A Sixties Book: Spiderwort

Description

An Amishman, a Viet Nam Veteran, and a tripped-out hippie join the workforce at Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant. Between the rage of Hurricane Agnes and a dose of LSD, the nuclear nemesis is unveiled. "Bold and dramatic. A book that should have been written."-Crow magazine When Steve Dombrowsky graduates from Penn State in 1969 amongst the chaos of the anti-war protests and the military draft lottery, he unwittingly finds himself on the hippie side. Likewise, Muldoon Gibbs, a Viet Nam veteran, wounded both spiritually and physically, is 'turned on' to L.S.D. by Steve. The two young men eventually find themselves on the workforce at Three Mile Island nuclear plant in central Pennsylvania. Everything is 'sycodelic' for awhile, until Hurricane Agnes floods Three Mile Island, placing it four feet beneath the surging Susquehanna River. Meanwhile, chief engineer Ezra Smith has discovered some classified documents about a 1950's nuclear accident in Russia that claimed untold lives and real estate. He is having second thoughts as to whether it is safe to build this nuclear plant on his native Amish soil. His conscience haunts him by day. His dreams terrorize him at night. Tired and sleepless, as Hurricane Agnes approaches he must issue orders to evacuate three thousand men from the site by noon. Once again, L.S.D. rises to change the perspective of all concerned. A giddy secretary spikes the water cooler, and Ezra finds himself schlepping around the construction site in the heavy downpour like Herman Munster. He soon meets up with Steve and Muldoon in a smoky 'clean room' high up in the reactor building. The three of them are the only ones left on Three Mile Island, as outside, Hurricane Agnes rages, and the Susquehanna River crests at thirty-feet above normal. Getting off the island becomes crucial t, but just as menacing as the storm is the surreal nuclear nemesis which has come to light via the resulting hallucinations of L.S.D. Author's Note: This book was partially inspired by Dr. Karl Grossman's "What You Are Not Supposed To Know About Nuclear Power."