Nuclear weapons : an international history / David Holloway.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Holloway, David, 1943- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Nuclear weapons--History.

Nuclear weapons.

Weapons of mass destruction--History.

Weapons of mass destruction.

Atomic bomb--History.

Atomic bomb.

Physical Description:

xii, 708 pages ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

New Haven : Yale University Press, [2026]

Summary:

A groundbreaking history of nuclear weapons across the world, from their invention to the end of the Cold War. How should we deal with nuclear weapons? The discovery of nuclear fission fundamentally changed the world order. Its power was harnessed, nuclear bombs invented, and the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were destroyed. In recurring international crises and calls for arms control, the threat of nuclear war has hung over humanity ever since. David Holloway traces how these weapons shaped the last century, from the US-Soviet arms race to the rivalry between India and Pakistan. Deterrence and intimidation, alliances and war plans, international treaties and organizations have all played their role. At the centre were political leaders--among them Truman, Kennedy, and Reagan, as well as Stalin, Khrushchev, and Gorbachev--who all had their fingers on the nuclear button. This is a global history of these fearsome weapons and our attempts to deal with the consequences of their existence--a story at once fascinating and repellent, of a very dangerous period in our history.

Contents:

Introduction

From Fission to Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Atomic Energy and World Order

The Atomic Bomb and International Politics (1945-53)

The Thermonuclear Turning Point

Nuclear Deterrence and Military Strategy (1953-61)

Nuclear Threats and Nuclear Crises (1954-8)

The Berlin Crisis (1958-63)

The Cuban Missile Crisis

Europe's Nuclear Politics (1954-69)

Military Strategy and Nuclear Deterrence (1961-9)

SALT I and After

Nuclear Confrontation in Europe (1964-76)

Nuclear Nonproliferation

Sino-Soviet Nuclear Relations (1950-67)

The Crisis of 1969

India, Pakistan, and the Nuclear Order

Years of Tension (1977-82)

1983 : On the Brink?

Nuclear Weapons and the End of the Cold War

Conclusion.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 579-685) and index.

Other Format:

ebook version :

ISBN:

9780300229448

0300229445

OCLC:

1524235780

Publisher Number:

CIPO000355433