Suburban Empire: Cold War Militarization in the US Pacific by Lauren Hirshberg (review).

"Suburban Empire: Cold War Militarization in the US Pacific" by Lauren Hirshberg is a cultural history that explores the racialized and colonial dimensions of the U.S. military-industrial-academic complex in Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands. The book examines the transformation of ri-Kuwajleen places into a technologically advanced military installation and a segregated American suburb. It delves into the U.S. military's use of Kwajalein for nuclear blasting and missile targeting, as well as the erasure of Marshallese people and placemaking. The book also highlights Marshallese political mobilization and the constraints imposed by U.S. pressure during decolonization. This work contributes to the history of technology by emphasizing the importance of cultural context, race, colonialism, and lay communities within the U.S. nuclear complex in Oceania. [Extracted from the article]