Five Myths
THE PERFECT INTRODUCTION
Challenging existing ideas is hard work. People hold fast to their assumptions and beliefs--particularly when they think nuclear weapons are keeping us safe or are the "ultimate guarantee" of survival. This book examines five of the fundamental ideas born out of the Cold War — five ideas that still have a central place in establishment thinking about nuclear weapons: 1) Nuclear weapons won World War II, 2) the H-bomb represented a quantum leap in decisiveness, 3) deterrence is safe and reliable, 4) nuclear weapons have kept the peace for sixty years, and 5) nuclear weapons cannot be gotten rid of.
In clear, factual language, Five Myths About Nuclear Weapons challenges and then sweeps away these myths. Nuclear weapons are not awe-inspiring, epochal weapons that have changed human nature. They are blundering, dangerous weapons whose chief characteristic is their clumsiness. They are a reminder that people often don’t do their best thinking when they are afraid (and people were very afraid during the Cold War).
Based on thirty years of research into the theories and facts of these weapons, it breaths common sense and practical thinking into stale arguments and turns the debate on its head. It argues that nuclear weapons are not very good weapons, and this conclusion should change the conversation about what to do with them.
Five Myths is short, clear, and written in everyday language. it is a superb introduction to these groundbreaking new ideas.
Reviewed in the New York Times, in Publishers Weekly, and in Scientific American.
ALSO AVAIALBE IN FRENCH
Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2013.
“Brilliant, original, and important”
“A superb examination of both historical and present day issues surrounding nuclear weapons of war. No matter your background or expertise, before you say or do anything else regarding ‘nukes,’ I’d strongly recommend you read and give serious consideration to the arguments in this terrific work. ”
“Five Myths About Nuclear Weapons is a fundamental retelling of the story of nuclear weapons. It argues that when you look more closely at the facts it is remarkable how much of the familiar landscape begins to change.”