Overview

Former British Ambassador to the Soviet Union and author of the definitive account of the Soviet invasion and occupation of Afghanistan, Sir Rodric Braithwaite offers here a tour d'horizon of nuclear policy from the end of World War II and start of the Cold War to the present day. Armageddon and Paranoia unfolds the full history of nuclear weapons that began with the arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union and now extends worldwide. For decades, an apocalypse seemed imminent, staved off only by the certainty that if one side launched these missiles the other would launch an equally catastrophic counterstrike. This method of avoiding all-out nuclear warfare was called ""Deterrence,"" a policy of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD). Still, though neither side actively wanted to plunge the world into nuclear wasteland, the possibility of war by misjudgment or mistake meant fears could never be entirely assuaged. Both an exploration of Deterrence and the long history of superpower nuclear policy, Armageddon and Paranoia comes at a time when tensions surrounding nuclear armament have begun mounting once more. No book until this one has offered so comprehensive a history of the topic that has guided--at times dominated--the world in which we live.

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9780190870294

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Rodric Braithwaite has produced a masterly history of the nuclear age just in time, since its dangers are back with a vengeance. Our leaders must take the lessons in this meticulous and revelatory narrative, and all readers will find riveting tales of close calls and vivid portraits of heroes, villains, and fools. As a distinguished diplomat and policymaker, Braithwaite knows the terrain and brings its inhabitants to life. While he has given all of us a fresh perspective of the past, he has also provided a crucial primer for younger generations who missed the confrontations of the cold war but seemed destined to live-and hope to survive-in a regressive and dangerous future. - Strobe Talbott, Brookings Institution This book is an extraordinary inquiry into the nuclear age. Rodric Braithwaite examines not only the danger of these terrible weapons, but also the mindset of scientists, soldiers and politicians who held the fate of the world in their hands. For any reader who has ever wondered, 'what were they thinking?'-Braithwaite has provided a history that is brilliant and deeply disturbing. - David E. Hoffman, author of The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and Its Dangerous Legacy

Author Information

Rodric Braithwaite is former British Ambassador to the Soviet Union and Russian Federation. His previous works include Moscow 1941: A City and Its People at War and Afgantsy: The Russians in Afghanistan.

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