Bomb Scare: The History and Future of Nuclear Weapons

Book Description

Since their inception, nuclear weapons have multiplied at an alarming rate, leaving everyone from policymakers to concerned citizens wondering what it will take to slow, stop, or even reverse their spread. With clarity and expertise, Joseph Cirincione presents an even-handed look at the history of nuclear proliferation and an optimistic vision of its future, providing a comprehensive survey of the wide range of critical perspectives.

Cirincione begins with the first atomic discoveries of the 1930s and covers the history of their growth all the way to current crisis with Iran. He unravels the science, strategy, and politics that have fueled the development of nuclear stockpiles and increased the chance of a nuclear terrorist attack. He also explains why many nations choose not to pursue nuclear weapons and pulls from this the outlines of a solution to the world's proliferation problem: a balance of force and diplomacy, enforcement and engagement that yields a steady decrease in these deadly arsenals.

Though nuclear weapons have not been used in war since August 1945, there is no guarantee this good fortune will continue. A unique blend of history, theory, and security analysis, Bomb Scare is an engaging text that not only supplies the general reader and student with a clear understanding of this issue but also provides a set of tools policymakers and scholars can use to prevent the cataclysmic consequences of another nuclear attack.

Customer Reviews:

Outstanding!.......2007-07-10

"Bomb Scare" is full of credible and helpful data, as well as balanced in its assessments.

Early on readers learn that it takes about 80 generations of neutrons to fission a kilogram of material - this takes about 0.8 microseconds and creates a temperature of 10 billion Celsius. A gun design plug in an enriched uranium bomb has to travel at at least 1,000 ft./second to initiate a sustained chain reaction. The Hiroshima bomb gun barrel weighed about 1,000 lbs. and was 6 feet long; the bomb itself used 64 kilos of U-235. Today this could be accomplished with 25 kilos and put into a package about the size of a small melon. (Plutonium could not be used in a gun design - its neutrons are too fast.)

Implosion-type designs are used for plutonium bombs. About 6 kilos was used for the Trinity test and at Nagasaki. Modern weapons use about 5 kilograms - about the size of a plum. (So much for the debate on whether "suitcase" bombs are feasible.)

The first U.S. H-bomb had a yield of 10.4 megatons.

The U.S. total stockpile of nuclear and thermonuclear weapons reached around 20,000 by 1960, vs. 1,600 for the Russians. (So much for Kennedy's argument that the U.S. had a "bomb gap.") We recently learned that during the Cuban missile crisis the Russians had already positioned about 100 nuclear weapons in Cuba.

There are five main reasons states acquire nuclear weapons: Security, prestige, domestic politics, technology, and economics. Different sides of the same reasons are also why many nations choose not to acquire such weapons.

Cirincione sees Russia as the #1 potential source of nuclear weapons/material for terrorists. It has thousands of nuclear weapons at 150-210 sites and hundreds of nuclear materials at about 49 sites. Experts believe that it would be difficult for terrorists to acquire a completed bomb - they are well guarded and utilize complex security locks. On the other hand, experts also believe that terrorists could construct a bomb from enriched material with only 3-4 technically people.

Pakistan is seen as a close #2 potential source. USA Today reported in November of 2001 that at least 10 Taliban had contacted Pakistani scientists in the prior two years. Pakistan has enough highly enriched uranium to make 50-100 bombs.

There are also about 40 nations with civilian stockpiles for power reactors. While not sufficiently enriched for nuclear weapons, it would be a simple matter to extend the enrichment process to create such.

Potential nuclear powder-kegs involve U.S. and Russian weapons being on 15-minute alert, and situations involving Taiwan, or India-Pakistan. Adverse recent events include the U.S. invasion of Iraq (increased terrorist and nervous state motivation to acquire nuclear weapons), our support for increased Indian development of nuclear weapons, U.S. promulgation of new logic for nuclear weapon use ("bunker-busters," use against non-nuclear states), and a slowdown/stop in reduction programs involving Russia.

The good news is that the number of nuclear weapons in the world has been cut in half over the past 15 years, those seriously considering their acquisition or having them have declined from 23 to 10, there has been a two-thirds reduction in ICBMs, and both the U.S. and Russia have destroyed their chemical weapons.

Author's Bottom Line: Cirincione believes that efforts must not only be directed at reducing nuclear weapons and proliferation, but eliminating the underlying sources of conflict as well.

History, security analysis and theory blends in a general text for any student of world politics.......2007-06-09

BOMB SCARE: THE HISTORY & FUTURE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS begins with the first atomic discoveries of the 1930s and covers the history of the growth of nuclear weapons through the decades, right up to the current crisis with Iran and the threat of worldwide proliferation. History, security analysis and theory blends in a general text for any student of world politics and military history, particularly at the college level.

USAF Vet Recommends Five Stars.......2007-06-08

Those of us with a Top Secret "Q" Clearance during the Cold War are intimately familiar with the horrific realities of what a nuclear confrontation would mean for civilization. The author provides a concise, accurate, and up-to-date history of the nuclear threat. He also advances the best thinking related to diminishing the threats posed by nuclear arms in the 21st century, and putting the materials of decommissioned warheads to peaceful uses as fuel for nuclear reactors.

Overly Optimistic.......2007-04-09

This book deals with something that most of us don't spend much time thinking about. We should think about it more.

Cirincione, the former director of the Nonproliferation Project at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, takes the reader through the history of the development of nuclear weapons and the arms control agreements that have somewhat curtailed their spread. He presents a rational analysis of the drivers that cause states to seek to acquire nuclear weapons as well as the barriers that motivate some to turn away from the quest, or abandon it altogether.

And in the light of reasoned consideration he concludes, "The good news is that the nonproliferation regime has worked. The nuclear threat is less severe today than it was in 1970 when the Non-Proliferation Treaty entered into force". He bases this assessment on the fact that "the number of nuclear weapons in the world has declined from a peak of 65,000 in 1986, to roughly 27,000 today". But does this necessarily make the world a safer place?

Cirincione takes satisfaction that "the threat of a global thermonuclear war is now near zero". He goes on to state, "The dangers we face today are very serious, but they are orders of magnitude less severe than those we confronted just two decades ago from the overkill potential of U.S. and Russian arsenals. We no longer worry about the fate of the earth, but we still worry about the fate of our cities". It is in the ensuing discussion of nuclear terrorism that the upbeat tenor of the author's faith in the potential of negotiations and agreements to manage the imminent threat increasingly seems disconnected from reality.

While it is true that the threat of global thermonuclear war has diminished, the probability all out nuclear war was always very low as a result of the Strangelovian logic of mutually assured destruction. On the other hand, the likelihood of the detonation of a nuclear weapon smuggled into an American city by terrorists in the next decade is clearly significant. While such an event would not be the end of life on this planet, its societal, economic and political consequences would almost certainly be the end of life as we have come to know it. And, millions of people would die. This being the case, how can the author argue that the world is safer now than it was twenty years ago?

Cirincione also contends that the reduction in ballistic missiles is an indicator of a reduction of risk in the present day. What he neglects to consider is that weapons dispatched through alternate means - say in shipping containers with GPS activation - do not leave a return address, and as a result would not invite immediate retaliation. It would seem that a country hostile to the United States could launch such an attack with an impunity that would be inconceivable were the method of delivery a ballistic missile.

In this context it's hard to buy into the author's upbeat assessment of the future. As he would have it, securing existing weapons and stocks of fissile materials, new rounds of negotiations employing various carrots and sticks, and the good example of further disarmament by the US and Russia hold the promise of a better and a safer world. The problem is that while these actions are indeed necessary they are certainly not sufficient to produce the intended outcome. This is particularly the case given that some future nuclear adversaries may hold to apocalyptic world views.

Towards the end of the book Cirincione writes, "After wading through the history, theory, dangers, challenges and failures of proliferation policy, most readers could be excused for feeling a bit depressed. Don't be".

I guess I just can't help it. I am.

Sleeper Awake!.......2007-03-05

Perhaps the most significant issue in this century is not AIDS, the energy crisis, the environment or the Middle East but is the issue of universal nuclear disarmament. Joseph Cirincione has given us a clear solution to this problem in his book, BOMB SCARE: THE HISTORY AND FUTURE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS.

The first recorded war between nation states occurred in 2700 BC. From that time to the present man has devised a plethora of clever devices to kill and maim his fellows.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union near the end of the last century (1991), the United States has funded the Russian government in the "cleanup" of warheads, bombs and other nuclear components scattered throughout the various nuclear facilities in the former Soviet Republic in an attempt to prevent terrorists and other non-nuclear nations from obtaining the same. Cirincione believes that "with additional funding, this threat reduction program could be accelerated to secure or eliminate the vast majority of nuclear weapons and materials by 2010."

The issue, of course, is that the "have-nots" want what the "haves" have: NUCLEAR ENERGY. Here the author proposes that a new system controlled by the International Atomic Energy Agency would provide a supply of nuclear material to countries that need it for civilian use in exchange for an agreement that those same countries not seek to build facilities to create their own "nuclear resources".

Cirincione understands that it is impossible to convince the "have-nots" to give up their nuclear weapons ambitions and to adhere to nonproliferation norms while the "haves" assert the importance of these weapons for their own safety and security (read that Pakistan and Iran). As one state goes nuclear, another state is forced to do the same thing ad infinitum: "in short, proliferation begets proliferation." Cirincione whimsically wonders if the obverse is possible.

188 countries are signatories to the Non-Proliferation Treaty that became effective in 1970. The only countries that have not signed are: Israel, Pakistan, and India. North Korea has withdrawn. These are the countries the treaty has unsuccessfully prevented from obtaining nuclear resources. The original signatories, the United States, Russia, Great Britain, France and China all agreed to ultimately dismantle their arsenals under a future agreement: to date that "future accord" has not happened. In fact, advances in this area have continued. Without compliance with this treaty, Cirincione posits the world faces a nuclear disaster.

In the end the author asks the reader to think beyond the old paradigms and to dare to explore ways to prevent what certainly, in the world's present state, is a sure slide into nuclear oblivion. This is more than a thoughtful book, it is a book every American should read and take to heart.

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

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Calculations are only as good as your numbers
Pants on fire?
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
Very Interesting
History as Science Fiction

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 2913621058

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Average customer rating:

Is this the best non-fiction book ever written?
From soup to nuts
How do you define "Making"?
atomic bomb
interesting, thorough history

The Making of the Atomic Bomb
Richard Rhodes
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0684813785

Amazon.com

If the first 270 pages of this book had been published separately, they would have made up a lively, insightful, beautifully written history of theoretical physics and the men and women who plumbed the mysteries of the atom. Along with the following 600 pages, they become a sweeping epic, filled with terror and pity, of the ultimate scientific quest: the development of the ultimate weapon. Rhodes is a peerless explainer of difficult concepts; he is even better at chronicling the personalities who made the discoveries that led to the Bomb. Niels Bohr dominates the first half of the book as J. Robert Oppenheimer does the second; both men were gifted philosophers of science as well as brilliant physicists. The central irony of this book, which won a National Book Critics Circle Award, is that the greatest minds of the century contributed to the greatest destructive force in history.

Book Description

Here for the first time, in rich, human, political, and scientific detail, is the complete story of how the bomb was developed, from the turn-of-the-century discovery of the vast energy locked inside the atom to the dropping of the first bombs on Japan.

Few great discoveries have evolved so swiftly -- or have been so misunderstood. From the theoretical discussions of nuclear energy to the bright glare of Trinity there was a span of hardly more than twenty-five years. What began as merely an interesting speculative problem in physics grew into the Manhattan Project, and then into the Bomb with frightening rapidity, while scientists known only to their peers -- Szilard, Teller, Oppenheimer, Bohr, Meitner, Fermi, Lawrence, and yon Neumann -- stepped from their ivory towers into the limelight.

Richard Rhodes takes us on that journey step by step, minute by minute, and gives us the definitive story of man's most awesome discovery and invention. The Making of the Atomic Bomb has been compared in its sweep and importance to William L. Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. It is at once a narrative tour de force and a document as powerful as its subject.

Customer Reviews:

Is this the best non-fiction book ever written?.......2007-08-03

Read this one. It has that wonderful and rare convergence of a fantastic story, great science, and distinguished writing and storytelling. Richard Rhodes learned a lot for this, then distilled it down, synthesized the information, and made it fascinating. I don't have a single complaint, it's just great. Just read it again for the first time in twenty years. Only "tickling the dragon's tail" came back, which is dropping a slug of U235 thru a hole in another similar mass, an early experiment.

From soup to nuts.......2007-04-21

I had been looking for a complete history of the making of the atomic bomb for many years. Imagine my pleasure at discovering this Pulitzer Prize winning tome on the budget rack at my local book store. Most books on this subject focus on only one aspect, the scientists, the science, Groves but this book brilliantly covers all aspects of the making of the bomb. Even more fascinating was the development of the theories and discoveries which led the leading scientists of the day to the understanding that the splitting of the atom and the awesome release of power that this would engender, was even possible. At over 900 pages you might think that this read would be tedious, but it is impossible to put this book down.

How do you define "Making"?.......2007-03-21

It's not what I thought it would be but I'm struggling to come up with a suitable title. "Fusion - Epiphany to Actuality - The Lead-Up to the Atomic Bomb" is about the best I can do. It should have stopped at the first critical mass.

The actual 'Making' happened after the theory/experimentation, which is this book's primary focus. The actual 'making' was what I was primarily interested in learning about - Los Alamos, Oak Ridge, etc., where the gadget was actually 'made'. Incredibly very short-shrift is given to this despite the length of the book.

"The Making of the Atomic Bomb" is remarkable in it's own right. But while we're not supposed to judge a book by its cover I thought we might at least have a reasonable chance at judging the topic by its title. Apparently not.

atomic bomb.......2007-01-17

The Atomic Bomb
By Dakota Moxon

Why did Japan surrender? If you guessed that it was when the United States dropped the atomic bombs on Japan you are right. Do you know why we decided to drop the atomic bombs on Japan? I chose the atomic bomb because it brought the biggest war to an end.
I think World War 2 was the biggest war in the world. I thought this was the scariest war when the United States dropped the atomic bombs. World War 2 had claimed many lives on both sides before Germany surrendered. President Truman now wanted to end the war in Japan. Before the start of World War 2 Albert Einstein contacted President Franklin D. Roosevelt and made him aware that a great bomb could be made. After much thought and prayer, President Truman made the decision to use an atomic bomb instead of invading. President Truman knew that many more Americans and Japanese would die if we invaded. American war planners thought that about one million Japanese soldiers and people would be killed and about 500,000 Americans would be killed.
President Truman had airplanes drop little pieces of paper warning the people to get out of the city. He contacted the Japanese and asked them to surrender so we would not have to drop the atomic bomb. They did not surrender. On August 2nd, 1945 the first atomic bomb named "Little Boy" was dropped on Hiroshima. The Japanese would still not surrender so we dropped the second atomic bomb named "Fat Man" on Nagasaki on August 9th. Finally, on August 14th, Japan announced its surrender.
I think it was sad because many people died when we dropped the atomic bombs. Even though many people died, many people were saved because we did not invade. Many more people would have died if we did. I hope we do not have to drop another atomic bomb again. If I had to be in war I would hope that it would be the last war in history.

interesting, thorough history.......2007-01-12

awesome read! though it is many pages long, it is pretty easy to read, and it is very detailed. the pictures in the book do an excellent job showing the damage. the personal accounts of the survivors of the bombs are so moving and really make you think.

Stalin and the Bomb: The Soviet Union and Atomic Energy, 1939-1956

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An island of intellectual autonomy in a totalitarian state
An Excellent Overview of the Entire Period
Plenty of characters, with just a few plots.
Intriguing Analysis of a Hidden Episode

Stalin and the Bomb: The Soviet Union and Atomic Energy, 1939-1956
David Holloway
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0300066643

Book Description

A distinguished authority tells the spellbinding story of the people and politics behind the development of the Soviet atom bomb. Based on interviews with participants and research in newly opened archives, the book reveals how the American atomic monopoly affected Stalin`s foreign policy, the role of espionage in the evolution of the Soviet bomb, and the relationship between Soviet nuclear scientists and the country`s political leaders.

Customer Reviews:

An island of intellectual autonomy in a totalitarian state.......2004-09-09

D. Holloway tells us outstandingly and very detailed the gripping story of the development of nuclear weapons in the Soviet Union. He shows us that the SU success was the result of the effort of Russian scientists with I.V. Kurchatov in a crucial role, although some data were obtained via spying (Klaus Fuchs).
The nuclear weapons building combined the best (scientists, engineers) and the worst of the SU, with prisoners working in appalling conditions (no protection) and real nuclear exercises with soldiers as guinea pigs.

D. Holloway analyzes also pregnantly the hostile ideological environment for scientists. The regime's fundamental logic remained political. The politicians had the right to define what was science and pseudoscience. In the name of dialectical materialism whole scientific disciplines (e.g. genetics) were destroyed (the Lyssenko case).
Physics also came under attack. Beria asked Kurchatov if it was true that quantum mechanics and relativity theory were idealist, antimaterialist. Kurchatov replied that if relativity theory and qm were rejected, the bomb would be rejected too. Stalin's ultimate answer was:' Leave them in peace, we can shoot them later!' (p. 204)
This 'pseudoscientific' debate was held within a bureaucratic framework. Scientists were well paid and the party bureaucrats and ideologues were jealous and wanted to take their place, even if they were incompetent. Beria left physics unhampered because he needed the bomb. In that sense, physics remained a small element of civil society in a totalitarian state. But if the scientists had failed, they would certainly have received a neckshot.

The impact of nuclear weapons on international political relations is also outstandingly explained.
After WW II the Soviet leaders assumed rightly that the US was seeking world dominance and that the SU was the main impediment. The scientific planners in the US discussed seriously a preemptive (!) strike against the US.
Stalin was not impressed by the US nuclear power. He continued tot think that conventional weapons and troops had still the upper hand. As an example, he took the risk of the Berlin crisis in 1948. But he grasped that the SU also needed the bomb.
The physicists knew that an international balance of power was needed. They understood the effects of a nuclear war and explained to the politicians that the survival of the human race was at stake.
After Stalin, Khrushev renounced Lenin's thesis that war was inevitable between capitalist states. As the nuclear stockpile grew, he admitted that a peaceful coexistence of capitalism and socialism was preferable.

D. Holloway wrote a magisterial analysis of an essential part of mankind's history. A fascinating read.

An Excellent Overview of the Entire Period.......2004-02-28

Stalin and the Bomb is an excellent overview not only of the Soviet atomic project but of the entire Stalin period. Holloway discusses some of the disastorous policies Stalin pursued in the scientific arena (for example, when it came to biology) and shows how Stalin was able to control his ideological impulses when it came to a project that would net him real power.

Stalin and the Bomb is extremely readable and provides some nice detail on Kurchatov, the father of the Soviet A-bomb. A little more on Sakharov and the H-bomb project would have been nice, but was not central to the thrust of the book. Significantly, this book delves into significant technical detail about the research and construction of nuclear weapons, but the author does a superb job of making the science accessable to people without PhDs in physics.

Plenty of characters, with just a few plots........2002-03-18

I was most interested in who had the first hydrogen bomb (the first real plan, the ideal materials, a way to make it, and a test device) and I didn't mind reading about "some radioactive indicator which is formed with the participation of fast deuterons" (p. 304) to find out. Sorting out the physics, which can be revealed to those who care to know, with a comparison of alternate paths to the same result, reveals something far more substantial than the usual plot, based on the politics of world domination, the main concern of Stalin and the author of this book. Stalin gets some sympathy for facing a stark post-war reality, based on his comparison of what World War II did to Russia and Germany, compared to the damage which the few atomic bombs which existed in his lifetime could produce, and it might be said that he acted accordingly in attempting to maintain countervailing threats whenever he was pressured. Any notion of absolute justice, or even feasible military advantage, seems to be as elusive for the superpowers (and one still exists today) as for the petty despots and warlords that often become characters in this book about how such weapons came to be. I didn't mind the revelations about certain events: a war in Korea at a critical point in this book even makes the question of when Mao ordered the Chinese divisions into Korea an interesting question to be considered. In most of these books, I like the events which influenced Sakharov most, the best. The description of the shock wave from the November 1955 test on pages 316-7 includes, "All of this triggers an irrational yet very strong emotional impact."

Intriguing Analysis of a Hidden Episode.......2000-06-03

David Holloway, a professor at Stanford, has published an intriguing history of Soviet nuclear weapons development in _Stalin_and_the_Bomb_. This volume interweaves two main themes--the technical difficulties in designing and fabricating nuclear weapons, and the political motivations commanding these efforts along with their strategic implications.

Many of the major participants are familiar to readers of Soviet history, such as Stalin, Beria, Molotov and Khrushchev. However, the important actors in this drama were the technical experts who created these engines of destruction on behalf of their masters. Many prominent scientists labored to provide the theoretical and experimental support demanded by Stalin for rapid industrialization, laying the groundwork for the tremendous infrastructure needed to duplicate the achievements of the Manhattan Project years later. Research in radioactivity eventually led to the first spontaneous fission experiment in 1940, but this did not attract attention in the West, where restrictions began for publication on nuclear physics.

Work on fission continued during the war, but the lack of uranium prevented much advancement. Holloway, in examining the directives during this period, found priorities unchanged following the Potsdam meeting, in contrast to the subsequent demand for uranium production after Hiroshima. He attributes Stalin's casual reaction to Truman's mention of a new weapon to skepticism regarding its importance. But the bomb as a colossal reality, not merely as an intelligence phantom, presented Stalin with a new strategic contention. His response was to show resolve in the face of anticipated intimidation coupled with orders to develop this technology independently. However, he only recognized the bomb as an instrument of Anglo-American policy, and refused to consider it militarily decisive in any potential conflict. When challenging US policy over Berlin, for example, Stalin carefully applied pressure while keeping his options open and took care not to escalate tensions beyond retraction.

The achievement of creating an atomic bomb, given the devastating post-war depravation of the Soviet Union can be credited primarily to Igor Kurchatov, the scientific director of the nuclear project from 1942 until his death in 1960. Kurchatov was a well respected figure in Soviet physics, but he also provided a methodical and systematic orchestration to a project with many difficult sundry en-gineering obstacles to overcome, not to mention the menacing oversight by Beria, head of the NKVD. Although awarded privileged status in the post-war Soviet Union, the scientists recognized their position as predicated on successful completion of this task.

The primary obstacle remained the inadequate supply of uranium metal until 1948 when the first production reactor was built. Uranium isotope separation and plutonium precipitation were tackled with indus-trial vigor. The gaseous diffusion facility, modeled on the Oak Ridge plant involved particular engineering difficulties to be solved before uranium enrichment could proceed. Yulii Khariton, director of the secret nu-clear research laboratory Arzamas-16, led the study on the physics of detonation. Implosion was needed to compress the plutonium a few microseconds in order to start the chain reaction. Their first atom bomb was exploded August 1949 at Semipalatinsk with a yield of 20 kilotons of TNT. Thus the Soviet Union joined the nuclear club.

While espionage yielded useful information at the West's expense, Holloway argues that Klaus Fuchs saved the Soviets only about a year or two by giving dimensions of the plutonium implosion design. He compares the first Soviet atom bomb explosion in 1949 with the first British demonstration in 1952 despite much closer collaboration with the Americans than anything obtained clandestinely by their Soviet counterparts. Holloway also contends that the contribution by captured Germans was comparatively minor and sped the project by only a few weeks or months--principally in the area of processing uranium.

While the bomb was being developed, Stalin initiated orders on delivery systems--bombers by Vladimir Myasishchev and rockets by Sergei Korolev. In Stalin's view, another war was inevitable within two decades, and the atomic bomb would serve as merely another policy instrument. After he died in March 1953, his successors embarked on a less confrontational rapproachement with the West.

After the Soviets demonstrated their ability to create weapons based on nuclear fission, Truman decided to pursue the hydrogen bomb, because there was no indication that Stalin would reciprocate a policy of restraint. After some false starts, a method to use X-ray compression from fission to implode the thermonuclear charge was discovered, enabling a yield limited only by the quantity of nuclear fuel. The Mike test in November 1952 verified this concept with an ungainly 60-ton refrigerated assembly. Meanwhile, the Russians embarked on fusion independently. A young physicist, Andrei Sakarov began work in 1948 and joined the Arzamas-16 facility, developing the "Layer Cake" which resembled the boosted fission weapon, before advancing on the two-stage Super. The first thermonuclear bomb was exploded in August 1953, and apparently alarmed Kurchatov, being 20 times more power-ful than the first Soviet fission bomb four years earlier. In November 1955, the first two-stage thermonuclear bomb with a yield of 1.6 megatons was exploded.

The first Soviet fusion explosion produced a profound change in the attitudes of politburo members about the same time that Americans realized that this new weapon represented a far more potent destructive force than the fission variety. In the aftermath of this revelation, a more conciliatory "peaceful coexistence" doctrine began to develop. Khrushchev's increased dialog with western leaders also facilitated long dormant communication between Soviet physicists and their colleagues beyond the Iron Curtain. Kurchatov's visit in 1956 was well received at Harwell, the British power station. From this small privileged enclave, a civilizing influence was nurtured within a totalitarian society. Eventually, Sakarov went beyond the usual misgivings of Soviet society to become a dissident and human rights advocate.

_Stalin_ concludes that the arms race between the two blocks was contingent solely on Stalin's intentions. Holloway believes that in the post-war years the bomb probably restrained the use of force but also made Stalin less cooperative to avoid seeming weak.

Book Description

This Second Edition continues the fine tradition of its predecessor by exploring the various automatic control systems in aircraft and on board missiles. Considerably expanded and updated, it now includes new or additional material on: the effectiveness of beta-beta feedback as a method of obtaining coordination during turns using the F-15 as the aircraft model; the root locus analysis of a generic acceleration autopilot used in many air-to-air and surface-to-air guided missiles; the guidance systems of the AIM-9L Sidewinder as well as bank-to-turn missiles; various types of guidance, including proportional navigation and line-of-sight and lead-angle command guidance; the coupling of the output of a director fire control system into the autopilot; the analysis of multivariable control systems; and methods for modeling the human pilot, plus the integration of the human pilot into an aircraft flight control system. Also features many new additions to the appendices.

Customer Reviews:

Ode to Frequency Domain Methods.......2005-08-23

Blakelock's book is probably the most practical flight control book out there for both planes and missiles. Unfortunatly fly-by-wire and some other newer methods now practicable because of increased on-board computing power are not really covered but are hinted at in places. This tome provides probably the easiest to understand approach to aircraft control in existance. Straightforward and oriented to a step-by-step approach, it beats many of the "classic" texts popular with many professors hands down. Being a controls kind of guy, I particularly enjoy his use of normalized stability derivatives which result in controller designs already in units that can be directly used for servomotor design. A good understanding of this book will be of enormous use to even the most moderm airplane control system designer. For many years this book has been the secret weapon of those "in the know".
This book is oriented almost exclusively to frequency domain methods but there is a state variable approach chapter. Currently, there is a return to state-space methods movement in progress but this material in Blakelock is mandatory even for understanding the state-space methods. Examine Stengel's new work Flight Dynamics.

Automatic Control of Aircraft and Missiles by J H Blakelock.......2001-08-21

Blakelock's text is a very fine book. You may also find Control Systems Engineering by Nise (now in 3rd Edn)of benefit.

The reference book to have for missile simulation.......1998-09-19

I used this book as a ready refence for all my six degree-of-freedom missile modeling. An excellent presentation. There are 13 chapters with 9 Appendices. I suspect this book is out-of-print - get it while you can!

The Los Alamos Primer: The First Lectures on How To Build an Atomic Bomb

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The Los Alamos Primer: prime!
Great book on the physics of the bomb
Excellent!
10 STARS! Essential reading
Fascinating

The Los Alamos Primer: The First Lectures on How To Build an Atomic Bomb
Robert Serber
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0520075765

Amazon.com

In April 1943, a young physicist named Robert Serber stood up before a small group of fellow scientists in a laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico, and, as one attendee later recalled, began to speak in "a hazy, uncertain voice" about the project on which they would all be working. "The object," he said, "is to produce a practical military weapon in the form of a bomb in which the energy is released by a fast neutron chain reaction in one or more of the materials known to show nuclear fission." That mechanism, of course, was the atomic bomb, which a little more than two years later would be used against Japan.

In the following weeks, Serber touched on many themes, racing to an array of chalkboards to scribble complex formulas and equations. Among other things, he addressed how big a bomb would need to be in order to achieve critical mass--between 13.5 centimeters and 9 centimeters, he calculated--and what the probability of premature detonation might be. (It was, he concluded, always a danger.) At the end of the series, his lecture notes, classified as top secret, were gathered and printed for distribution to later cadres of scientists who came to work at Los Alamos. Years after the war they were declassified, and Serber, who died in May of 1997, took the opportunity to reflect on his work and the strange culture of the laboratory, adding postscripts and other commentary reproduced in the present edition.

Serber's book is an important document in the history of science, and remains one of the most accessible introductions to nuclear physics ever written. (On that note, those who worry that it is all too easy to find bomb-building instructions in the library or on the Web should rest assured: these lectures were tough for the greatest theoretical physicists of the time to follow.) It all makes for provocative reading. --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

The classified lectures that galvanized the Manhattan Project scientists--with annotations for the nonspecialist reader and an introduction by a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian.
In March 1943 a group of young scientists, sequestered on a mesa near Santa Fe, attended a crash course in the new atomic physics. The lecturer was Robert Serber, J. Robert Oppenheimer's protégé, and they learned that their job was to invent the world's first atomic bomb.
Serber's lecture notes, nicknamed the "Los Alamos Primer," were mimeographed and passed from hand to hand, remaining classified for many years. They are published here for the first time, and now contemporary readers can see just how much was known and how terrifyingly much was unknown when the Manhattan Project began. Could this "gadget," based on the newly discovered principles of nuclear fission, really be designed and built? Could it be small enough and light enough for an airplane to carry? If it could be built, could it be controlled?
Working with Richard Rhodes, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian of the development of the atomic bomb, Professor Serber has annotated original lecture notes with explanations of the physics terms for the nonspecialist. His preface, an informal memoir, vividly conveys the mingled excitement, uncertainty, and intensity felt by the Manhattan Project scientists. Rhodes's introduction provides a brief history of the development of atomic physics up to the day that Serber stood before his blackboard at Los Alamos. In this edition, The Los Alamos Primer finally emerges from the archives to give a new understanding of the very beginning of nuclear weapons. No seminar anywhere has had greater historical consequences.

Customer Reviews:

The Los Alamos Primer: prime!.......2007-01-11

IANAP (I Am Not A Physicist), but the son of one who worked in Los Alamos some time after WWII ... definitely recommend this for those not intimidated by some equations. There's lots here without the match, and the more of it you can appreciate the more the insights. Serber's comments add a lot of perspective.

Great book on the physics of the bomb.......2004-01-15

This is a truly exciting book for people with the desire to understand bomb physics. This book consists out of the original lecture notes from a series of seminars given in 1943 to the bomb scientists at the start of the Manhattan Project. These lecture notes are clearly annotated so that a layman can understand the bomb. Although the book discusses mainly the knowledge of 1943, the clear annotations of the author comments also on the advances since 1943.

In this book you will learn to calculate the energy of an atomic bomb after already 5 pages using only one simple physical law (no, not Einstein!). When you are halfway in the book, you will understand the calculations of the critical mass.

However to fully appreciate the book, you need to have a basic understanding of mathematics and physics. (it would be nice if you know what a differential equation is.)

The book also contains several funny anekdotes which make it a truly astonishing reading.

Excellent!.......2003-04-09

Excellent book, it takes a bit to stick with it, but the modern day excerpts/perspectives threaded into the book give it a good historical perspective. This is a good combo to go together with Richard Rhodes "The Making of the Atomic Bomb" and "Dark Sun".

10 STARS! Essential reading.......2001-09-25

- for anyone seriously interested in our nuclear heritage, weaponeering, or the NWEPS program. Gives INCREDIBLE insight as to the minds and directions these young physicists were going.

This book is a must-read. Simple, concise, straightforward technically. You gotta read it, 'nuff said.

Fascinating.......2001-08-24

This is an incredible book. This is originally a compilation of Robert Serber's notes he gave to incoming scientists at Los Alamos in the 1940s, explaining to them the purpose of the Manhattan Project and the expected means by which they would achieve their goal. This particular copy, courtesy of the University of California Press, contains not only an introduction by Mr. Richard Rhodes (author of The Making of the Atomic Bomb - strongly recommended), but notes throughout the Primer itself by Robert Serber. It is fascinating to read comments on a document by the man who wrote it many years afterward. Be warned: This is NOT a how-to book, and does require some basic knowledge of calculus and physics. It is, however, unbelievably interesting, and worth the cost to add it to your collection.

National Security and The Nuclear Dilemma, 1945-1991

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National Security and The Nuclear Dilemma, 1945-1991
Richard Smoke
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0070593523

Book Description

This definitive survey examines the impact of nuclear weaponry on national security issues. Written by an experienced author and founder of the Peace and Common Security Institute in Berkeley, California, this text describes how current nuclear dilemmas have developed out of past choices and events. The final chapter of this chronologically organized text covers events that took place from 1985-1991, making the material relevant to the post-Cold War era.

The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: A Debate Renewed, Second Edition

Average customer rating:

The best
Simple debate, tremendous consequences

The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: A Debate Renewed, Second Edition
Scott D. Sagan , and Kenneth N. Waltz
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Arms Control | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0393977471

Book Description

If the nuclear balance of terror helped maintain the 'long peace' between the united States and the Soviet Union during the Cold Ware, will the spread of nuclear weapons to new states also help stabilize international relations in the future? In this increasingly complex world, how do issues such as global terrorism, missile defense, and the Indian-Pakistani conflict factor into the decisions states make about nuclear weapons?

In The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: A Debate Renewed, two major international relations scholars resume their well-known dialogue about these important questions, as well as others. Kenneth Waltz, the dean of realist theory in international relations, expands on his argument that "more may be better," contending that new nuclear states will use their acquired nuclear capabilities to deter threats and preserve peace. Scott Sagan, the leading proponent of organizational theories in international politics, continues to make the counterpoint that "more will be worse": novice nuclear states lack adequate organizational controls over their new weapons, which makes for a high risk of either deliberate of accidental nuclear war.

The global community has long been fascinated by—as well as terrified of—nuclear weapons. This short and engaging book is required reading for citizens and statesmen, as well as scholars and students.

Customer Reviews:

The best.......2007-01-11

Certainly the best debate ever produced about the existence of nuclear weapons and its distribution around the world. Highly recomended!

Simple debate, tremendous consequences.......2003-02-17

This books puts together two colliding authors on whether the proliferation of nuclear weapons is a good idea or not. Waltz, one fo the premier figures of realpolitik, argues (brilliantly, even though I disagree with him) that proliferation is a good idea. Sagan argues there are too many organizational risks in the proliferation system.

Book Description

American Ground Zero is the extraordinary product of one photojournalist's decade-long commitment, a gripping, courageous collection of portraits and interviews of those whose lives were crossed by radioactive fallout.

For twelve years beginning in 1951, the United States government conducted above ground testing of nuclear weapons in the deserts of Nevada. For more than four decades it has tried to cover up the human and environmental devastation wrought by this testing. In American Ground Zero, Carole Gallagher has penetrated the veil of official secrecy and anonymity to document the incredible untold story of the Americans whose misfortune it was to live downwind of the nuclear detonations - those citizens described in a top-secret Atomic Energy Commission memo as "a low-use segment of the population" - and of civilian workers and military personnel exposed to radiation at the Nevada Test Site.

The above ground nuclear testing was "the most prodigiously reckless program of scientific experimentation in United States history," Keith Schneider notes in his foreword to the book. Many of its 126 fallout clouds floated across the American West and eastward with radiation levels comparable to those released at Chernobyl. Yet residents of the downwind areas were consistently told that there was no danger, and were even encouraged to "participate in a moment of history" by coming out to watch these fallout clouds drifting over their homes.

Abandoning her career as a successful New York photographer, Carole Gallagher moved to Utah in 1983 and spent the next seven years networking among radiation survivors' groups and finding people willing to be photographed and tell their story. She covered six downwind states in all, including Test Site workers and atomic veterans. The result is a striking gallery of the undecorated casualties of an undeclared war. Never exploitative, Gallagher's photographs only rarely convey the subjects' considerable physical sufferings: instead, they invite the viewer to witness the beauty and value in these ordinary lives.

Carole Gallagher is a photographer whose work has been shown in galleries and museums around the world. She is currently living in New York City.

Customer Reviews:

Should be required reading in every school!!!.......2006-06-15

I've read and reread this book so many times I've lost count. In addition I've loaned it out to multiple friends just to get them to open their eyes. Each time I read it I'm still amazed at the liberties taken by the military during this period of time. There is so much important information here I could never even scratch the surface in a short review. The poignant stories told by the victims of these nuclear tests (mostly patriotic mormons who felt the govt. could do no wrong) will move you emotionally, besides backing up Gallaghers claims. If you consider yourself a patriot, prepare to have your world shaken. Just buy it, you wont be sorry.

a very compelling set of stories and B&W photographs..........2005-04-19

I'm a science writer, and I was conducting some research at the M.I.T. library regarding the 1962 series of nuclear tests at Johnston Island in the Pacific. Mostly I was seeking highly technical information -- but I saw this volume sitting on the shelf next to the monographs I was reviewing, so I took what I originally intended to be a quick glance.

After several hours' reading of "American Ground Zero", I found myself quite upset, for this collection of highly credible, first-person accounts clearly demonstrates ongoing efforts of the federal government to ignore, downplay -- even falsify -- data regarding the atomic testing of the 1950s, '60s, '70s, and '80s, particularly the atmospheric tests conducted at the Nevada Test Site near Las Vegas up through 1962.

In today's debate regarding DOE's Yucca Mountain Project, the credibility of the federal government and its experts is a big issue in Nevada. This volume shows why -- through first-hand accounts and compelling photography, presented with the perspective of subsequent time. (Yucca mountain is an underground facility located on a corner of the old Nevada Test Site, and it is to become the nation's primary repository for high-level nuclear waste.)

For at least fifteen years, I have been following in the scientific literature the research & development of Yucca mountain. My own feelings on the matter had been ambivalent for high-level waste must be stored somewhere. Recently, I had become concerned with revelations regarding falsification of data by DOE employees and its contractors.

However, in one fell swoop -- this book completely persuaded me to the righteousness of the cause of those many Nevadans who oppose Yucca mountain. It clearly shows that Nevadans (along with residents of Utah and other downwind states) have already suffered far beyond their fair share of the nation's nuclear burden.

Sadly, the sacrifice of these citizens is not only largely unacknowledged today -- this work clearly shows that their earlier "cooperation" was concurrent with misrepresentations by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), the predecessor to today's Department of Energy (DOE), as well as by various military authorities.

Many of the individuals profiled in this volume are (were) former employees of the AEC and its contractors, or are (were) military veterans who participated in these atomic tests. Their accounts all seem to have one common thread -- that there were repeated efforts by authorities to downplay, or ignore, radioactive releases and associated health effects from both above- and below-ground nuclear tests.

The author, Carole Gallagher, deserves our nation's appreciation for documenting so eloquently the experiences of these otherwise ordinary citizens and bringing them to our collective attention. Unfortunately, their living testimonies and images are quickly passing...

Gallagher's book is conduit for voices of the downwinders.......2002-02-25

I grew up in Northern Arizona on the Utah border. Living close to St George and Cedar City, Utah, we heard rumors of families with unusually high incidents of leukemia and other cancers and the ensuing speculation about the cause. Gallagher's compilation of stories supplies the most human view of the downwinders. She documents a dark and frightening chapter in our goverment's history. Most compelling were the stories of the workers at the test site who were not even afforded the pretense of protection from exposure. I would have appreciated additional focus on the effects of the testing on the Native American tribes in Utah and Northern Arizona.

Gallagher has given us a treasure by documenting the stories of radiation exposure victims who deserve to have their stories told. Once started, I could not stop reading this book and found myself studying each photograph for several minutes before reading the accompanying story.

Thank you Ms. Gallagher for leaving your New York roots, succuming to the fashion dictates of southern Utah and permitting yourself to become the blank slate upon which these stories were etched.

Should be required reading in every school!.......2001-12-06

Compassionately denying one's ability to hide truth........1999-06-05

I have had this book for two years. Reading it completely 9 times and countless partial times. Gallagher in her effort "to become a blank slate upon which the stories could be written" has embodied the voice of a people not just a position of personal opinion. Hearing that voice cause's the reader to open there eye's to the stark reality of what "we the people" have allowed to happen. Revealing just how fast the holocost of the WWII was pushed out of the conscientious of the people. Allowing the same mentality that drove the Nazi's, to develope in the country "were that could not happen". Without a doubt this "work" is not for the light hearted. Reality with weight, forces the reader to think. Cause's the reader to question not only the government structure and poilcy's we have let be set but the moral code by which we justify a means to a end. How do you determine who live's and who dies? What and Who determines the worth of a human being? You will be challanged, morally, and emotionally. Carole Gallagher has painted people, words, and pictures together in a way that you will not shake off anytime soon. Personal stories will bury themselve's deep into your heart and mind. You will hear the echoed cry's of a people for which there was no justice, no hope. The bottom line reality is we let it happen. This is "the wake up call" Gallagher presents the reader with. It is very disturbing wake up call.

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