March to Armageddon : the United States and the nuclear arms race, 1939 to the present / Ronald E. Powaski.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Powaski, Ronald E.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Nuclear weapons.

United States--Defenses.

United States.

Defenses.

Arms race--History--20th century.

Arms race.

History.

United States--Military policy.

Local Subjects:

United States--Military policy.

Physical Description:

300 pages ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Oxford University Press, 1987.

Summary:

Ronald E. Powaski offers the first complete, accessible history of the events, forces, and factors that have brought the world to the brink of a nuclear holocaust. He traces the evolution of the nuclear arms race from FDR's decision to develop an atomic bomb to Reagan's decision to continue its expansion in the 1980's. Focusing on the forces that have propelled the arms race and the reasons behind the repeated failures to check the proliferation of nuclear weapons, Powaski discusses such topics as the Manhattan Project, the decision to drop the bomb on Hiroshima, the debate over whether to share atomic information, the effect of nuclear weapons on U.S. military and foreign policy, and the role of these weapons in arms control negotiations in the last five presidential administrations.

Contents:

1. Roosevelt and the Manhattan Project, 1939-1945 3

2. Truman, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki, 1945 12

3. Truman and International Control of the Atom, 1945-1947 29

4. Truman, the Cold War, and the Hydrogen Bomb, 1947-1952 46

5. Eisenhower and Massive Retaliation, 1953-1961 60

6. Eisenhower and Nuclear Arms Control, 1953-1961 74

7. Kennedy, Nuclear Weapons, and the Limited Test Ban Treaty, 1961-1963 93

8. Johnson, Nuclear Weapons, and the Pursuit of SALT, 1963-1969 113

9. Nixon and SALT I, 1969-1972 127

10. Nixon, Ford, and the Decline of Detente, 1972-1977 146

11. Carter and SALT II, 1977-1981 162

12. Reagan and the "Rearmament" of America, 1981-1983 184

13. Reagan and Nuclear Arms Talks, 1981 to the Present 197.

Notes:

Bibliography: pages 275-282.

Includes index.

ISBN:

0195038789

OCLC:

14691888