Overview

Nuclear weapons have not been used in anger since the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. Yet even after the Cold War, the Bomb is still the greatest threat facing humankind. As President Bill Clinton's first secretary of defense, Les Aspin, put it: The Cold War is over, the Soviet Union is no more. But the post-Cold War world is decidedly not post-nuclear. For all the efforts to reduce nuclear stockpiles, the Bomb is here to stay. This Very Short Introduction looks at the science of nuclear weapons and how they differ from conventional weapons. Tracing the story of the nuclear bomb, Joseph Siracusa chronicles the race to acquire the H-bomb, a thermonuclear weapon with revolutionary implications; and the history of early arms control, nuclear deterrence, and non-proliferation. He also tracks the development of nuclear weapons from the origins of the Cold War in 1945 to the end of Moscow-dominated Communism in 1991, and examines the promise and prospect of missile defense, including Ronald Reagan's Star Wars and George W. Bush's National Missile Defense. This third edition includes a new chapter on the development of nuclear weapons and the policies they have generated since the end of the Cold War.

Full Product Details

9798200188468

Table of Contents

Reviews

Author Information

Shawn Compton is a professional voice actor and audiobook narrator. He is also a seventeen-year veteran of the Air Force, and has a strong creative background from which to draw inspiration for his narration. Joseph M. Siracusa is professor in human security and international diplomacy at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University, Australia, and president of Australia's Council for the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. A veteran historian, he is known internationally for his writings on the history of nuclear weapons, diplomacy, and global security. He is the author of numerous books, including Diplomacy: A Very Short Introduction and A Global History of the Nuclear Arms Race.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available