Nuclear Weapons: A Very Short Introduction

About this book

Despite not having been used in anger since Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear weapons are still the biggest threat that faces us in the 21st century. Indeed for all the effort to reduce nuclear stockpiles to zero and to keep other nations (such as Iran) from developing nuclear capability it seems that the Bomb is here to stay. In this gripping Very Short Introduction Joseph M. Siracusa an internationally respected authority on nuclear arms provides a comprehensive accessible and at times chilling overview of the most deadly weapon ever invented. Siracusa explains the history of the arms race and the politics of the bomb ranging from the technology of nuclear weapons to the revolutionary implications of the H-bomb and the politics of nuclear deterrence. The issues are set against a backdrop of the changing international landscape from the early days of development through the Cold War to the present-day controversy over George W. Bushs National Missile Defense and the role of nuclear weapons in an Age of Terror. Providing an accessible and eye-opening backdrop to one of the most unsettling aspects of the modern world this compact introduction is must reading. About the Series: Combining authority with wit accessibility and style Very Short Introductions offer an introduction to some of lifes most interesting topics. Written by experts for the newcomer they demonstrate the finest contemporary thinking about the central problems and issues in hundreds of key topics from philosophy to Freud quantum theory to Islam.