On Thermonuclear War. 2nd Edition

by Herman Kahn (Author)

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Herman Kahn
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Herman Kahn
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Thomas C. Schelling
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Praeger; 2nd edition (March 9, 1978)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 668 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0313200602
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0313200601
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.4 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 2.25 x 9.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #7,844,999 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,853 in Arms Control (Books)
- #2,534 in Nuclear Weapons & Warfare History (Books)
- #205,073 in Engineering (Books)

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Willing to do the tough thinking...

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 19, 2020

Sixty years on, "On Thermonuclear War" is still a very worthwhile read. Author Herman Kahn, writing in 1960 at a still very early stage in the nuclear standoff with the Soviet Union, was willing to do the tough thinking about the implications of that standoff, and how to avoid its failure. His logic takes the reader through a variety of plausible scenarios and through the implications of much of what has become understood policy for the United States, including, for example, the value of a nuclear triad.

Kahn was not advocating for nuclear war. He was from a generation that experienced World War II and the Korean War as horrific recent events, and the Cold War as an ongoing reality. The reader does not have to agree with his every suggestion to find the reading experience educational. Recommended for the would-be strategist.

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Hallstatt Prince

Unfortunately someone has to think of these things

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 6, 2005

Herman Kahn has had many epithets hurled at him in his day. It is even rumored that Stanley Kubrick based his Dr. Strangelove character after him.

But the truth is he does a job someone has to do when countries possess nuclear weapons.

In this book Kahn discusses the unthinkable: how would a nuclear war be fought and what would be the consequences. He does this in the only way it can be done-in a dispassionate way. He asks such questions as to whether civilization can survive a nuclear war and if so how long it would take for it to recover.

His conclusion based on the facts and technology of the time he wrote the book (1962) was that nuclear war was winnable. Detractors of the book saw it as advocating nuclear war which is far from the truth. How easy it is to shoot the messenger.

From many accounts of Kahn the man he was far from bloodless and he was in fact optimistic about the future.

As one reads this book one enters into the mind of a great thinker. He was a highly logical man who dared to take on a problem others saw as taboo. Some may not like the way he deals with the subject but as long as we possess nuclear weapons the problems and all of their ramifications must be considered.

A frightening yet interesting read.

Jim Connell "Hallstatt Prince"

35 people found this helpful

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Mandrake

We are still here in spite of the likes of him.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 28, 2005

Knowing the historical significance of this book at the time, I can say that it definitely deserves the 5 stars given. The fact that I disagree with just about everything written in the book does not lessen its importance. The application of game theory and brinksmanship, along with the outright censorship of the multiple side effects in a nuclear exchange such as radiation, firestorms, etc, in my opinion, brought us closer to the edge of destruction than was ever generally known. His arguments that it was somehow survivable if only the proper planning was applied, clouded the clear vision of nuclear limitation talks achieved later.
This is an important book to read, if only to get a glimpse of the mindset of one of our "Bland Corporation" cold war planners.

Probably the scariest book that I have read in 10 years!!!!

11 people found this helpful

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sheepherder@geocities.com

Tough Reading, but Worth It

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 10, 1998

On Thermonuclear War is a work from 1960 that runs counter to the conventional wisdom of his day, and which still exists to this day. He attacks the so-called "cataclysmic" view of nuclear war. Kahn provides numbers to show that a total nuclear war is survivable, and that our society could eventually recuperate. Make no mistake, at no point does he advocate nuclear war, he merely makes us face the fact that it could happen, and that we had better be prepared to deal with it. After all, the Soviets did. Although this book would seem to be dated in this Post-Cold War era, remember that we and the Russians still possess hefty nuclear arsenals, and the world is a much less stable place than during the Cold War. This book can be hard to read, given the plethora of technical information, but it is worth it.

25 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Deniz Hassan

My god are you ever long and boring! But contained a wealth of information on several ...

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on June 14, 2016

Verified Purchase

My god are you ever long and boring! But contained a wealth of information on several historical wars, and the outcomes of a nuclear strike in the future. Potentially useful considering we STILL live in the nuclear age. Could save lives this book if fallout where to hypothetically happen in the next decade.

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