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The Nuclear Express: A Political History of the Bomb and Its Proliferation
 
 
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The Nuclear Express: A Political History of the Bomb and Its Proliferation (Hardcover)

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Key Phrases: nuclear empire, radiation implosion, nuclear testing moratorium, United States, Soviet Union, Los Alamos (more...)
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
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Product Description

This is a political history of nuclear weapons from the discovery of fission in 1938 to the nuclear train wreck that seems to loom in our future.  It is an account of where those weapons came from, how the technology surprisingly and covertly spread, who is likely to acquire those weapons next and most importantly why.

 

The authors’ examination of post-Cold War national and geopolitical issues regarding nuclear proliferation and the effects of Chinese sponsorship of the Pakistani program is eye opening. The reckless “nuclear weapons programs for sale” exporting of technology by Pakistan is truly chilling as is the on again off again North Korean nuclear weapons program.



From the Inside Flap

The sense of relief the world felt at the end of the Cold War has been replaced with a different kind of Armageddon nightmare. Instead of an East-West power struggle with the rest of the world on the sidelines, the collective dread this time is over terrorist organizations getting their hands on a nuclear weapon, then using it to effect chaos and collapse on civil society.

Written by two of the world's foremost nuclear weapons experts, The Nuclear Express addresses how the world got to where it is today. If we are to make the right choices now, we need to understand the history of nuclear weapons and the politics that surround them.

Instead of fertilizer, suppose that Mr. Yousef [first World Trade Center bombing] had been able to place a primitive, five-kiloton nuclear weapon in the back of his truck. Since that vehicle had a one-ton capacity and three hundred cubic feet of drayage space, the very low-tech South African nuclear device developed during the 1980s would have fit nicely. After that February 1993 fertilizer attack, the U.S. nuclear weapons laboratories ran some calculations on the theoretical results of a five-kiloton explosion on the streets of lower Manhattan on February 26, 1993, given the wind and weather conditions on that day. The most frightening results of such an attack could have been:

· Most buildings south of Central Park destroyed, their inhabitants dead

· Millions of other New Yorkers, once living south of 125th Street, dying of radiation effects

· Millions more throughout the metropolitan area suffering acute radiation sickness

· Much of lower Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Hoboken set on fire

Unless we are attentive to history, a terrorist organization will soon be able to assemble and place such an A-bomb within a truck, ship, or container and deliver the same to the heart of any number of U.S. cities. Even "small and inefficient" nuclear weapons could have a devastating effect on American society and its institutions. But is the simple raining of death and destruction on the West the only goal of these people? The jihadists and/or their patrons may have grander ambitions.

--from The Nuclear Express

Thomas C. Reed is a former nuclear weapons designer at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, political manager for Ronald Reagan's gubernatorial contests, Secretary of the Air Force under presidents Ford and Carter, Special Assistant to President Reagan for National Security Policy, and a successful businessman. Reed wrote an autobiographical account of his experiences titled At the Abyss: An Insider's History of the Cold War. Reed is a frequent visitor to Russia and Ukraine and is a graduate of Cornell University and the University of Southern California. He resides in northern California.

Danny B. Stillman is a Los Alamos physicist with decades of experience in nuclear design, diagnostics, and testing. For thirteen years Stillman directed the Los Alamos Technical Intelligence Division; at the end of that tour he was awarded the Intelligence Community Seal Medallion. Stillman is an engineering physics graduate of University of Washington. He lives in White Rock, New Mexico.

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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 393 pages
  • Publisher: Zenith Press (January 2, 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0760335028
  • ISBN-13: 978-0760335024
  • Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,467 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

    #2 in  Books > History > Military > Weapons & Warfare > Conventional
    #4 in  Books > History > Military > Weapons & Warfare > Nuclear

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More About the Authors

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Danny B. Stillman
Thomas C. Reed

Inside This Book (learn more)
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
nuclear empire, radiation implosion, nuclear testing moratorium, irradiated fuel rods, nuclear yield, thermonuclear fuel, bomb debris, nuclear community, nuclear weapons laboratories, nuclear work, nuclear weapon design
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, Soviet Union, Los Alamos, South Africa, World War, North Korea, Third World, Cold War, Fat Man, New York, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, Lop Nur, Deng Xiaoping, White House, New Mexico, People's Republic of China, General Zia, Great Britain, Klaus Fuchs, Security Council, Nonproliferation Treaty, John Kennedy, Smiling Buddha, Chalk River
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16 Reviews
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3.8 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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18 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Definitive and Well Written, January 4, 2009
By B. Hendry (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This is a finely detailed yet easy to read book. It is essentially a tracing of the history of nuclear weapons in various countries and seems to have a lot of information that will be news to most readers. The Nuclear Express is well-organized and should be a very handy on the shelves of any modern historian, as its reference value is high. On most topics the authors are authoritative and thorough. Their solutions for trying to prevent further use of nuclear weapons on US soil are not as radical as it might seem given the alternatives. I would assume that MAD is still on the table in response to an attack, but there is not much information on current US capabilities in that area although it would seem a given that they are still formidable.
The authors point out dangers from the Middle East but do not seem to know enough yet about that area, aside from Israel, to really point out nuanced solutions and be appreciative of the complexity of that part of the world. I don't say that in any manner of blame as admittedly the authors have extraordinary intellects and are well educated.
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17 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Some Interesting Content but Rather Uneven, February 21, 2009
By R. Albin (Ann Arbor, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
The authors have impressive credentials. Both were involved in nuclear weapons design and had subsequent substantial involvement in nuclear proliferation issues. Reed had an impressive career in government, including service at high levels in both Democratic and Republican administrations. Stillman is a former Director of the Los Alamos Technical Intelligence Division with great expertise on foreign nuclear weapons programs. Given the authors' experience and expertise, this is a disappointing book. To begin with, it is overly ambitious. Something of a polemic, this book is intended to be a warning about the dangers of nuclear proliferation, a history of the spread of nuclear weapons technology , and a tour de horizon of this aspect of the strategic challenges facing the USA. The best parts of the book are those dealing with the history of nuclear proliferation. As the authors show well, this is the result of the impossibility of concealing the basic knowledge of these technologies and what appears to be an almost inevitable series of conventional strategic calculations. Given American possession of nuclear technologies, the Soviets were compelled to develop equivalent capabilities. Given Soviet and American nuclear capabilities, the Chinese followed suit. Given Chinese nuclear capabilities, the Indians pursue nuclear weapons. Given an Indian nuclear program, Pakistan develops its now notorious nuclear program, etc. Other states in particularly precarious strategic positions, like Israel and apartheid era South Africa, also develop nuclear weapons. Insert careless and/or unstable governments, egomaniac dictators like Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein, and a series of unscrupulous nuclear businessmen like the Pakistani AQ Khan, and the result is an unstable mess. Several sections of the book are concise and informative descriptions of how different nations, from Britain and France to Pakistan, developed their nuclear programs.

Other aspects of the book, unfortunately, detract significantly from these useful aspects. Partly because they are trying to cover so much ground, the authors do a poor job of providing context for the events and processes described. There are a fair number of factual errors and misstatements. Some of these are minor but embarrassing, like the statements that the Ming dynasty ended in 1911. Others are more significant. For example, the authors describe the Saudi embrace of Wahbihi ideology after the attempted fundamentalist takeover of the Mecca shrines in 1979. The authors leave the impression that this was a new development in Saudi life. But, the Wahbihi version of Islam was always was the state religion of the Saudi Kingdom and is one of the pillars of legitimacy of the regime. The authors may know better but leave an impression of ignorance of this basic fact. Similarly, the authors repeat the often heard cliche that iran doesn't need to develop nuclear power because of its riches of oil and natural gas. They later pursue the fairly sensible comparison of Iran with the later Soviet Union. The Soviets invested heavily in nuclear power in part because they wanted to use their oil to earn hard currency on the international market. This is precisely the rationale expressed by the Iranian regime. Does this preclude simultaneous pursuit of nuclear weapons? Of course not. But it does add an element of complexity to the discussion. Many, if not most of the authors' assertions are not backed by references. The authors are prone to speculation on controversial topics. Some of these are legitimate discussion, such as the discussion of whether the Israelis/South Africans did a nuclear test explosion. Others, such as the speculation about Beria poisoning Stalin, are a bit far fetched and tangential to the subject of the book. Some, such as the implication that the famous physicists Pierre and Irene Joliet-Curie wanted to assist the Chinese nuclear weapons program, could be considered libelous. The authors also have a tendency towards hyperbole on some topics, such as the nature of the Chinese state. The cumulative effect of these deficiencies is to degrade the authors' credibility.
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18 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Former proliferation Official, December 27, 2008
By J. L. Shinn (Littleton, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
As a former nuclear weapons AF tech for the first H-bomb, the Mk 17,a physicist, and later a senior official in the CIA--now retired-- working proliferation targets, I am pleased with the update this book provides, which also added previously unknown (to me) historical information and even some technical information. It will be of special interest to a broad range of experts from historians to politicians to scientists, including those currently working the issues. I am grateful to Reed and Stillman for this works. I highly recommend it. Jerry L. shinn, Retired senior CIA official.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars The Nuclear Express: A Political History of the Bomb and Its Proliferation
A good story told with verve and provocative insight. This book adds quality information to the public record on nuclear weapons programs worldwide. Read more
Published 3 days ago by A. Leask

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting and scary book
This book is a strange blend of technical and historical fact and political cautionary tale. These mixed motives are carried off with varying degrees of success. Read more
Published 11 days ago by Teemacs

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting & Informative - Thought-provoking
An outstanding effort of chronicling the advent of the nucleur age - from the early days to (almost) today. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Gary W. Mitchell

3.0 out of 5 stars Facts and more galore

The Nuclear Express
A Political history of the bomb and its proliferation
Thomas C. Reed and Danny B. Stillman. Read more
Published 5 months ago by G. H. Lander

5.0 out of 5 stars Authoritative, Urgent, a Nuclear Briefing Book for Obama and You
Two authors with decades of experience in nuclear weapons have combined to write a riveting account of the origin and proliferation of nuclear weapons (but alas they too have no... Read more
Published 5 months ago by David Gurgel

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding and authoritative
Reed and Stillman have created a brilliant volume on a topic of the highest importance. They are extremely senior nuclear experts who know what they are talking about, and had... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Integrity Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The History of Nuclear Weapons - From Hiroshima to Jihad
Thomas Reed and Danny Stillman are exactly the people we should be listening to; they know what they are talking about. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Ralph White

3.0 out of 5 stars Tiny Inkspots
I love spy/spy type book and this is one of them. Lots of detail, great for pick up/put down reading. Read more
Published 8 months ago by David H. Fong

1.0 out of 5 stars Scientists gone wild
Very, if not utterly disappointed by the book. It reads like a book written by scientists venturing in the political field, without a basic understanding of history and politics... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Sekant

1.0 out of 5 stars Zero Stars is One too Many
This book is replete with factual errors from end to end. There are too many to single out any one for its egregiousness, although the misstating of who published what and when... Read more
Published 9 months ago by A reader/user

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