Peter Vogel’s unique and magisterial 2001 book, The Last Wave from Port Chicago, never had a Print Edition, and it predated the availability of e-Book Editions.
In its original form, it consisted of 16 pdf documents, one for each of 13 Chapters, with three Appendices. There was no table of contents or index.
As the years passed, the existing copies became fewer and fewer as the containing PCs were retired to people’s garages. Until 2024, no copies were publicly available, though — its existence was still hanging by a thread.
In October of that year, I (Walter Wilkinson) discovered a copy, cunningly hidden on the Internet Archive site, The Wayback Machine. It doesn’t appear in their Index, presumably on purpose, but a roundabout method for retrieving it was improvised.
In this 2024 Edition, the individual .pdf chapters are merged into one, and a Table of Contents is provided:
Also it is displayed here as a 3-d Flip Book:
The Last Wave from Port Chicago by Peter Vogel
The book can also be viewed and downloaded in PDF format:
The Last Wave from Port Chicago by Peter Vogel
An unexpected discovery was that the book chapters had always been only a part of an archive of about 60 files of a variety of types, apparently curated by Peter Vogel himself. I will speculate that this assorted collection of computer files constitutes the Final Word of Peter Vogel, perhaps following his being told to discontinue pursuing this line of research.
Downloading the book files had the unexpected side effect of downloading all the other files in the archive at the same time.
Copies of the files have been mirrored to the rense.com domain, graciously, as this is a much safer place for them.
The archive can also be downloaded here:
Abstract: Summary of “The Last Wave from Port Chicago”, Robotically Generated:
The document titled “The Last Wave from Port Chicago” explores the historical significance and events surrounding the Port Chicago Naval Magazine explosion that occurred on July 17, 1944. The explosion, resulting in the death of 320 personnel and widespread destruction, had far-reaching implications in early nuclear weapon development during World War II.
The text delves into various aspects, including the climate and geography of Port Chicago, the historical presence of Native American tribes in the region, and detailed accounts of other significant ship explosions throughout history. It also outlines the technical details of explosive materials, including TNT and torpex, and discusses the investigation and subsequent analyses conducted by experts, including aspects of the Manhattan Project, which was key in developing atomic weapons.
Notably, the explosion is posited as a possible proof test for the Mark II bomb, a low-efficiency implosion weapon utilizing uranium-235 or plutonium as active materials. The aftermath of the Port Chicago disaster revealed evidence of negligence and corruption in military investigations, leading to scrutiny of the handling of explosives and operational safety protocols.
Overall, the text serves as an in-depth examination of the Port Chicago explosion, intertwining historical context, technical analysis, and its implications for the development of nuclear weapons, alongside issues of military accountability and safety.