Inside Manzano

Beginning in the late 1940s, the Department of Defense set up a site for storing nuclear arms in New Mexico's Manzano Mountains. For more than two decades, Manzano Base handled upkeep and storage for some of the deadliest weapons humans have built.

The Air Force ran the installation, which stayed small and out of sight, with tightly controlled entry. Because its work was classified, outsiders were left to guess at what went on inside. The base was closed in 1992, but its legacy still shapes the country's nuclear weapons program.

This book traces the history of Manzano through the people who served there. Firsthand recollections cover weapons accidents, aircraft crashes, UFO/UAF sightings, and a radiation demonstration known as 'tickling the tiger's tail.'