In this vivid account of the impact of the atomic bomb on American political and cultural life, Allan M. Winkler delineates how fears of nuclear disaster have become a part of our culture. Tracing the debate among scientists and intellectuals over military and civilian uses of atomic power as well as the waxing and waning of popular protest, "Life Under a Cloud" reveals the irony, anxiety, and official insanity of the atomic age. Winkler also explores the cultural manifestations of public concern over the nuclear dilemma by using popular songs, movies, novels, poems, paintings, and television programs - from Stanley Kubrick's film "Dr. Strangelove" to Tom Lehrer's satirical verses ("In the land of the AEC/Where the scenery is attractive/And the air is radioactive") - to detail the curious mix of humor and dread that has characterized the way most Americans have tried to relate to a world filled with atomic weapons and the threat of instantaneous annihilation.