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The Bomb: A New History
“Younger has provided an insightful guide, especially for the general reader, into today’s array of nuclear powers and their capabilities.”
—James Schlesinger, former Secretary of Defense and Secretary of Energy, former Director of Central Intelligence
In The Bomb, Stephen Younger, former Los Alamos weapons designer and author of Endangered Species, provides a new history of the making of nuclear policy and the creation of the most terrible weapons humankind has ever possessed. In an era when rogue nations like North Korean and Iran strive to create their own precarious weapons programs, Younger’s The Bomb provides much-needed background and insight for students, policy makers, and readers who wish to better understand the important issues involving nuclear weapons and national security.
—James Schlesinger, former Secretary of Defense and Secretary of Energy, former Director of Central Intelligence
In The Bomb, Stephen Younger, former Los Alamos weapons designer and author of Endangered Species, provides a new history of the making of nuclear policy and the creation of the most terrible weapons humankind has ever possessed. In an era when rogue nations like North Korean and Iran strive to create their own precarious weapons programs, Younger’s The Bomb provides much-needed background and insight for students, policy makers, and readers who wish to better understand the important issues involving nuclear weapons and national security.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2007
39 people are currently reading
153 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
January 18, 2014
Ok, here’s a quiz. What is the difference between fission and fusion bombs? Ok, you know that one. How about the difference between active and inactive weapons, or the difference between a gun and an implosion machine? What are soft point, soft area, hard point and super hard targets? A little tougher?
The Bomb offers more than you ever wanted to know about nuclear weapons, unless of course, you are a policy wonk, or have an interest in disarmament issues. Younger has been there and done that when it comes to American nuclear weapons, having been in charge of weapons research and development at Los Alamos and writes with the confident voice of an authority.
He has compressed his wealth of knowledge into a primer for anyone interested in knowing details about nuclear technology, nomenclature, programs and rationales for varying systems. He offers explanations for the nuclear disarmament, reduction and control agreements that have come and gone since the first mushroom clouds fouled the air, for why nukes offer an answer for nations with weak conventional forces, for why conventional weapons are sometimes more effective than nukes in taking out a target.
How did other nations get or develop their nukes? How important are delivery systems? What are soft point, soft area, hard point and super hard targets? How does impact differ between bombs that explode in the air as oppose to bombs that explode on ground impact? Is a nuclear target site uninhabitable forever after a strike? How does a nuclear bomb do its damage?
I was impressed to learn how many safeguards there were on American nukes to prevent them from going off accidentally, and alarmed at his telling of the unknowns when it comes to the aging and maintenance of our existing nukes. They were not designed to last this long. He decries our diminished capacity to study the potential impact of nuclear detonations on electronics
Younger writes in a very dispassionate style and that can seem inhuman at times. For example:
(p 112) "for a city consisting of nominally constructed many-storied buildings, a ten-kiloton explosion would produce severe damage over a quarter-mile radius, and a megaton blast would reach out to a mile and a half. Based on experience from the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, fifty thousand to one hundred thousand people would die from a ten-kiloton explosion, and correspondingly more for higher yields."
He concludes with a chapter on the role of nuclear weapons in the 21st century, explaining why they are still around and what legitimate purposes they still serve. He maintains that reliance on simulation alone is not adequate for testing going forward, arguing for limited test explosions deep underground in Nevada. Finally, he offers a range of directions the nation can take going forward.
Whether one agrees with Younger’s predilections or not, he offers a thoughtful and well-informed look at the past, present and future of the US nuclear program. While not necessarily an explosive book, The Bomb is a very worthwhile read.
The Bomb offers more than you ever wanted to know about nuclear weapons, unless of course, you are a policy wonk, or have an interest in disarmament issues. Younger has been there and done that when it comes to American nuclear weapons, having been in charge of weapons research and development at Los Alamos and writes with the confident voice of an authority.
He has compressed his wealth of knowledge into a primer for anyone interested in knowing details about nuclear technology, nomenclature, programs and rationales for varying systems. He offers explanations for the nuclear disarmament, reduction and control agreements that have come and gone since the first mushroom clouds fouled the air, for why nukes offer an answer for nations with weak conventional forces, for why conventional weapons are sometimes more effective than nukes in taking out a target.
How did other nations get or develop their nukes? How important are delivery systems? What are soft point, soft area, hard point and super hard targets? How does impact differ between bombs that explode in the air as oppose to bombs that explode on ground impact? Is a nuclear target site uninhabitable forever after a strike? How does a nuclear bomb do its damage?
I was impressed to learn how many safeguards there were on American nukes to prevent them from going off accidentally, and alarmed at his telling of the unknowns when it comes to the aging and maintenance of our existing nukes. They were not designed to last this long. He decries our diminished capacity to study the potential impact of nuclear detonations on electronics
Younger writes in a very dispassionate style and that can seem inhuman at times. For example:
(p 112) "for a city consisting of nominally constructed many-storied buildings, a ten-kiloton explosion would produce severe damage over a quarter-mile radius, and a megaton blast would reach out to a mile and a half. Based on experience from the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, fifty thousand to one hundred thousand people would die from a ten-kiloton explosion, and correspondingly more for higher yields."
He concludes with a chapter on the role of nuclear weapons in the 21st century, explaining why they are still around and what legitimate purposes they still serve. He maintains that reliance on simulation alone is not adequate for testing going forward, arguing for limited test explosions deep underground in Nevada. Finally, he offers a range of directions the nation can take going forward.
Whether one agrees with Younger’s predilections or not, he offers a thoughtful and well-informed look at the past, present and future of the US nuclear program. While not necessarily an explosive book, The Bomb is a very worthwhile read.
May 9, 2022
This book you almost have to rate chapter by chapter. Some are very interesting and informative while others are painstakingly boring. The author has a tendencies to almost repeat whole sentences with little to no change.
If you are fascinated by the history of or the current state of nuclear weapons this is an informative book.
If you are fascinated by the history of or the current state of nuclear weapons this is an informative book.
May 14, 2024
Decent overview of nuclear policy at the most basic level, though not much depth in any single topic. Moreover, the argument is very clearly pro-modernization and provides little context as to why there is an active debate over future US nuclear force structure requirements.
July 18, 2017
The short version first . . .
I am not sure whether it is my excitement in watching things “blow up,” “lift off,” – in other words, seeing things go up in various stages of disintegration or perhaps, if lucky, launching into space. Or, rather, the idea that there are still things out there that could turn the Earth into the ultimate example of dystopia via the detonation of the various countries with their arsenals of the worst of the “WMD” or weapons of mass destruction. These worst of the worst weapons are those of an atomic and/or thermonuclear nature – those things which we marvelous creators of these the ultimate machine to get us to the nuclear winter and wasteland of destruction, that didn’t even exist until roughly seven decades ago. As I write this review, it is almost 70 years to the day when the Trinity Site was formally the first location on Earth for the detonation of a plutonium device similar in construction and yield to the bomb that would destroy most of Nagasaki, Japan, now just about a three-week window or so away. Dr. Stephen_M_Younger’s 2007 publication, The Bomb: A New History.
In The Bomb: A New History, Dr. Stephen M. Younger updates our understanding of the nature and situations surrounding these some of the latest, and in some ways – the worst of the weapons contained in the world’s arsenals. The Bomb: A New History is exactly the book that is needed at this time. Why does that make so much sense to me? Good histories already exist. The effects of actual usage and testing of these devices are extensive and in many cases declassified for use by the general public. And, last, but certainly not least, there are things that need to be addressed and analyzed about these devices, particularly their component parts and the interaction of those parts to provide the necessary effects that anyone insane enough to detonate one, hopes to achieve. More about these points below . . .
Good histories of the development and now the actual locations and histories about them are begin-ing to move into some of the declassified literature of the era during the existence of the Manhattan Project, the largest scale science experiment ever conceived, which would develop the most powerful instruments of destruction ever conceived – atomic fission bombs. And, less than a decade later, we had to actually develop their odd grandparents, the thermonuclear fusion “super” bombs. Individuals associated with the project have had biographies written about them, some personal memoirs, out and out historical reviews of their life and work as they pass away from this life to the next, and some specially gifted historians, have written about the entire process using logs, journals, some of the later works and biographies as they became declassified, Several of the books I have read in the past 4 years or so have dealt with topics related in one way or another to these, potentially the most heinous weapons there can be – ones that could if used in one cataclysmic exchange under the plan of “better to use them rather than lose them.’ The ones that I remember the most vividly are the basic strategy text to explain in very esoteric terms what might be the result and effect include Herman Kahn’s esoteric policy guidance treatise On Thermonuclear War, still trying to decipher things enough to write a sensible and honest review – it is way beyond esoteric. His other book is Thinking About the Unthinkable which is more a personal way for the public to see what they can do when they are “thinking about the unthinkable,” or the war that would end not only all war, but most of the planet as well. One of the best written histories about the Manhattan Project that I have read was the Pulitzer Prize winning The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes. Additionally, Mr. Rhodes continues the story focusing his bestseller Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb, taking the fission bomb, its tests to the next logical step: the development of an atomic fusion device, where the destructive power comes by way of the fusing of the atomic nuclei in hydrogen isotopes mainly, deuterium or tritium, as the “fuel” or explosive element placed under extreme pressure and temperature. These pressure and temperature values could only be provided by an initial, first stage explosion associated with a special fission device. Using physical properties in that environment, the hydrogen nuclei are fused into helium with an unprecedented release of radiation, heat, and explosive force 100 to 1500 times or more times greater than that delivered in the atomic devices detonated in the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. , Memoirs: A Twentieth Century Journey In Science And Politics by Dr. Edward Teller and co-writer/editor Mrs. Judith Schoolery. Here, in his memoirs, Dr. Teller provides his remembrance of the events and issues surrounding the development and testing of the first hydrogen bombs where explosive power was measured in megatons rather than the kiloton yields of the atomic weapons developed less than a decade earlier, during World War II. Mrs. Schoolery was a former science teacher who was chosen to serve as a co-writer and editor of Dr. Teller’s memoirs. Called “The Super” in most histories, the fusion device released its massive amount of energy which for brief moments following the start of the atomic fusing process, the temperatures and pressure rise to those onlyl seen in the operational fusion devices all around us, the stars. For that brief instance, the pressures are raised dramatically to those approaching the pressures and temperatures found in the interior of a star like our sun, Sol.
Two other books come to mind when thinking about these weapons. First, there is the problem of nuclear proliferation, more and more nations becoming members of the atomic bomb collection “club,” where membership is proof that their scientists have successfully detonated some type of atomic device of their own creation. There are only eight members of that “club of the bomb” (my parenthetical) including, the United States of America, the Russian Federation, Great Britain, France, South Africa (briefly, but since their testing they dismantled all of their devices and equipment to make them – voluntary disarmament. Continuing the list are India, Pakistan, and North Korea, or a total of 8 at last count. Proliferation can also come for forces of extremist views not affiliated with any one country. The case for these radical exhibitionists is made all to clear and described in great depth by David E.Hoffman in The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and its Dangerous Legacy. In The Dead Hand , Mr.Hoffman presents information on the laxity in many areas of the world where nuclear weapons are stockpiled and seldom (if ever) get inspected, tested, refurbished, etc. The security laxity is even evident in some countries’ lack of any protection whatsoever on the working inventory of their atomic and thermonuclear bombs and warheads as well as fissile materials are left in storage areas where no guards are present, in the open within the buildings with no precautions for radiation exposure much less anything else. There are no guards; the doors are not even locked, and the buildings are slowly decaying and falling apart. There is even in one country, a device called “The Dead Hand” whereby a successful nuclear sneak attack on the national leadership has an automatic and cannot be stopped activation of what amounts to a “Doomsday Machine.” The Dead Hand is programmable to operate in a variety of modes and with various types of pre-recorded activities lists, launching of armed vehicles, and assessing damage once the sky has cleared enough for surveillance satellites can determine what happened and how it had played out. While its targeting is unknown, The Dead Hand is designed to provide either counter-force (against military bases and control centers) or counter-value (cities and government installations, usually the largest ones first). The final wrap up of the books that inspired me to read Dr. Younger’s work, which I am still reviewing, was one of the more hopeful and by far the most inspiring of the lot, Philip Taubman’s The Partnership: Five Cold Warriors and Their Quest to Ban the Bomb. The partnership included San Nunn, George Schultz, Dr. Henry Kissinger, William Perry, and Dr. Sidney Drell – a former U.S. Senator, two former Secretaries of State, for Secretary of Defense, and a nuclear physicist working with design and control of the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Their efforts have affected how our country reacted to the call for a Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, as well as the attempt to seriously ban, with the final move to be made, elimination of all nuclear weapons possessed by the United States and the Russian Federation (still the Soviet Union, where the discussions were made in Iceland, prior to the governmental restructuring and international decisions made on how the Russian Federation would be built from the old Soviet Union less some members of the former Soviet Union.
Compared against the group of literature previously cited above, Dr. Stephen M. Young-er’s 2007 publication, The Bomb: A New History truly stands apart. It is indeed a history of the nuclear arsenal of the United States but on recent terms, with less coverage of the historical basis, and more a look at how things stand today. He raises questions that need answers such as how do we propose to maintain the arsenal we have now at hand, when the tools to refurbish them are non-existent; where the design teams who drew the devices up for machinists and engi-neers to fabricate and construct the devices; where crews moved the bombs to secured locations where they could be loaded and primed for use; installed on orders from the President of the United States; and finally, arm them and get them on the planes and missiles to be used to launch them at their intended targets. This chain of events is just one thing that has a lot of problems for us, especial-ly the issue of what does it take to care for and keep these devices up-to-date and retooled, refur-bished, and made ready for use. What if we test them to see if they will still go “Boom” at the appro-priate time and the proper location? These and other questions of appropriateness for use, how many is enough, how few are too little for the mission, and most importantly, how much is really too much, and is more so much overkill we kill the planet as well as the enemy we seek to destroy. In the end, he asks the real questions that need answers, what do we really need to protect our nation and our way of life. Once that is answered successfully, then and only then should we even consider the re-mote possibility that these heinous weapons are the true, last full measure of and for our life as a de-mocracy on the North American continent until 30 minutes after the last bomb, and the last missile streak down and destroy us utterly. That my readers is totally and completely unacceptable, and so said Dr. Stephen_M_Younger’s 2007 publication, The Bomb: A New Histo-ry. It is a less than 200 page read, and if you want to have some truly good discussions in a government class or history class about this type of information, this book needs to be in your lesson plans as it is superb in every way possible.
Recommendations? This is a five out five stars on our ratings scale. He is concise, articulate, and very readable. He knows this business because he has lived it for his entire life, at least his entire profes-sional life. Just look at that title, The Bomb: A New History. The fact that this histo-ry is new is refreshing to the baccalaureate historian in me, and even to the history and government teacher I was for the first 8 or so years of my 35 in public education. The suggestion that there is new history to be studied tells me, he looked at the field for the literature and very little has been written about these highly deadly weapons. But he is correct in that with the exception of David E.Hoffman’s The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and its Dangerous Legacy and Philip Taubman’s The Partnership: Five Cold Warriors and Their Quest to Ban the Bomb very little of positive value has been written in the past ten years or so. Therefore all of these books present the problem in the light of new changed surroundings and thus demand that we as intelligent, competent, and interested members of society need to encourage our leaders to get out of Washington, and decide on something to do that will eliminate these horrific means of destroying not only ourselves but also our legacy of stewardship to the creatures that Gpd in His Infinite Wisdom put on this planet for us to care for, nurture, and man-age as good stewards of His Faith in us and His Unending Love for us. This book is readable for anyone interested in the subject with an upper elementary reading level all the way up to adults. I loved it.
___________________________
Creative Commons Licensure information for this review follows:
Review of Dr. Stephen M. Younger's The Bomb: A New History by Richard W. Buro is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10687350-the-bomb.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at Permissions page is required. http://corporate.harpercollins.com/us/sales-and-rights/subsidiary-rights. For Harper Collins Permissions Page, follow this link http://permissions.harpercollins.com/.
I am not sure whether it is my excitement in watching things “blow up,” “lift off,” – in other words, seeing things go up in various stages of disintegration or perhaps, if lucky, launching into space. Or, rather, the idea that there are still things out there that could turn the Earth into the ultimate example of dystopia via the detonation of the various countries with their arsenals of the worst of the “WMD” or weapons of mass destruction. These worst of the worst weapons are those of an atomic and/or thermonuclear nature – those things which we marvelous creators of these the ultimate machine to get us to the nuclear winter and wasteland of destruction, that didn’t even exist until roughly seven decades ago. As I write this review, it is almost 70 years to the day when the Trinity Site was formally the first location on Earth for the detonation of a plutonium device similar in construction and yield to the bomb that would destroy most of Nagasaki, Japan, now just about a three-week window or so away. Dr. Stephen_M_Younger’s 2007 publication, The Bomb: A New History.
In The Bomb: A New History, Dr. Stephen M. Younger updates our understanding of the nature and situations surrounding these some of the latest, and in some ways – the worst of the weapons contained in the world’s arsenals. The Bomb: A New History is exactly the book that is needed at this time. Why does that make so much sense to me? Good histories already exist. The effects of actual usage and testing of these devices are extensive and in many cases declassified for use by the general public. And, last, but certainly not least, there are things that need to be addressed and analyzed about these devices, particularly their component parts and the interaction of those parts to provide the necessary effects that anyone insane enough to detonate one, hopes to achieve. More about these points below . . .
Good histories of the development and now the actual locations and histories about them are begin-ing to move into some of the declassified literature of the era during the existence of the Manhattan Project, the largest scale science experiment ever conceived, which would develop the most powerful instruments of destruction ever conceived – atomic fission bombs. And, less than a decade later, we had to actually develop their odd grandparents, the thermonuclear fusion “super” bombs. Individuals associated with the project have had biographies written about them, some personal memoirs, out and out historical reviews of their life and work as they pass away from this life to the next, and some specially gifted historians, have written about the entire process using logs, journals, some of the later works and biographies as they became declassified, Several of the books I have read in the past 4 years or so have dealt with topics related in one way or another to these, potentially the most heinous weapons there can be – ones that could if used in one cataclysmic exchange under the plan of “better to use them rather than lose them.’ The ones that I remember the most vividly are the basic strategy text to explain in very esoteric terms what might be the result and effect include Herman Kahn’s esoteric policy guidance treatise On Thermonuclear War, still trying to decipher things enough to write a sensible and honest review – it is way beyond esoteric. His other book is Thinking About the Unthinkable which is more a personal way for the public to see what they can do when they are “thinking about the unthinkable,” or the war that would end not only all war, but most of the planet as well. One of the best written histories about the Manhattan Project that I have read was the Pulitzer Prize winning The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes. Additionally, Mr. Rhodes continues the story focusing his bestseller Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb, taking the fission bomb, its tests to the next logical step: the development of an atomic fusion device, where the destructive power comes by way of the fusing of the atomic nuclei in hydrogen isotopes mainly, deuterium or tritium, as the “fuel” or explosive element placed under extreme pressure and temperature. These pressure and temperature values could only be provided by an initial, first stage explosion associated with a special fission device. Using physical properties in that environment, the hydrogen nuclei are fused into helium with an unprecedented release of radiation, heat, and explosive force 100 to 1500 times or more times greater than that delivered in the atomic devices detonated in the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. , Memoirs: A Twentieth Century Journey In Science And Politics by Dr. Edward Teller and co-writer/editor Mrs. Judith Schoolery. Here, in his memoirs, Dr. Teller provides his remembrance of the events and issues surrounding the development and testing of the first hydrogen bombs where explosive power was measured in megatons rather than the kiloton yields of the atomic weapons developed less than a decade earlier, during World War II. Mrs. Schoolery was a former science teacher who was chosen to serve as a co-writer and editor of Dr. Teller’s memoirs. Called “The Super” in most histories, the fusion device released its massive amount of energy which for brief moments following the start of the atomic fusing process, the temperatures and pressure rise to those onlyl seen in the operational fusion devices all around us, the stars. For that brief instance, the pressures are raised dramatically to those approaching the pressures and temperatures found in the interior of a star like our sun, Sol.
Two other books come to mind when thinking about these weapons. First, there is the problem of nuclear proliferation, more and more nations becoming members of the atomic bomb collection “club,” where membership is proof that their scientists have successfully detonated some type of atomic device of their own creation. There are only eight members of that “club of the bomb” (my parenthetical) including, the United States of America, the Russian Federation, Great Britain, France, South Africa (briefly, but since their testing they dismantled all of their devices and equipment to make them – voluntary disarmament. Continuing the list are India, Pakistan, and North Korea, or a total of 8 at last count. Proliferation can also come for forces of extremist views not affiliated with any one country. The case for these radical exhibitionists is made all to clear and described in great depth by David E.Hoffman in The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and its Dangerous Legacy. In The Dead Hand , Mr.Hoffman presents information on the laxity in many areas of the world where nuclear weapons are stockpiled and seldom (if ever) get inspected, tested, refurbished, etc. The security laxity is even evident in some countries’ lack of any protection whatsoever on the working inventory of their atomic and thermonuclear bombs and warheads as well as fissile materials are left in storage areas where no guards are present, in the open within the buildings with no precautions for radiation exposure much less anything else. There are no guards; the doors are not even locked, and the buildings are slowly decaying and falling apart. There is even in one country, a device called “The Dead Hand” whereby a successful nuclear sneak attack on the national leadership has an automatic and cannot be stopped activation of what amounts to a “Doomsday Machine.” The Dead Hand is programmable to operate in a variety of modes and with various types of pre-recorded activities lists, launching of armed vehicles, and assessing damage once the sky has cleared enough for surveillance satellites can determine what happened and how it had played out. While its targeting is unknown, The Dead Hand is designed to provide either counter-force (against military bases and control centers) or counter-value (cities and government installations, usually the largest ones first). The final wrap up of the books that inspired me to read Dr. Younger’s work, which I am still reviewing, was one of the more hopeful and by far the most inspiring of the lot, Philip Taubman’s The Partnership: Five Cold Warriors and Their Quest to Ban the Bomb. The partnership included San Nunn, George Schultz, Dr. Henry Kissinger, William Perry, and Dr. Sidney Drell – a former U.S. Senator, two former Secretaries of State, for Secretary of Defense, and a nuclear physicist working with design and control of the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Their efforts have affected how our country reacted to the call for a Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, as well as the attempt to seriously ban, with the final move to be made, elimination of all nuclear weapons possessed by the United States and the Russian Federation (still the Soviet Union, where the discussions were made in Iceland, prior to the governmental restructuring and international decisions made on how the Russian Federation would be built from the old Soviet Union less some members of the former Soviet Union.
Compared against the group of literature previously cited above, Dr. Stephen M. Young-er’s 2007 publication, The Bomb: A New History truly stands apart. It is indeed a history of the nuclear arsenal of the United States but on recent terms, with less coverage of the historical basis, and more a look at how things stand today. He raises questions that need answers such as how do we propose to maintain the arsenal we have now at hand, when the tools to refurbish them are non-existent; where the design teams who drew the devices up for machinists and engi-neers to fabricate and construct the devices; where crews moved the bombs to secured locations where they could be loaded and primed for use; installed on orders from the President of the United States; and finally, arm them and get them on the planes and missiles to be used to launch them at their intended targets. This chain of events is just one thing that has a lot of problems for us, especial-ly the issue of what does it take to care for and keep these devices up-to-date and retooled, refur-bished, and made ready for use. What if we test them to see if they will still go “Boom” at the appro-priate time and the proper location? These and other questions of appropriateness for use, how many is enough, how few are too little for the mission, and most importantly, how much is really too much, and is more so much overkill we kill the planet as well as the enemy we seek to destroy. In the end, he asks the real questions that need answers, what do we really need to protect our nation and our way of life. Once that is answered successfully, then and only then should we even consider the re-mote possibility that these heinous weapons are the true, last full measure of and for our life as a de-mocracy on the North American continent until 30 minutes after the last bomb, and the last missile streak down and destroy us utterly. That my readers is totally and completely unacceptable, and so said Dr. Stephen_M_Younger’s 2007 publication, The Bomb: A New Histo-ry. It is a less than 200 page read, and if you want to have some truly good discussions in a government class or history class about this type of information, this book needs to be in your lesson plans as it is superb in every way possible.
Recommendations? This is a five out five stars on our ratings scale. He is concise, articulate, and very readable. He knows this business because he has lived it for his entire life, at least his entire profes-sional life. Just look at that title, The Bomb: A New History. The fact that this histo-ry is new is refreshing to the baccalaureate historian in me, and even to the history and government teacher I was for the first 8 or so years of my 35 in public education. The suggestion that there is new history to be studied tells me, he looked at the field for the literature and very little has been written about these highly deadly weapons. But he is correct in that with the exception of David E.Hoffman’s The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and its Dangerous Legacy and Philip Taubman’s The Partnership: Five Cold Warriors and Their Quest to Ban the Bomb very little of positive value has been written in the past ten years or so. Therefore all of these books present the problem in the light of new changed surroundings and thus demand that we as intelligent, competent, and interested members of society need to encourage our leaders to get out of Washington, and decide on something to do that will eliminate these horrific means of destroying not only ourselves but also our legacy of stewardship to the creatures that Gpd in His Infinite Wisdom put on this planet for us to care for, nurture, and man-age as good stewards of His Faith in us and His Unending Love for us. This book is readable for anyone interested in the subject with an upper elementary reading level all the way up to adults. I loved it.
___________________________
Creative Commons Licensure information for this review follows:
Review of Dr. Stephen M. Younger's The Bomb: A New History by Richard W. Buro is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10687350-the-bomb.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at Permissions page is required. http://corporate.harpercollins.com/us/sales-and-rights/subsidiary-rights. For Harper Collins Permissions Page, follow this link http://permissions.harpercollins.com/.
May 1, 2023
RICK “SHAQ” GOLDSTEIN SAYS: “EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT THE ATOMIC BOMB… BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK”
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First let me preface my review by stating I am not an engineer… and I do not have any background in physics… and because of my lack of education in the aforementioned subjects… I was a little worried about being able to understand the subject matter in this book. The author does a commendable job on keeping at least seventy-five-per-cent of this very important and informative book… totally understandable by a layman… like myself. And please believe me… this book covers an extremely important subject. The entire history of the atomic bomb is covered in these pages… from its development in the famed “Manhattan Project”… Russia’s atomic program… the Cold War… and an entire overview of the “chess-game-like” evolution of the world’s atomic balance of power.
When the reader is educated in the “true” destructive power of atomic bombs… it’s very hard for me… as a reviewer… not to use terms like “I WAS BLOWN AWAY”… because that’s the true reaction that came out of me… when the author clinically… and precisely… defined the measurable force of these atomic weapons. There was absolutely no attempt on my part… to create a pun… the subject matter is too dire. The first bombs were measured in kilotons. “A kiloton of yield is the equivalent of one-thousand-TONS of TNT, a conventional explosive. To put that in perspective, one-thousand-tons of TNT would be a stack of explosives the size of a small house. A megaton is equal to ONE-MILLION-TONS-OF TNT equivalent, more explosive power than was used in most wars.” A further example is to explain that “the biggest piece of conventional weaponry – the Massive Ordnance Air Bomb- has “only” about ten tons of explosive energy. A “small” nuclear explosive with a yield of ten kilotons is thus ONE-THOUSAND-TIMES MORE POWERFUL THAN THE LARGEST CONVENTIONAL BOMB.
In the mid 1950’s Khrushchev wanted the Russians to test a one-hundred-megaton bomb… which was much larger than anything the Americans had achieved. He was warned by an aide “that it would cause lasting global environmental damage from radioactive fallout.” Khrushchev relented and tested a sixty-megaton bomb… “AND THE BOMB WAS SO POWERFUL THAT IT BLEW THE TOP OFF THE **ATMOSPHERE**!” I would like to share one more example of the utter destructive power of nuclear weapons… before I discuss what the rest of book is about. There is a “triad” of nuclear attack capabilities: missiles from the ground… from bombers in the sky… and from nuclear submarines beneath the sea. And I believe describing the “might” of “one” American nuclear submarine will bewilder (aka “blow you away”) you… “Each submarine carries twenty-four Trident D5 missiles, giving *A SINGLE SUBMARINE THE ABILITY TO PROJECT AN EXPLOSIVE FORCE GREATER THAN ALL THE WEAPONS USED IN ALL THE WARS OF HISTORY – THEY ARE THE MOST DESTRUCTIVE WEAPONS SYSTEMS EVER CREATED BY HUMANKIND.”
Woooo! Once you have a true understanding of the capability available… to literally end the human race… the author then starts describing all the disarmament treaties… the non-proliferation agreements… the different proposals… to either have enough nuclear weapons to end the world… or just enough weapons to leave a few people behind… how many weapons are enough to scare people enough not to attack… how many weapons are too much… because… the enemy… DOESN’T BELIEVE AMERICA WOULD USE THEM…
And then there’s the problem of the Test Ban Treaty… and in 1992 President George H. W. Bush “announced a moratorium on further nuclear tests by the United States, a temporary measure that has been honored ever since. The last U.S. nuclear detonation occurred on September 23, 1992.” That sounds good… but now our nuclear weapons are getting so old… we can’t tell if they’ll still work… because we can’t test them. What happens if we need them and they don’t work? All the computer simulations in the world can be run… but as one nuclear scientist said: “I know of no way to be SURE that a calculation produces an exact rendition of what happens in nature.” This book will make you sit up straight in your chair… when you understand the unleashed-deadly-power all around you… it will also make you scratch your head… as you try to comprehend… all the logical… and illogical… executed… and potential… real life chess moves… and… lastly…
“NUCLEAR WEAPONS CANNOT BE UNINVENTED. THEIR PERMANENCE CHALLENGES US TO HANDLE THEM IN A WAY THAT MAXIMIZES THEIR DETERRENT VALUE WHILE MINIMIZING THE PROBABILITY THAT THEY WILL EVER BE USED.”
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First let me preface my review by stating I am not an engineer… and I do not have any background in physics… and because of my lack of education in the aforementioned subjects… I was a little worried about being able to understand the subject matter in this book. The author does a commendable job on keeping at least seventy-five-per-cent of this very important and informative book… totally understandable by a layman… like myself. And please believe me… this book covers an extremely important subject. The entire history of the atomic bomb is covered in these pages… from its development in the famed “Manhattan Project”… Russia’s atomic program… the Cold War… and an entire overview of the “chess-game-like” evolution of the world’s atomic balance of power.
When the reader is educated in the “true” destructive power of atomic bombs… it’s very hard for me… as a reviewer… not to use terms like “I WAS BLOWN AWAY”… because that’s the true reaction that came out of me… when the author clinically… and precisely… defined the measurable force of these atomic weapons. There was absolutely no attempt on my part… to create a pun… the subject matter is too dire. The first bombs were measured in kilotons. “A kiloton of yield is the equivalent of one-thousand-TONS of TNT, a conventional explosive. To put that in perspective, one-thousand-tons of TNT would be a stack of explosives the size of a small house. A megaton is equal to ONE-MILLION-TONS-OF TNT equivalent, more explosive power than was used in most wars.” A further example is to explain that “the biggest piece of conventional weaponry – the Massive Ordnance Air Bomb- has “only” about ten tons of explosive energy. A “small” nuclear explosive with a yield of ten kilotons is thus ONE-THOUSAND-TIMES MORE POWERFUL THAN THE LARGEST CONVENTIONAL BOMB.
In the mid 1950’s Khrushchev wanted the Russians to test a one-hundred-megaton bomb… which was much larger than anything the Americans had achieved. He was warned by an aide “that it would cause lasting global environmental damage from radioactive fallout.” Khrushchev relented and tested a sixty-megaton bomb… “AND THE BOMB WAS SO POWERFUL THAT IT BLEW THE TOP OFF THE **ATMOSPHERE**!” I would like to share one more example of the utter destructive power of nuclear weapons… before I discuss what the rest of book is about. There is a “triad” of nuclear attack capabilities: missiles from the ground… from bombers in the sky… and from nuclear submarines beneath the sea. And I believe describing the “might” of “one” American nuclear submarine will bewilder (aka “blow you away”) you… “Each submarine carries twenty-four Trident D5 missiles, giving *A SINGLE SUBMARINE THE ABILITY TO PROJECT AN EXPLOSIVE FORCE GREATER THAN ALL THE WEAPONS USED IN ALL THE WARS OF HISTORY – THEY ARE THE MOST DESTRUCTIVE WEAPONS SYSTEMS EVER CREATED BY HUMANKIND.”
Woooo! Once you have a true understanding of the capability available… to literally end the human race… the author then starts describing all the disarmament treaties… the non-proliferation agreements… the different proposals… to either have enough nuclear weapons to end the world… or just enough weapons to leave a few people behind… how many weapons are enough to scare people enough not to attack… how many weapons are too much… because… the enemy… DOESN’T BELIEVE AMERICA WOULD USE THEM…
And then there’s the problem of the Test Ban Treaty… and in 1992 President George H. W. Bush “announced a moratorium on further nuclear tests by the United States, a temporary measure that has been honored ever since. The last U.S. nuclear detonation occurred on September 23, 1992.” That sounds good… but now our nuclear weapons are getting so old… we can’t tell if they’ll still work… because we can’t test them. What happens if we need them and they don’t work? All the computer simulations in the world can be run… but as one nuclear scientist said: “I know of no way to be SURE that a calculation produces an exact rendition of what happens in nature.” This book will make you sit up straight in your chair… when you understand the unleashed-deadly-power all around you… it will also make you scratch your head… as you try to comprehend… all the logical… and illogical… executed… and potential… real life chess moves… and… lastly…
“NUCLEAR WEAPONS CANNOT BE UNINVENTED. THEIR PERMANENCE CHALLENGES US TO HANDLE THEM IN A WAY THAT MAXIMIZES THEIR DETERRENT VALUE WHILE MINIMIZING THE PROBABILITY THAT THEY WILL EVER BE USED.”
January 18, 2020
A lot of people seem to like this book, and it's not that it's not good -- it is. It provides a solid history of how it came to be and what has happened since with some good technical details thrown in. And for those not already familiar with such information, it's a good primer. However, in terms of the author's present worldview, recent worldview, future worldview, again, while I don't necessarily disagree, it simply seems a bit dated and it's hard to believe this was published merely a decade or so ago, because this feels most definitely like an immediate post-Cold War book to me, and one wonders where the author has been the past 20 years... It's like he hasn't kept up with the changes he didn't anticipate, or couldn't have in 1990, but which were already taking place before he even published this book. Which again begs the question -- are his assessments of present geopolitical conditions, military strategies, hegemoies, etc., accurate not only at the time of publication but today? I think most would argue, NO, they weren't and aren't. I feel fairly confident I could, most certainly. Which then begs the question of if he was and is so off base in his understanding of the present dynamics and his predictions of future dynamics and geopolitical likelihoods, how do we know how much to trust from this book, and further, is this book of any current relevant value? As a historical primer, it's fairly well done. As a "New History," it fails miserably. There are many better books out there and thus this is most definitely NOT remotely recommended.
April 19, 2018
There are far longer and more comprehensive books on the history and current status of nuclear weapons. What sets this one apart is that it was written by the "real deal": author Stephen Younger spent his career at Los Alamos as a nuclear weapons research and design engineer.
Since the author possesses a lot of classified knowledge of nuclear weapons, the book does not contain a references section (listing any reference would mean an implicit approval of it as an accurate information source by the author); and some of the diagrams and descriptions are deliberately very simplistic and lacks any substantial information. As a concrete example; the author's diagram of a modern hydrogen bomb design is basically three concentric circles (a two-minute Google search would fetch a much more accurate diagram from open sources). All of this is understandable, though - as a former member of a very secretive and elite group of engineers, the author is subject to a lot of legal limitations and certainly succeeded in writing a very informative volume while diligently protecting US nuclear secrets.
What the book lacks in detail, it makes up for in the form of many amazing details and anecdotes from his career at Los Alamos. The sections about meeting former Soviet nuclear weapon designers and his description of current US nuclear stockpile maintenance efforts are worth the price of the book alone.
Highly recommended addition to any nuclear weapon geek's library.
Since the author possesses a lot of classified knowledge of nuclear weapons, the book does not contain a references section (listing any reference would mean an implicit approval of it as an accurate information source by the author); and some of the diagrams and descriptions are deliberately very simplistic and lacks any substantial information. As a concrete example; the author's diagram of a modern hydrogen bomb design is basically three concentric circles (a two-minute Google search would fetch a much more accurate diagram from open sources). All of this is understandable, though - as a former member of a very secretive and elite group of engineers, the author is subject to a lot of legal limitations and certainly succeeded in writing a very informative volume while diligently protecting US nuclear secrets.
What the book lacks in detail, it makes up for in the form of many amazing details and anecdotes from his career at Los Alamos. The sections about meeting former Soviet nuclear weapon designers and his description of current US nuclear stockpile maintenance efforts are worth the price of the book alone.
Highly recommended addition to any nuclear weapon geek's library.
April 5, 2021
Younger provides a straightforward introductory overview of the major issues related to nuclear weapons, including their history, manufacture, maintenance, use as a deterrent, and the arguments surrounding their use and continued existence. He also makes excellent use of analogies and simple prose to clearly communicate key points throughout the book that would otherwise have been confusing if explained using more technical language and arguments.
Overall, highly recommended as a starting point for anyone hoping to learn more about the most basic aspects of nuclear weapons.
Overall, highly recommended as a starting point for anyone hoping to learn more about the most basic aspects of nuclear weapons.
October 9, 2019
Concise yet detailed explanation of how the nuclear arms race begin, and how we got to where we are today.
I enjoyed that the author took times to see all arguments around nuclear arms (should we have more? less? somewhere in the middle?) and explain why someone would feel that way.
The author repeats himself a bit, but I actually found it very helpful when understanding some of the more complex topics and parts and how they tie together.
I enjoyed that the author took times to see all arguments around nuclear arms (should we have more? less? somewhere in the middle?) and explain why someone would feel that way.
The author repeats himself a bit, but I actually found it very helpful when understanding some of the more complex topics and parts and how they tie together.
June 16, 2023
Informative
The book may be a dry type. However, I learned a lot of new information from this book. Which I appreciated about because that’s the whole point of learning something new. So, I indeed learned something new from this. It is the reason why I gave it four stars instead of three.
The book may be a dry type. However, I learned a lot of new information from this book. Which I appreciated about because that’s the whole point of learning something new. So, I indeed learned something new from this. It is the reason why I gave it four stars instead of three.
March 20, 2019
The conversation about the future of nuclear weapons needs to happen because "we cannot sustain current nuclear operations as is."
August 22, 2019
Essential reading for the 21st century!
August 29, 2009
Interesting book concisely reviewing the history of development of nuclear weapons and then efforts to control their use, prevent proliferation, etc. Culminates in a detailed discussion of his recommendations for 21st century, post-Cold War strategy in this area. Some stuff that is very familiar (history of Manhattan Project etc.) but quite a bit I either didn't know or hadn't thought much about (e.g., design of our nukes never took into account possibility of their sitting around untested for long stretches such as our current [since 1992:] moratorium on testing -- he gives the analogy of having a car handy for driving members of your family only in an extreme emergency, but agreeing with your neighbors never to start the car or make sure it still runs until such an emergency occurs.
Very extended game-theory-like discussions of what sort of nuclear weapons program actually acts as an effective deterrent to our using them or others using them against us, of the relative merits of counterforce vs. countervalue positioning them (targeting others' weapons systems to try to make them incapable of wiping us out vs. targeting their cities/populations to try to frighten them out of attacking us in the first place).
He dwells only briefly on the actual experience of the Japanese in getting atomic bombs dropped on them, and I realize there are many other sources for that material. I kept thinking in the second half of the book, though, that this would all be a fascinating exercise in strategy, tradeoffs, mind-reading your opponent, etc. if only it were a video game and not really a discussion of possible use of unthinkably destructive weapons.
Very extended game-theory-like discussions of what sort of nuclear weapons program actually acts as an effective deterrent to our using them or others using them against us, of the relative merits of counterforce vs. countervalue positioning them (targeting others' weapons systems to try to make them incapable of wiping us out vs. targeting their cities/populations to try to frighten them out of attacking us in the first place).
He dwells only briefly on the actual experience of the Japanese in getting atomic bombs dropped on them, and I realize there are many other sources for that material. I kept thinking in the second half of the book, though, that this would all be a fascinating exercise in strategy, tradeoffs, mind-reading your opponent, etc. if only it were a video game and not really a discussion of possible use of unthinkably destructive weapons.
December 22, 2011
I've read many books on The Bomb, and this one is probably the best at being concise and still touching on all relevant topics. The author's CV has him as a retired insider who clearly has a background on both the particulars of the Bomb as a machine (in need of repair and care) as well as the political decision-making that originated the current nuclear posture the US and other holding nations execute.
The first half is a basic introduction to the history of the Bomb and proliferation up to the Cold War and the remainder a very sound exposition on policy options going forward; especially in light of the change from a dyadic Cold War situation to a more dynamic small group terror threat. Interestingly, the book acknowledges the lack of nuke's utility in their present incarnation as anachronistic to our current fight (best suited to non-nuclear high-tech precison-guide munitions), but unable to be entirely eradicated now that the idea exists (e.g. no stuffing the genie back in the bottle)
A quick and up-to-date informative read...this too would be good for a high school/collegiate curriculum
The first half is a basic introduction to the history of the Bomb and proliferation up to the Cold War and the remainder a very sound exposition on policy options going forward; especially in light of the change from a dyadic Cold War situation to a more dynamic small group terror threat. Interestingly, the book acknowledges the lack of nuke's utility in their present incarnation as anachronistic to our current fight (best suited to non-nuclear high-tech precison-guide munitions), but unable to be entirely eradicated now that the idea exists (e.g. no stuffing the genie back in the bottle)
A quick and up-to-date informative read...this too would be good for a high school/collegiate curriculum
October 12, 2009
This book talks about nuclear weapons. It covers their history and some theory of operation, but it focuses on the politics of their production, use, possession, and attempts to defend against them.
The book is pretty short, and doesn't go into great detail of many of the topics it covers -- some small sections almost seem like expanded lists. One of the strengths of this book, though, is its breadth: it covers pretty much every political aspect of nuclear weapons.
The author has a military history, and the book clearly benefits from that. Unfortunately, it seems like he was unable to divorce himself from that viewpoint: throughout the entire book, as various alternatives were presented, I felt that the author ultimately portrayed the military viewpoint as the correct one.
In all, this book is well worth reading. It's illuminating, and would have been even better if it was expanded, and written in a more neutral tone.
The book is pretty short, and doesn't go into great detail of many of the topics it covers -- some small sections almost seem like expanded lists. One of the strengths of this book, though, is its breadth: it covers pretty much every political aspect of nuclear weapons.
The author has a military history, and the book clearly benefits from that. Unfortunately, it seems like he was unable to divorce himself from that viewpoint: throughout the entire book, as various alternatives were presented, I felt that the author ultimately portrayed the military viewpoint as the correct one.
In all, this book is well worth reading. It's illuminating, and would have been even better if it was expanded, and written in a more neutral tone.
August 27, 2013
The subject matter of this book is crazy, I learned all kinds of things. Like, never ever ever trust the Russians, France is sort of a warmonger disguised as a nation of wine-sipping sissies, and the USA kind of had as much to do with starting the Cuban missile crisis as the Russians, hard as that is to believe.
There were also lots of cool facts and stories on the technical side of nuclear weapons, and a lot of really eye-opening stuff on diplomacy and strategy involving nukes. For example, I can FINALLY understand why the Russians got so pissed off at America a few years when America wanted to increase missile defense.
The end of the book gets a little more polemical, and we hear directly from the author his ideas of what should be done in the future (new testing, refurbishment of stockpiles, keeping the best engineers interested in the projects, etc.), and kind of ends on that.
Very badass book.
There were also lots of cool facts and stories on the technical side of nuclear weapons, and a lot of really eye-opening stuff on diplomacy and strategy involving nukes. For example, I can FINALLY understand why the Russians got so pissed off at America a few years when America wanted to increase missile defense.
The end of the book gets a little more polemical, and we hear directly from the author his ideas of what should be done in the future (new testing, refurbishment of stockpiles, keeping the best engineers interested in the projects, etc.), and kind of ends on that.
Very badass book.
September 26, 2012
Last night I finished skimming Stephen M. Younger’s The Bomb: A New History. Let me just say that this is the kind of book I pick up at the library thinking, “Ah yes, nuclear policy! One should educate oneself on such issues. Why yes, I think I shall read this!” A good attempt was made, but in the end I was only able to really skim it. It just didn’t capture me in the way I was hoping it will, but I will say that I enjoyed the last twenty or so pages when Younger goes over different positions one might have on nuclear policy and why he thinks his makes the most sense. He’s the expert, so of course I’m interested to hear what the man with years of experience has to say! I wish he would have spent more time on that, or at least try harder to convince me or put up an argument. Then maybe I would have accomplished more than skimming.
July 27, 2009
Easy reading book that gives the history, some technical facts, and dispels some misinformation about the atomic bomb. Gets into the detail of the policies that have existed and offers questions what the future policy should be. It up to date including information about Iran and North Korea and gives a summary of the capabilities of the countries that have , had , and those developing the bomb. Having been grammar school student who was taught how to hide under the desk in case of the nuclear attack, I found the book interesting in reviewing much of what I have lived through. I found the technical aspects of what the bomb informative yet not too technical to make hard or boring to get through.
March 6, 2010
I learned more about nuclear weapons reading these 220 pages than I did as a member of the national security community for 25 years. Younger lucidly lays out the history of nuclear weapons, the technological issues involved in maintaining them and in verifying arms control agreements, and describes the rationale behind such strategies as MAD and counter-value plans. I checked this book out of my local library, but I just ordered a copy, it is worth having.
April 7, 2010
The book was handed to me by my college-aged son with the hope that it would help me sleep. It didn't. Having lived through much of the Cold War, it was refreshing to see all the events and accords of that era laid out--ICBMs, MIRVs, SALT etc. I learned a little bit more about the first two bombs and what made them different from each other. Mr. Younger also discusses some of the issues pertaining to keeping and improving atomic weapons.
March 30, 2011
This is what The Nuclear Express should have been: a concise treatise on the history and current state of affairs with a coherent recommendation for the future disposition of nuclear weapons. I generally disagree with Younger's "moderate" recommendation for the future state of the U.S. nuclear arsenal, but at least I felt his case was presented appropriately.
October 23, 2009
I thought this was a great read if you are into the history of the atomic program and where it's all going from this point. I feel the author kept it simple and appealed less to the technical aspects of "the bomb" and instead placed the focus on where it should be, the history and politics that make it such a hot button issue.
Want to read
December 9, 2008Read about on NYTimes.com
March 16, 2010
This book offered a very comprehensive overview of the history and future of U.S. nuclear weapons policy. It was very easy to read and has pictures!
July 7, 2010
A quick overview of the bomb. Overall I would say it was accurate but there were a few places in the book where some more information would have been helpful to clarify.
March 25, 2012
A bit boring and US centered. If you are after physics and technology you are better off reading wikipedia. Discussion on proliferation was useless.
September 15, 2012
A good concise summary of nuclear technology and policy. The final chapter of policy prescription is a bit of a departure though, and for me it disrupts the flow of the book.
October 26, 2012
Zizach Moss brought me here. Aaaand this book is super legit for cold war relations deliciousness between the US & our bff Russia.
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