North korea and nuclear weapons georgetown university press. The united states was the first country to manufacture nuclear weapons and is the only country to have used them in combat, with the separate bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki in world war ii. Natural resources defense council, nuclear weapons databook project. Andrew futter is a senior lecturer in international politics at the university of leicester, uk. Yes, there are a few small indulgences of leftism by the author. Pluto, a nuclear powered, nuclear armed cruise missile, and the astor, an antisubmarine nuclear torpedo guided to its target by a wire, ensuring that upon. A mythshattering expose of americas nuclear weapons famed investigative journalist eric schlosser digs deep to. This is more than a wellwritten and researched reference book, but also an examination by experts of the evolution of nuclear weapons policy. Nuclear weapons and american grand strategy helps policymakers wrestle with the latest challenges. Nuclear weapons capability the heritage foundation. This book is a counter to the conventional wisdom that the united states can and should do more to reduce both the role of nuclear weapons in its security strategies and the number of weapons in its arsenal. In congress and nuclear weapons, james lindsay traces the rise of congressional. The oscarshortlisted documentary command and control, directed by robert kenner, finds its origins in eric schlossers book and continues to explore the littleknown history of the management and safety concerns of americas nuclear aresenal.
The literature of scholarly articles and books on u. It tested the first nuclear weapon on july 16, 1945 trinity at 5. State with the necessary capabilities to build nuclear weapons in a relatively short space of time if it chose to but is not current considered as nuclear armed. Although the price point is somewhat of a turnoff, its still a very solid single volume technical study of the subject, and one of those rare books on nuclear weapons that focuses solely on technical aspects. The united states developed the first nuclear weapons during world war ii in cooperation with the united kingdom and canada as part of the manhattan project, out of the fear that nazi germany would develop them first. The secret history, which, along with great detail about the process of developing, testing and administering atomic weapons was critical of the u.
In spite of all this, i still recommend it to anyone seriously interested in american nuclear weapons. We weaponize the nuclear explosive package to create an effective and sustainable nuclear deterrent. The author has clearly done a huge amount of research both into the specifics of what happened at site 3747 and the us nuclear weapons program, including extensive interviews with key individuals. Nuclear weapons and turkey since 1959 national security archive. Since their first nuclear test in 2006, north korea has struggled to perfect the required delivery systems. They are nonfiction books which relate to uranium mining, nuclear weapons andor nuclear power. Nuclear forces and the w62 and w76 warheads 14 december 2006. Before and during the cold war, it conducted over one thousand nuclear tests and tested many longrange nuclear weapons delivery systems between 1940 and 1996, the u. Written in a clear, accessible, and jargonfree manner, the book also offers insights for. The book contains chilling details about narrowlyavoided disasters, flawed launch protocols, and philosophies and strategies regarding the true purpose of the us nuclear arsenal. The book alternates between the tragedy at site 3747 and a more or less chronological history of us nuclear weapons safety and command and control. Based on four years of extensive research, atomic audit is the first book to document the comprehensive costs of u. Heritage foundation hosts webinar on new center book on the. Chuck hansen has spent over 25 years pushing the barriers of secrecy around nuclear weapons.
He discovered example after example of mistakes and near. Nuclear weapon, device designed to release energy in an explosive manner as a result of nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, or a combination of the two. The case against nuclear weapons has been made on many groundsincluding historical, political, and moral. Oct 30, 2019 the deployments of nuclear weapons to turkey that began in the late 1950s were part of the nato atomic stockpile plan in which the u. It had secretly developed the earliest form of the atomic weapon during. When you absolutely need to know everything about how, why and where a us nuclear warhead and its delivery system was developed, this is the book you must have. The bomb in this book s title is the nuclear bomb, a weapon that has become increasingly powerful since relatively crude nuclear devices were dropped on hiroshima and nagasaki to end world war ii. This book also explains why the united states needs to urgently resume nuclear testing to ensure the readiness and reliability of u. Norris and william arkin of the natural resources defense council, published in the bulletin. More than 330 blackandwhite photographs document the design and development of this complex and controversial technology. F or his latest book, command and control, the american author eric schlosser spent six years immersed in the world of nuclear weapons.
Nuclear weapons are powerful explosive devices that rapidly convert large amounts of nuclear potential energy to kinetic energy. Perhaps his bestknown book, coauthored with philip j. Sep 15, 20 you have to read eric schlossers brilliant, hairraising book on americas nuclear mishaps his sixyear investigation will scare the daylights out of you. The nuclearweapon states nws are the five stateschina, france, russia, united kingdom, and the united statesofficially recognized as possessing nuclear weapons by the npt. Kim jonguns regime now appears to be close, however. This first volume is the most authoritative and complete reference work available on u. Also yes, the book more fully discussed weapons delivery systems as opposed to getting deep into the weeds on the atomicnuclear devices, but i am sure we all can agree most of that information probably goes beyond the scope of security clearance, let alone full. As previously noted by other customers there are some minor typos. Extraparliamentary dissent in france and germany 1981. A civilian nuclear reactor meltdown in the united states in 1979. Jina kim investigates how north korea rationalized its pursuit of nuclear weapons programs for more than two decades, by exploring the dialectical development of the nuclear crisis and the obstacles generated by complex internal korean dynamics and conflicting.
The american author tells ed pilkington about his sixyear allout immersion in the terrifying and surreal world of nuclear weapons for. Fission weapons are commonly referred to as atomic bombs, and fusion weapons are referred to as thermonuclear bombs or, more commonly, hydrogen bombs. North korea is perilously close to developing strategic nuclear weapons capable of hitting the united states and its east asian allies. Nuclear weapons policy council on foreign relations. You have to read eric schlossers brilliant, hairraising. Instead, this book gives you a fastmoving, highly readable, and indepth look at the modern challenges to sound nuclear policy while ultimately offering a realistic answer to the question, do nuclear weapons make an important and irreplaceable contribution to. Mar 15, 20 this is more than a wellwritten and researched reference book, but also an examination by experts of the evolution of nuclear weapons policy.
How the united states responds carries implications for the region. He is the author of ballistic missile defence and us national security policy 20, and has published widely on nuclear strategy, nuclear proliferation and contemporary nuclear challenges. May 08, 2020 this book also explains why the united states needs to urgently resume nuclear testing to ensure the readiness and reliability of u. Drawing on recently declassified material, hansen presents the first detailed technological history of the development of american nuclear and thermonuclear weapons. Defense department, the atomic energy commission, and some other government agencies. Congress and nuclear weapons council on foreign relations. United states and weapons of mass destruction wikipedia. The source of nuclear potential energy also called binding energy or mass defect is the strong nuclear force also called the strong force or strong interaction between protons and neutrons.
The american author tells ed pilkington about his sixyear allout immersion in the terrifying and surreal world of nuclear weapons for his latest book, command and control. This nuclear weapons databook is for those who want to understand the nuclear arms race and are not frightened by numbers. Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that. Top 10 books on nuclear weapons and arms control foreign policy. Updated the section 8 of the nuclear weapons frequently asked questions, the first nuclear weapons, now with diagrams. You have to read eric schlossers brilliant, hairraising book on americas nuclear mishaps his sixyear investigation will scare the daylights out of you. The pentagon argues that even at its peak in the late2020s, spending on nuclear weapons is affordable because it will consume a peak of roughly 6. As long as nuclear weapons existespecially in large numbers in many statesthere is the risk of accident, miscalculation, or madness and the chance that a terrorist group could get a nuclear. Former united states military analyst offers his recollections and analysis of a cache of secret documents related to the us nuclear arsenal. Also discusses future warheads being planned and developed. It will appeal to a general audience as an engrossing read about cold war history as well as to those interested in nuclear weapons and u.
Mar 29, 2016 instead, this book gives you a fastmoving, highly readable, and indepth look at the modern challenges to sound nuclear policy while ultimately offering a realistic answer to the question, do nuclear weapons make an important and irreplaceable contribution to the national security of the united states p. Their significance may best be appreciated by the coining of the words kiloton 1,000 tons and megaton 1,000,000 tons to describe their blast energy in equivalent weights of the conventional chemical explosive tnt. The introduction provides an overview of nuclear weapons physics, the second and third chapters cover postwar fission and thermonuclear weapons development, the fourth describes individual weapons and warheads, and a final chapter focuses on arming and fuzing systems. New book presents a secret history of nuclear war planning. The secret history by chuck hansen, 1988 nuclear weapons databook. Nuclear weapons, the damascus accident, and the illusion of safety by eric schlosser, the making o. Verdict this is a welcome addition to a field dominated by books by nuclearweapons and strategy experts. The treaty legitimizes these states nuclear arsenals, but establishes they are not supposed to build and maintain such weapons in perpetuity. Hoenig, 1984 nrdc nuclear notebook prepared by robert s.
This chart shows that the total number of nuclear weapons in the world peaked in 1986. They are nonfiction books which relate to uranium mining, nuclear weapons andor nuclear power american prometheus. You can find it at the nuclear weapons archive, sister site to this one. Oct 25, 20 f or his latest book, command and control, the american author eric schlosser spent six years immersed in the world of nuclear weapons. News about nuclear weapons, including commentary and archival articles published in the new york times. The united states is known to have possessed three types of weapons of mass destruction. And at the time, the united states had 12,000 strategic nuclear weapons in other words, nuclear weapons that could hit the soviet union. The bomb in this books title is the nuclear bomb, a weapon that has become increasingly powerful since relatively crude nuclear devices were dropped on hiroshima and nagasaki to end world war ii. New book presents a secret history of nuclear war planning in. Jan 27, 2020 and at the time, the united states had 12,000 strategic nuclear weapons in other words, nuclear weapons that could hit the soviet union. Before and during the cold war, it conducted over a thousand nuclear tests and tested many longrange nuclear weapons delivery systems. Search for library items search for lists search for contacts search for a library. One way of quantifying the proliferation of nuclear weapons is to look at the stockpiles countries have. Second, the nuclear weapons program, unbounded as it was by logic or cost, led to all sorts of weapons that contributed little or nothing to deterrence such as the nuclear powered aircraft.
The number of states with confirmed nuclear capabilities now includes the us, russia, uk, france, china, india, pakistan, israel and north korea. Dolan, was the effects of nuclear weapons, which came out in three editions between 1950 and 1977 originally titled the effects of atomic weapons. These questions have been posed before, going back almost to the start of nuclear deployments in turkey in 1959. The office of the deputy assistant secretary of defense for nuclear matters odasdnm is pleased to present the nuclear matters handbook 2020, celebrating over 20 years in print. Also yes, the book more fully discussed weapons delivery systems as opposed to getting deep into the weeds on the atomicnuclear devices, but i am sure we all. Heritage foundation hosts webinar on new center book on. The nuclear weapon archive a guide to nuclear weapons. When you absolutely need to know everything about how, why and where a us nuclear warhead and its delivery system was developed, this is. For example, the atomic bomb dropped on hiroshima, japan, in 1945, containing only about 64 kg 140 pounds of highly enriched. Nuclear weapons the secret history chuck hansen on.