Written by two preeminent authors in the field, this book provides an accessible global narrative of the nuclear arms race since 1945 that focuses on the roles of key scientists, military chiefs, and political leaders.
The first book of its kind to provide a global perspective of the arms race, this two-volume work connects episodes worldwide involving nuclear weapons in a comprehensive, narrative fashion. Beginning with a discussion of the scientific research of the 1930s and 1940s and the Hiroshima decision, the authors focus on five basic themes: political dimensions, technological developments, military and diplomatic strategies, and impact.
The history of the international nuclear arms race is examined within the context of four historical eras: America's nuclear monopoly, America's nuclear superiority, superpower parity, and the post-Cold War era. Information about the historical development of the independent deterrence of Britain, France, and China, as well as the piecemeal deterrence of newcomers Israel, India, Pakistan, and North Korea is also included, as is coverage of the efforts aimed at the international control of nuclear weapons and the diplomatic architecture that underpins the global nuclear non-proliferation regime.

Richard Dean Burns is professor emeritus of history at California State University, Los Angeles, CA. He is the coauthor/co-editor of 12 books, including Praeger's Reagan, Bush, Gorbachev: Revisiting the End of the Cold War and ABC-CLIO's Arms Control and Disarmament: A Bibliography.

VOLUME 1
Preface
1. Vying for an A-Bomb: World War II Contestants
Germany's Atomic Quest
Britain's Early Contributions
The United States' Successful Atomic Quest
Hiroshima and Japan's Surrender
Japan's Wartime Atomic Activities
Soviet Scientists Begin the Quest
Summary
2. The Emergence of a Bipolar Nuclear World
Truman and the Politics of Atomic Power
The United States Ponders Preventive Nuclear Strikes
Origins of Stalin's Atomic Energy Program
Developing the Soviet Atomic Bomb
The Atomic Bomb and Cold War Origins
3. Seeking International Control of Nuclear Weapons
Anglo-American Wartime Considerations
Seeking an International Forum
Evolution of the United States' Plan
UNAEC Deliberations
UNAEC Subcommittees Seek Compromise
United States and USSR Extend Negotiations
4. NSC 68: Ramping Up the Nuclear Arms Race
The Precursor: NSC 20 Series
The Ideological Theme of NSC 68
Fear of a Soviet First Strike
Possible U.S. Courses of Action
Implementation of NSC 68
5. Doctrines and Strategies: From A-Bomb to H-Bomb
Stalin's Doctrines and Strategies
Khrushchev's Reassessment
Great Britain's New Strategy
Truman's Quest for a Nuclear Strategy
Eisenhower Seeks a New Strategy
Nuclear Weapons and the Korean Armistice
Massive Retaliation Doctrine
Eisenhower's "New Look" Strategy
Western Civilian Strategists
6. Thermonuclear and Ballistic Missile Revolutions
Truman Endorses the Hydrogen Bomb
Soviets Enter the Thermonuclear Age
Political and Strategic Effect of H-Bombs
The Ballistic Missile Revolution
U.S. Missile Programs
The Soviet Union's Missile Programs
The Russian Republic's Missiles
7. Fending Off Nuclear Weapons: Bomber and Missile Defenses, 1945-1980s
U.S. Bomber and ABM Defenses
McNamara, Johnson, and ABMs
Soviet Urban Bomber and Missile Defenses
Nixon, Brezhnev, and the 1972 ABM Treaty
Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative
8. Feeding or Controlling the Nuclear Arms Race?: The 1950s
Fear of a Surprise Attack
Bomber and Missile Gaps
From Atoms for Peace, IAEA to Open Skies
Open Skies to the Surprise Attack Conference
Quest for a Nuclear Test Ban
Mutual Military-Industrial Complexes?
9. Toward a Flexible Response: From "Missile Gap" to the Berlin Crisis
From Massive Retaliation to Flexible Response
Tactical Nuclear Weapons and the Nuclear Threshold
Limited Nuclear War Strategy
Counterforce Strategy
The Single Integrated Operational Plan
Intelligence Estimates and the Missile Gap
Nuclear Weapons and the Berlin Crisis
10. From Crisis to Renewed Hope: Cuban Missiles, the Test Ban, and China's Bomb
The "Cuban" Missile Crisis
The Quest for a Nuclear Test Ban
Fear of Communist China's Bomb
The Kennedy-Khrushchev Era Assessed
VOLUME 2
11. Initial Independent Nuclear Forces: Britain, France, and People's Republic of China
Britain, France, and the United States
Great Britain Gains the Bomb
France Pursues the Bomb
The People's Republic of China Tests the Bomb
12. Regional Nuclear States: Israel, Iran, India, Pakistan, and North Korea
Israel's Nuclear Weapons
Iran's Nuclear Program
A Middle East Nuclear-Free Zone?
The Subcontinent's Nuclear Dilemma
South Asia's Efforts at Nuclear Controls
North Korea and Nuclear Weapons
13. Search for Strategic Stability: Superpowers Limit Nuclear Arms
Johnson Initiates the Process
Nixon and Brezhnev: Launching SALT
Carter, Brezhnev, and SALT II
Seeking a Nuclear War Fighting Strategy
14. Reagan, Gorbachev, and Nuclear Arms: Ending the Cold War
Reagan and Gorbachev View Nuclear Arms
NATO, Neutron Weapons, and Unilateralism
Western Antinuclear Movement
Geneva, Reykjavik, and Washington Summits
False Nuclear Attack Warnings
From "Launch on Warning" to Doomsday Machine
15. Post-Cold War: Superpowers' Nuclear Arms-Limits and Reductions
START I and II
Recall of Tactical Nuclear Weapons
Cooperative Threat Reduction Programs
Global Threat Reduction Initiative
Nuclear Suppliers Group
The Strategic Offensive Reduction Treaty (SORT)
The New START
Zero Nuclear Weapons?
16. Post-Cold War: Missiles and Missile Defenses-The Global Impact
Patriot Systems in Two Gulf Wars
U.S. BMD Systems since 1980
North Korean Missiles
The People's Republic of China and Taiwan
India and Pakistan's Missiles
Japan and South Korea
Iran's Missile Projects
Israel's Missiles and Missile Defense
Cruise Missiles and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
17. The Nuclear Nonproliferation Regime
Defining the Nonproliferation Regime
Nuclear Proliferation: Good or Bad?
Are Preventive Military Actions Viable?
Quest for a Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
The Bad, the Ugly, the Optimistic: Three Enhanced NPT Reviews
Nuclear-Weapons-Free Zones and Other Contributions
18. Reflections
Selected References
Index