From the Publisher

By Elizabeth P. Valk

As the Soviet Union recedes into history, the threat of global thermonuclear warfare is waning considerably. But we are just beginning to learn some of the secrets of that cold war era when the two superpowers were locked in a state of high alert. This week correspondent Ted Gup advances our understanding greatly with a cover story focusing on the Federal Government's grand plan to preserve post-apocalypse control. As Ted reports, planning went far beyond contingencies to shelter top-level bureaucrats and ensure the survival of the U.S. government. It also included plans to rescue the nation's cultural heritage, from Leonardo da Vinci's Ginevra de' Benci to the Declaration of Independence.

For Gup, 41, interest in this alarming story can be traced back to his childhood in Canton, Ohio. "I've been fascinated with this subject ever since grade school. I remember the drills where we cowered under our desks as we prepared for the big one," he says. "My generation was shaped by the Bomb. In a way, I've been reporting this story for decades." In the interim, though, Ted made his mark in journalism. He joined TIME in 1987 after serving eight years on the investigative staff at the Washington Post, where his work won a Pulitzer nomination, a George Polk Award, the Gerald Loeb Award and the Worth Bingham Prize. Since bringing his energies to TIME, he has chronicled the illegal trade in elephant ivory, brought attention to the endangered spotted owl, documented corruption in college basketball and scrutinized the plight of West Virginia coal miners.

The doomsday government story required Gup to dig even deeper. "I ate a lot of dust," he says, while sifting through reams of official archives. He unearthed documents about how Washington planned to protect the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. During the reporting, Ted thought frequently of his two toddler sons David and Matthew. "I pray that they won't have to grow up under a cloud of anxiety and that all of this will seem exotic and far away to them."

U.S. athletes weren't the only ones piling up the medals in Barcelona. TIME's art critic Robert Hughes also excelled when he was awarded the first prize for literature in the Olimpiada Cultural. In a ceremony at the Palacio | de la Zarzuela, Hughes was honored by the government of Catalonia for his book Barcelona. The prize, which was presented by King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain, included a bronze Miro trophy.