Description
Book SynopsisEver since the first atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, the prospect of nuclear annihilation has haunted the modern world. But as John Mueller reveals in this eye-opening, compellingly argued, and very reassuring book, our obsession with nuclear weapons is unsupported by history, scientific fact, or logic. Examining the entire atomic era, Mueller boldly contends that nuclear weapons have had little impact on history. Although they have inspired overwrought policies and distorted spending priorities, for the most part they have proved to be militarily useless, and a key reason so few countries have taken them up is that they are a spectacular waste of money and scientific talent. Equally important, Atomic Obsession reveals why anxieties about terrorists obtaining nuclear weapons are essentially baseless: a host of practical and organizational difficulties make their likelihood of success almost vanishingly small.Mueller, one of America''s most distinguished yet provocative international
Trade ReviewHis witty and unmerciful intellectual attack on the doomsayers, who have been arguing for the past 50 years that rapid proliferation is just around the corner, that we stand on the brink of a new nuclear age, or that it is a few minutes to midnight, is a refreshing one. * Survival *
Table of ContentsIntroduction ; Part I. The Impact of Nuclear Weapons ; 1. Effects ; 2. Overstating the Effects ; 3. Deterring World War III: Essential Irrelevance ; 4. Influence on History ; 5. Influence on Rhetoric, Theorizing, and Budgets ; Part II. The Spread of Nuclear Weapons ; 6. Arms Races: Positive and Negative ; 7. Proliferation: Slow and Substantially Inconsequential ; 8. The Modest Appeal and Value of Nuclear Weapons ; 9. Controlling Proliferation ; 10. Assessing the Costs of the Proliferation Fixation ; 11. Reconsidering Proliferation Policy ; Part III. The Atomic Terrorist? ; 12. Task ; 13. Likelihood ; 14. Progress and Interest ; 15. Capacity
