Throughout the decade construction firms cashed in on public fear of atomic annihilation arid were offering a wide array of bomb shelters,.or "life safes," ranging from a $13.50 backyard foxhole to a spacious $5,500 underground suite complete with all the household amenities—and a Geiger counter to boot. Public fear of the Soviets' ability to deliver the bomb over long distances became more acute and widespread in 1957, when Russian scientists were able to launch a satellite into orbit. Civil Defense Administrator Val Peterson, who had dismissed bomb shelters as "death traps," suddenly was being urged by citizen groups to consider a nationwide shelter program. With the Eisenhower administration being characterized as uncaring in its approach to civil defense, Peterson displayed a new attitude in March 1957 and told reporters that he "believes in bomb shelters" but...