Nuclear weapons a very short introduction - Siracusa, Joseph M. 1944- (Oxford University Press, 2008)
Includes bibliographical references (pages 130-138) and index
Despite not having been used in anger since Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Bomb is still the biggest threat that faces us in the 21st century. As Bill Clinton's first secretary of defence, Les Aspin, aptly 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 effort to reduce nuclear stockpiles to zero, it seems that the Bomb is here to stay. This Very Short Introduction reveals why. The history, and politics of the bomb are explained: 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 of George W. Bush's National Missile Defence, and the threat and role of nuclear weapons in the so-called Age of Terror. --From publisher's description
What are nuclear weapons? -- Building the bomb -- 'A choice between the quick and the dead' -- Race for the H-bomb -- Nuclear deterrence and arms control -- Star Wars -- Nuclear weapons in the age of terrorism