The Bomb: A New History

Ecco [An imprint of HarperCollins], 2010. First paperback edition [stated]. Second printing [stated]. Trade paperback. Very good. Signed by author. Nice inscription on title page.. x, [6], 238 p. Illustrations. Index. "Younger has provided an insightful guide, especially for the general reader, into today's array of nuclear powers and their capabilities."--James Schlesinger, former Secretary of Defense and Secretary of Energy, former Director of Central Intelligence. From an on-line posting: "Stephen M. Younger, PhD, is a senior policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. He recently retired as a senior fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he was in charge of nuclear weapons research and development. From 2001 to 2004, he was director of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency at the U.S. Department of Defense. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada. " Also from an on-line posting: "In The Bomb, Stephen Younger, former Los Alamos weapons designer and author of Endangered Species, provides a new history of the making of nuclear policy and the creation of the most terrible weapons humankind has ever possessed. In an era when rogue nations like North Korean and Iran strive to create their own precarious weapons programs, Younger s The Bomb provides much-needed background and insight for students, policy makers, and readers who wish to better understand the important issues involving nuclear weapons and national security. Book Description A former nuclear weapons designer and head of nuclear weapons research at Los Alamos, Stephen M. Younger delivers an insightful and urgent inquisition on the role of nuclear weapons in the twenty-first century. Does the United States need a massive atomic arsenal in an era of precision bombs and missile defense? Under what circumstances might we use nuclear weapons? And how does the proliferation of nuclear weapons by North Korea and Iran affect America's nuclear policy? With his deep understanding of the technology and politics of nuclear arms, Younger challenges us to join a new debate on the future of the ultimate weapon."