“I know enough about nuclear weapons to grasp that if we start tossing them around in large numbers that what bunkered survivors will find when they eventually come out of their hole in the ground is likely to resemble one of the inner circles of Hell.”
The movies like to make you think that. But really it depends on where you live.
One or two bombs? Who cares? I live in a state that had DOZENS of nukes dropped on it. The rest of the country (to say nothing of the world) did not notice. Hell most of Nevada did not notice. Hell even a massive exchange would leave whole regions barely effected. If you live in the boonies, stock up on air filters and have enough food for a couple bad winters and you are probably going to live (until the cannibals).
....One or two bombs? Who cares? I live in a state that had DOZENS of nukes dropped on....
I grew up in a city about 1300 miles southeast and downwind of Nevada. I recall news reports on the radio saying,
“The dust cloud of the latest nuclear bomb test will be passing high over town beginning late this afternoon and lasting several hours. There is nothing to be concerned about.’
Back in the 50's I worked in a lab where we monitored background radiation on a daily basis, because of the work we were doing.
Every time there was a Nevada blast the background radiation went up significantly. This was in Iowa. It even happened with the underground detonations.