Five Myths about Nuclear WeaponsAn explosive rethinking of the power and purpose of nuclear weapons--and a call for radical action Nuclear weapons have always been a serious but seemingly insoluble problem: while they're obviously dangerous, they are also, apparently, necessary. This groundbreaking study shows why five central arguments promoting nuclear weapons are, in essence, myths. It is a myth: - that nuclear weapons necessarily shock and awe opponents, including Japan at the end of World War II - that nuclear deterrence is reliable in a crisis - that destruction wins wars - that the bomb has kept the peace for sixty-five years - and that we can't put the nuclear genie back in the bottle Drawing on new information and the latest historical research, Wilson poses a fundamental challenge to the myths on which nuclear weapons policy is currently built. Using pragmatic arguments and an unemotional, clear-eyed insistence on the truth, he arrives at a surprising conclusion: nuclear weapons are enormously dangerous, but don't appear to be terribly useful. In that case, he asks, why would we want to keep them? This book will be widely read and discussed by everyone who cares about war, peace, foreign policy, and security in the twenty-first century. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
Myth 1 NUCLEAR WEAPONS SHOCK AND AWE OPPONENTS | 21 |
Myth 2 HBOMB QUANTUM LEAP | 54 |
Myth 3 NUCLEAR DETERRENCE WORKS IN A CRISIS | 66 |
Myth 4 NUCLEAR WEAPONS KEEP US SAFE | 87 |
Myth 5 THERE IS NO ALTERNATIVE | 104 |
Conclusion | 118 |
Back Matter | 125 |
Back Flap | 189 |
Back Cover | 190 |
Spine | 191 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
Achilles Air Forces ally American apocalypse argued argument Asada Atomic Bomb attack August believe Berlin Berlin blockade Blainey blockade bombers bombing of Hiroshima city bombing civilians clear Cold War conventional Cuba Cuban missile crisis danger debate decisive destroyed destruction discuss emperor enormous Europe evidence explosion fact fear Freeman Dyson Gaddis genie Geoffrey Blainey H-bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki historian human Ibid ideas important invasion Japan to surrender Japan’s leaders Japanese Kennedy Kennedy’s Khrushchev killed Lebow lesson Long Peace ment military myths Nagasaki nations nuclear deterrence nuclear superiority nuclear war nuclear weapons Patroclus period of peace Pinker plane possible pragmatic President problem proof by absence proponents reason redeployment risk of nuclear Russia seems shells Shock Soviet Union story strategic bombing Supreme Council Takagi talk things thinking about nuclear threat tion U.S. Army U.S. nuclear United weap World War II Yonai York