Nearly Nuked

Mother Jones: A Sneak Peek at Eric Schlosser's Terrifying New Book on Nuclear Weapons - His six-year investigation of America's mishaps and near-misses will scare the daylights out of you.

Here's the truth: Just days after JFK was sworn in as president, one of the most terrifying weapons in our arsenal was a hair's breadth from detonating on American soil. It would have pulverized a portion of North Carolina and, given strong northerly winds, could have blanketed East Coast cities (including New York, Baltimore, and Washington, DC) in lethal fallout.