freak weather system, or a lucky shot from a German soldier that took out a key American leader on the beach, would we think any less of Eisenhower's plan? Using outcome-based history: yes. p xiii. PJK: very interesting way to assess history. Had never thought of this before.
- But there's one thing we know Castro wasn't stupid. He wasn't about to give the United States a perfectly valid excuse to invade his country. p 88. PJK: believe North Korea follows this type of strategy. Walk right up to the red line (often), but don't cross it in a big way.
- "Without communications all I command is my desk, and that is not a very lethal weapon." USAF SAC Commander in 1957. p161. PJK: outstanding quote! And so true.
- According to reports, not one of the principles knew the plans in any detail, and four of the five top successors to the presidency declined to follow the continuity-of-government protocols. p 173. PJK: having served in DC, and having read some of the these COOP plans and visited key locations, it is sad that the leaders didn't know these plans. Since all the underlings (like me) were there to move and support them, I find it interesting that they didn't know where they were to go. I guess if the worst did happen, the underlings would be in charge! Especially if one thinks about the SAC Commander's quote above. :)
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