"How we got along before the bomb" : l'apocalisse atomica tra politica e fantascienza agli albori della Guerra fredda

This paper illustrates how Anglophone science fiction literature of the second part of the Twentieth century contributed to influence the public debate regarding the absolute risk of an upcoming atomic apocalypse and the need to prevent it at all costs. In this way, it often came into conflict with the rhetorical strategies of US administrations, committed to normalize the presence of nuclear weapons and reducing their potential risks. The article provides some particularly significant examples of this conflict, reflecting on their outcomes. [Publisher's text].