Preface and Chapter 1 Summary

Fail-Safe, by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler, is a best-selling thriller first published in 1962, followed two years later by a popular film starring Henry Fonda and Walter Matthau. Set during the Cold War, it explores what could happen if one of the two superpowers were to accidentally launch a nuclear strike against the other. A brief Preface by the co-authors indicates they had no access to classified information in preparing the novel, and they embellished the weapons described in declassified documents by making them more powerful and effective. They envision the novel's action as taking place in 1967. They warn that the laws of probability suggest an accident will occur if the nuclear weapons buildup by the two countries continues.

Chapter 1, "The Translator," introduces Peter Buck as he walks through Washington, D.C. on a spring morning, headed for his...