Technical histories are a tough book genre to pull off well. Often the author can overwhelm the reader with terms, chronologies, personalities, and even financial details. One need only look at official technical histories offered by the Armed Forces or the Department of Defense to find plenty of examples.

So it was with those government publications in mind that I picked up David Stumpf's "Titan II: A History of a Cold War Strategic Missile program. Published in 2000 by the University of Arkansas Press, "Titan II" is a 320-page volume that tells the Titan II story from the Air Force initial requirements document to the system's deactivation at three operational bases. The author already has one technical history to his credit on the Navy's first nuclear strike missile, the Regulus, so he was familiar with the process to write a weapons system technical history as he wrote this book.

Stumpf opens his book with a sobering memorial page of all the personnel who lost their lives either constructing or manning the Titan missile sitess. There is a forward written by a former Titan II missile combat crew commander who rose to flag rank, a preface, an introduction, ten numbered chapters, and an epilogue. Stumpf also provides two appendices, the first being the launch records for Titan II ICBM's, along with dates, locations, airframe serial numbers, and launch crews. The second appendix provides brief descriptions of the Titan II's contemporaries in the Soviet Strategic Rocket Forces. Stumpf completes the book with endnotes and an index.

The book is laid out conventionally and approximately in chronological order. Chapter I outlines the Air Force strategic missile program, while Chapters II and III are about the design and construction of the Titan I and Titan II respectively. Chapter IV setails the missile's research and development path, while Chapter V delves into the monumental construction project that built the Titan II silo emplacements. Chapter VI speaks to the missile's place in the Strategic Integrated Operational Plan (SIOP). Chapter VII places the human face on the Titan II program in detailing the story of the crews who stood duty 24 hours a day, every day. Chapter VIII covers the flight history of the ICBM version of the missile. Chapter IX examines the several fatal accidents that marred the service of the Titan II, while Chapter X tells the story of the system's phase out in light of the accidents listed in Chapter IX.

Stumpf's writing is crisp and well-detailed without leaving the reader stuck in a morass of technical talk. There is enough detail on the technology to make the human side of the Titan II story understandable, which is Stumpf's point in telling the story. What I really appreciate about this book is how much information Stumpf gathered. Much information about strategic weapons systems is withheld unneccessarily--I experienced as much as a declassification archivist at the National Archives. Stumpf was able to gather enough information through open sources to present a fairly accurate profile of the Titan II at a time when both the Air Force and the Department of Defense would either hesitate or decline to release this information.

If you are interested in a study of strategic weapon systems, Stumpf' "Titan II" is a great place to go. ( )