JF Ptak Science Books  Quick Post

Lecture Manual for Air Raid Warden Instructors is in its way a remarkable document revealing some of the thinking and interpretation on the chances for the invasion of the American west coast just a few months (March 9, 1941) following Pearl Harbor.   Undertaken and published by the Workers of the Writers’ Program (‘of the Works Projects Administration in Northern California”) it was a product of one of the number of the Roosevelt administration’s social engineering programs that had a long lasting effect. 

The first chapter, “It Can Happen Here” is more about the mechanics of responding to an enemy aerial attack than qu8estioning whether the attack might occur–the writer assumes that such an event was possible, and so precautions and preparations must be made–there is no question mark at the end of the chapter’s heading. 

Overall I think that this was an excellent organizational effort for at least dealing with controlling the situation on the ground–providing a grid in which actions could be interpreted and responded to.  [The original is available at our blog bookstore.]