The worlds of Herman Kahn
by Sharon Ghamari-Tabrizi · first published 2004
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"Herman Kahn was the only nuclear strategist in America who might have made a living as a standup comedian. Indeed, galumphing around stages across the country, joking his way through one grotesque thermonuclear scenario after another, he came frighteningly close. In telling the story of Herman Kahn, whose 1960 book On Thermonuclear War catapulted him into celebrity, Sharon Ghamari-Tabrizi captures an era that is still very much with us - a time whose innocence, gruesome nuclear humor, and outrageous but deadly serious visions of annihilation have their echoes in the "known unknowns and unknow
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came here to suggest people who are interested in where kubrick got his model for the character dr strangelove to study herman kahn. just read a book about him - 'the worlds of herman kahn' - and cannot recommend it enough for this subject. his book 'on thermonuclear war' was widely talked about when it came out in the 60s, one of the huge impacts that RAND had on our society. it was an…
on “Almost Everything in "Dr. Strangelove" Was True” ↗…Later he became a utopian (or dystopian) futurist - when he wrote a book called The Coming Boom (which title provoked ironic comment, given his earlier book). A biography appeared several years ago, The Worlds of Herman Kahn by Sharon Ghamari Tabrizi. She concludes that Kahn was a sort of performer, a monologist working in a then-popular genre called "sick comedy".
on “Techniques of Systems Analysis (1957) [pdf]” ↗…Later he became a utopian (or dystopian) futurist - when he wrote a book called The Coming Boom (which title provoked ironic comment, given his earlier book). A biography appeared several years ago, The Worlds of Herman Kahn by Sharon Ghamari Tabrizi. She concludes that Kahn was a sort of performer, a monologist working in a then-popular genre called "sick comedy".
on “Herman Kahn's Utopia – 1968 documentary clip (3 min video)” ↗