All in Nuclear
Michael Harris' ATOMIC TIMES
A lot of this book makes for unpleasant reading but it is an important record of the times, told by the author from an older and wiser perspective. He is lucky to have survived.
Jim Baggott: “THE FIRST WAR OF PHYSICS: THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE ATOMIC BOMB, 1939-1949”
I’ve always been fascinated by “big science” projects and how they were managed. Often there’s a confluence of private and public sector, academia, and military; the nuclear arms race as presented here is certainly not an exception.
Evan Thomas' IKE'S BLUFF: PRESIDENT EISENHOWER'S SECRET BATTLE TO SAVE THE WORLD
Thomas’ thesis is that Ike kept the world from sliding inexorably into a civilization-ending World War III through deft avoidance of direct conflicts with China and Russia.
David E. Hoffman's THE DEAD HAND: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE COLD WAR ARMS RACE AND ITS DANGEROUS LEGACY
In the mood to read something scary? This book will make your hair stand on end.
Richard Rhodes' DARK SUN: THE MAKING OF THE HYDROGEN BOMB
Yikes, this is a scary book. I had either never known or had forgotten about the awfulness of the times when huge proportions of our GNP were devoted to developing strategic weapons and the means to deliver them.