The Veteran Author Podcast

A short introduction to my book, Last of the Glow Worms: Memoir of a Nuclear Weapons Technician at the End of the Cold War. Published by McFarland. The book is available on Amazon, and other retailers. 

The Great Leap Forward (1958-1962) was Mao Zedong's attempt to collectivize farming and to transform communist China into a technological peer of the advanced industrialized nations. What resulted was the opposite: starvation, corruption, death, and in some circumstances, cannibalism, which resulted in the most devastating famine in human history. Our hosts examine the implementation and results of communist policies regarding collectivization and forced quotas. 

The W79 nuclear warhead, in service from the 1960s until its removal in 1991, was a 203mm (8") artillery fired nuclear weapon. During its heyday, thousands were deployed throughout Europe, including Turkey, and in South Korea. Our hosts will examine the weapon system and its legacy. 

The W48 was a nuclear warhead used in the U.S. Army's 155mm nuclear artillery shell until the end of the Cold War in 1991. Our hosts will discuss the weapon, it's deployment, and eventual removal. 

The deployment of the Pershing II missile system to West Germany during the Cold War changed the strategic and political goals of both the United States and the Soviet Union. We will discuss the missile system, its deployment, backlash in Europe and America, and the effects it had on U.S.-Soviet relations.