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Fred Kaplan
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The Bomb: Presidents, Generals, and the Secret History of Nuclear War Hardcover – January 28, 2020

by Fred Kaplan (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 417 ratings
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From the author the classic The Wizards of Armageddon and Pulitzer Prize finalist comes the definitive history of American policy on nuclear war—and Presidents’ actions in nuclear crises—from Truman to Trump.

Fred Kaplan, hailed by The New York Times as “a rare combination of defense intellectual and pugnacious reporter,” takes us into the White House Situation Room, the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s “Tank” in the Pentagon, and the vast chambers of Strategic Command to bring us the untold stories—based on exclusive interviews and previously classified documents—of how America’s presidents and generals have thought about, threatened, broached, and just barely avoided nuclear war from the dawn of the atomic age until today.

Kaplan’s historical research and deep reporting will stand as the permanent record of politics. Discussing theories that have dominated nightmare scenarios from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Kaplan presents the unthinkable in terms of mass destruction and demonstrates how the nuclear war reality will not go away, regardless of the dire consequences.
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  1. Print length
    384 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Simon & Schuster
  4. Publication date
    January 28, 2020
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 1.1 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1982107294
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1982107291
  8. See all details
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4.5 out of 5 stars
417 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book's narrative interesting and credible. They describe it as an excellent read that provides a behind-the-scenes look at US nuclear policy. The author seems reasonable and truthful, although some readers feel the book is too long and dry.

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Narrative accuracyReadable
11 customers mention "Narrative accuracy"11 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's narrative accurate and readable. They say it provides an interesting, credible history of official US nuclear bomb policy. The book takes you through many presidencies and their handling of nuclear weapons. It provides a good summary of post-WWII history and is tightly written and meticulously detailed.

"Good summary of post WWII history. Relevant to modern day analysis." Read more

"This is a splendid account of the various permutations of the official nuclear bomb policy of the United States...." Read more

"...It takes you through many presidencies and their handling of nuclear weapons along with the development of various military strategies in the event..." Read more

"This is the behind the scenes of the unthinkable...." Read more

8 customers mention "Readable"8 positive0 negative

Customers find the book readable and engaging. They describe it as an excellent read about the history of presidents and nuclear philosophy. The author seems reasonable and truthful until he goes off topic. Readers mention the book is tightly written, meticulously detailed, and provides an overview of the current political climate.

"Fascinating book of the history of presidents and nuclear philosophy..." Read more

"...All this is presented in a highly readable and credible form by the author...." Read more

"Was a good book. Ends up being sort of anecdotal and one sided in describing the Cold War era...." Read more

"...All in all this is a great book that focuses on the moments where we've figuratively stared into the abyss and had it stare back - and we've stepped..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Alice Friedemann
    5.0 out of 5 stars Yikes - under current policies, Trump can launch nuclear weapons
    Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Fascinating book of the history of presidents and nuclear philosophy (i.e. first strike, how many nuclear bombs of what kind needed -- submarine, ICBM and so on). Also history of the many times we came close to blowing up the world because of computer malfunctions that made it appear nuclear missiles were on the way, or how close Kennedy came to invading Cuba, where 40,000 Russian soldiers lay in wait to kill invading American troops and no doubt launch nuclear missiles at Washington DC and other targets. Most scare of all is that when Trump was briefed by the Generals that once there were 30,000 nuclear weapons, but only 2,000 now, Trump's reaction was to ask why can't I have that many? The generals explained why it 2,000 was more than enough. A month later, Trump whines, why can't I have 30,000 nuclear bombs? The generals talked him down again. A month later, how come I can't have that many bombs? At this point in time, there are no checks and balances in place to prevent a dangerously ignorant and unstable President from launching nuclear missiles. Scary!
    26 people found this helpful
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  • Helmand
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good introduction material
    Reviewed in the United States on June 7, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    Good summary of post WWII history. Relevant to modern day analysis.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Delta D.
    4.0 out of 5 stars Very readable and credible history of official US nuclear bomb policy. Objectivity slightly suspect.
    Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    This is a splendid account of the various permutations of the official nuclear bomb policy of the United States. It is essentially organised into individual chapters devoted to each president - a logical and effective organisation.

    What comes through in the early years is the absurd overkill potential put in place by (i) turf-grabbing rivalry between the different forces and (ii) the wool being pulled over the eyes of the incumbent president. The military's hawkish attitude towards the perceived enemy is scary. It seems that General Turgidson in Kubrick's superlative Dr Strangelove was a thoroughly accurate presentation.

    The end of the Cold War seems to have given the incumbent president rather more control over the policy. All this is presented in a highly readable and credible form by the author.

    4* rather than 5* because his objectivity seems to become suspect when dealing with presidents #44 and #45. #44 is portrayed as a kind of saint and #45 as a kind of devil. I'd agree up to a point, but one has the impression that the author allows his objectivity to be corrupted in these two cases. Only good things seem to be presented in respect of #44 and only bad things in respect of #45. Perhaps I'm wrong and his objectivity remains intact, but this point troubles me enough to omit the 5th star on this highly recommended book.
    35 people found this helpful
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  • Frederick L. Pilot
    5.0 out of 5 stars A comprehensive and timely history of U.S. nuclear war planning
    Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    The Bomb shows how American administrations and nuclear strategists have struggled since Hiroshima formulating policy on when and how to use nuclear weapons. Despite all the intellectual firepower brought to bear over the decades, the sheer power of these weapons and the environmental and potentially civilization ending catastrophe they threaten defies dispassionate logical planning. At the end of the analysis, the conclusion it's madness akin to a bad dream.

    This book comes at a critical time in history with the abrogation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty and as Russia revives battlefield tactical nuclear weapons and the United States recently deployed a low yield submarine launched nuclear warhead. Planners on both sides are counting on the other to behave rationally and not escalate to general nuclear war should these weapons be used – more likely given their lower damage radius. But relying on cooler heads to prevail once the nuclear threshold is crossed is inherently fraught with peril. As the Fail-Safe film character General Warren A. Black said in the Pentagon War Room, “Once those bombs start to drop, you won't be able to limit a damn thing.”
    42 people found this helpful
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  • jon
    5.0 out of 5 stars History of Nuclear Weapons
    Reviewed in the United States on July 1, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Was a good book. Ends up being sort of anecdotal and one sided in describing the Cold War era. Focuses on a more hawkish approach yet still tells the way of how events unfold. It takes you through many presidencies and their handling of nuclear weapons along with the development of various military strategies in the event of nuclear warfare.
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  • Andrew Updegrove
    5.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly researched
    Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Kaplan does a skillful job of laying out the initial quandary of nuclear capability and the push-pull between military and civilian interests that followed. Since the same Faustian dilemma faced every successive president since FDR, the story is necessarily repetitive, but Kaplan does as good a job as can be expected keeping the rest moving all night through this essentially fractal evolution. Sadly, at the end, we find ourselves as a nuclear society pretty much where we started.
    5 people found this helpful
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  • Rasmus
    4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, gripping, chilly. Excellent read.
    Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    This is the behind the scenes of the unthinkable. Scene after scene unfolds and the secret history of how the last cards would have been played is revealed. The last chapter (Trump's presidency), while entertaining, is a pace changer where it becomes more of a commentary of current events. Then again it isn't history yet...

    Kaplan's book is a stark reminder that for almost 50 years the only real plan available was to bring the hammer down - meaning the near instant death of nearly 300 million people and the likely end of civilization. The details of this planning and the options of escalating, the deliberate overkill, the mindset of acquiring more, more, more - scary and thrilling. And then, out of the blue, Reagan's second term. Detente. End of the cold war. Collapse of the Soviet Union. And the few decades of eased tension until we see the cycle start again.

    All in all this is a great book that focuses on the moments where we've figuratively stared into the abyss and had it stare back - and we've stepped back where lesser minds would have slipped off.
    One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Valerio Pastore
    4.0 out of 5 stars Running on the edge!
    Reviewed in Italy on September 3, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    It is a researched book, it delivers what promised and it surely offers a detailed insight of what was the American nuclear doctrine from Truman to Trump.
    It is a book that will fail the expectations of conspiracionist -let's face it, in the end it was always a tug-of-war between the presidencies and the militaries about getting more toys of destruction or cutting them, with even the Generals understanding that less could be more.
    So, do not expect a gripping narration, but expect to learn more than you expected about how the world is running, cautiously or not, on the edge of self-destruction...
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  • Drachepalme
    4.0 out of 5 stars Not for the easily frightened.
    Reviewed in Germany on May 26, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    The book describes the US nuclear strategy beginning from Eisenhower up to the Trump administration. It tells us, how the presidents and their advisors thought what difficult decisions they had to make and how close the world was to nuclear war at times.
    In my opinion, it is a very comprehensible and easy written book (even for non-native language speakers). There are two nag-points
    1. Obviously, we only get the US perspective on things and at times it would be really important to know how right or wrong the assumptions made were - but this we will probably never know.
    2. It is obviously, how much the author identifies with the US position, at several times claiming "we" did this or that. I think, a more neutral perspective would have been great.

    After all, it is still the best book I know to get a sometimes chilling perspective on almost 80 years of nuclear strategy.
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  • Stewart Edwards
    5.0 out of 5 stars Eye Opener
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 4, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    This book has enabled me to understand better US thinking towards using the bomb, and how it has changed and evolved over the decades. While the US is but one nuclear nation, it is the only one to have used them in anger, and it’s subsequent restraint is admirable.

    The thought processes of everyone involved made this an interesting read for me.
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  • R
    5.0 out of 5 stars The past is scary but so is the future
    Reviewed in Australia on October 11, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Detailed but always interesting. Gives real insight into a terrifying past and future. Even the more complex sections are read in a way that make it easy to follow. I have highly recommended this book to everybody I know.
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  • S. Taylor
    5.0 out of 5 stars Clear, readable and chilling
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 23, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    Clear, readable and chilling. A tour of how every US president who has looked seriously at nuclear strategy has come away depressed or alarmed, except Trump.
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