Fail-Safe

Introduction:

Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler’s Fail-Safe explores the complex moral and ethical decisions that arise out of a dangerous situation. Published in 1962 the novel draws heavily on the fear of the Cuban missile crisis. It utilizes the shared fear of an accidental nuclear attack to present a hypothetical situation demanding of a near impossible decision. Fail-Safe remains a novel worthy of study because of the ethical and moral complications of the decision faced by the President. Fail-Safe attempts to offer a decision that has no perfect or easy solution. These decisions require a deep and personal knowledge of morals, in order to have the ability to make the correct decision. When no easy ethically correct solution stands out the decision becomes dependant on knowledge of metaphorical “line that cannot be crossed.” When all possible solutions require compromise on morals, it becomes necessary to know at what point it becomes impossible to compromise any further without losing the soul or meaning of the person. Fail-Safe aptly creates a situation that stresses this compromise onto a grand scale to evaluate the moral compromise more effectively.

Biography:

Eugene Burdick (1918-1965), born in Sheldon, Iowa, and moved to Los Angeles at the age of 4. He studied at Stanford university and participated in the Rhodes scholar program to study at Oxford where he earned his Ph.D. in psychology. He returned to California to teach at the University of California where he took an interest in political science. His interest in political science led him to investigate the Cuban missile crisis and publish Fail-Safe with Harvey Wheeler. His interest in the possibility of accidental global nuclear war echoed the fears of the pop...

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... so without losing its label as an interesting action fiction novel.

Works Cited

Burdick, Eugene, and Harvey Wheeler. Fail-safe. Dell Pub Co, 1962. Print.

Davison, Dorothy P. "Burdick, Eugene." The Book Review Digest. 58th Annual Cumulation. 1962. New York, New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1963. Print.

Fadiman, Clifton. “Fail-Safe.” New York Times 21 Oct. 1962: 9. Print.

"Fail-Safe; Can an Accident Trigger Nuclear War?."Saturday Evening Post 13 Oct. 1962: 38. Print.

Harte, Barbara, and Carolyn Riley. "Burdick, Eugene."Contemporary Authors. 1st Rev. 5-8. Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research Company, 1963. Print.

Prescott, Orville. "Books of the Times." New York Times 24 Oct. 1962: 8. Print.

Tuck, Donald, and Association Libraries. Books for College Libraries: Psychology, Science, Technology, Bibliography. Chicago: American Library Association, 1988. Print.