ABSTRACT

For decades, nuclear testing in America's southwest was shrouded in secrecy, with images gradually made public of mushroom clouds blooming over the desert. Now, another nuclear crisis looms over this region: the storage of tens of thousands of tons of nuclear waste. Tainted Desert maps the nuclear landscapes of the US inter-desert southwest, a land sacrificed to the Cold-War arms race and nuclear energy policy.

part One|120 pages

Mapping the Nuclear Landscape

chapter 1|16 pages

Introduction

chapter 2|19 pages

Tragedy at the Center of the Universe

chapter 3|43 pages

Science Cities in the Desert

chapter 4|40 pages

Nuclear Wasteland

part Two|170 pages

Power, Representation, and Cultural Politics at Yucca Mountain

chapter 5|36 pages

The View from Yucca Mountain

chapter 6|26 pages

Cultural Politics

chapter 7|20 pages

The Country of Lost Borders

chapter 8|40 pages

Aboriginal Homeland

chapter 9|38 pages

The Experimental Landscape

chapter 10|8 pages

Conclusion