The Bomb in the Wilderness

The Bomb in the Wilderness is an acutely perceptive analysis of Canada’s nuclear footprint through the medium of photography, revealing how we have represented, interpreted, and remembered nuclear activities since 1945.

The Bomb in the Wilderness is an acutely perceptive analysis of Canada’s nuclear footprint through the medium of photography, revealing how we have represented, interpreted, and remembered nuclear activities since 1945.

John O’Brian is an art historian, writer, and curator. Until 2017, he taught at the University of British Columbia. He has authored or edited twenty books, including Clement Greenberg: The Collected Essays and Criticism – one of The New York Times Notable Books of the Year – and Ruthless Hedonism. His publications on nuclear photography include Strangelove’s Weegee, Camera Atomica, Through Post-Atomic Eyes, and Atomic Postcards: Radioactive Messages from the Cold War. He has organized five exhibitions on nuclear photography, in Copenhagen, London, Toronto, and Vancouver, and is a recipient of the Thakore Award in Human Rights and Peace Studies from Simon Fraser University.

Ron Verzuh, author of Codename Project 9: How a Small British Columbia City Helped Create the Atomic Bomb:

Art historian O’Brian has brought together all his powers of observation and perception to help us rethink how we view the history and the mystery of the bomb.

Peter M. Sramek, Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Art (Photography), OCAD University:
O’Brian’s history of Canada’s involvement in the nuclear story forms an eye-opening reminder that, however we perceive the world, our individual view is never the whole picture.

Claude Baillargeon, professor, Department of Art and Art History, Oakland University:

O’Brian’s far-reaching reflection on the intersection of photography and the all-too-often overlooked Canadian contributions to nuclear history is as innovative as it is timely. Sophisticated and highly readable, it is sure to become a foundational text.

Carol Payne, associate professor, School for Studies in Art and Culture, Carleton University:

O’Brian’s wide-ranging account of the nuclear era and its distinctive visual culture is exhilarating, and, of course, often frightening as we consider the repercussions of nuclear technology.

Douglas Coupland:

The Bomb in the Wilderness finds beauty in grotesque places. It validates the reader’s Cold War paranoia and will most likely make them feel like they weren’t paranoid enough. It works on so many levels.