Weapons of Mass Destruction: The No-Nonsense Guide to Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Weapons Today

by Robert Hutchinson

Book Overview

THE EXPERTS AGREE: Within 10 years a nuclear warhead will devastate a major city.This is not a movie outline, but the sober consensus among intelligence analysts. Our vulnerability to attack by... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0297830910
• ISBN13: 9780297830917
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: George Weidenfeld & Nicholson
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.6" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Fascinating, eloquent overview of nuclear weapon history

Despite the depressing subject matter and the dry title, the author (Robert Hutchinson) has created a highly readable account of nuclear weapon history. The subtitle, "The no-nonsense guide to nuclear, chemical and biological weapons today," is a bit of a misnomer. The book mostly covers the development of nuclear bombs/warheads and their delivery systems. Only one chapter each is devoted to chemical and biological weapons, respectively. This emphasis parallels the military's own probable reliance on these various weapon systems. (Chemical and biological weapons alone rarely have decisive effects on the battlefield.) The book is not a reference guide, but a truly intriguing look at man's inherent insecurity and his irresistible attraction to harness the destructive forces of the universe. Although I read quite a lot about military history, the book revealed many little-publicized systems and nuclear close-calls. For instance, the Soviets developed a 'dead-hand' computerized launch system, so that if the Soviet (now Russian) leadership was killed in a sudden pre-emptive first strike then Russian ICBMs would launch automatically. (Gee, I hope those Russian computers don't crash their hard drives.) Both Soviets/Russians and Americans (32 Pentagon-confirmed) have had some startlingly close-calls in accidental nuclear weapons detonation or launching! Also, the Soviets spent huge sums on developing an anti-ballistic missile (ABM) system to shield the Soviet leadership in Moscow. While the Americans did the same to protect their own ICBM fields. Interestingly enough, neither side felt it imperative to try to shield their own cities from nuclear destruction. (Which begs the question: If all your cities are destroyed in a nuclear attack, then what is the point of maintaining a national leadership? There would be no people left to govern! Such is the logic of nuclear game theory.) The book's chapters cover: Cold War nuclear weapons and strategy, cruise missile and ICBM development, survey of nuclear delivery systems (especially missiles), nuclear weapon effects/tactics/response, nuclear missile proliferation, ABM and launch command systems, efforts to reduce nuclear proliferation, chemical weapons types/usage/covert dumping, and biological weapons. It also mentions the 'doomsday bomb', which the Soviets developed to ensure the complete uninhabitability of planet Earth for millenia, just in case they found themselves on the losing end of a nuclear war. I heartily recommend this book to anyone remotely interested in the Cold War or nuclear weapons history. Hutchinson has a superb writing style. Just a few minor complaints: chapters could be subdivided and better organized, add tables listing the weapons and their comparative attributes, more photos. (My 2004 edition has a decent bibliography and index.)

Interesting & Useful

This short volume spends a good deal of its space on the BACKGROUND and DEVELOPMENT (including missile technology) of WMD since the end of WW2. I suppose this makes sense since one can easily find fairly reliable info on CURRENT ARSENALS from the internet (the "Nuclear Notebook" of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists immediately comes to mind). This sort of data change all the time.One figure from this book strikes me: Britain's total nuclear arsenal - all in SLBM's - have a combined yield of just 19 MT. (p. 122) Compare this with China's total: 530 MT. (p. 124) However, one must keep in mind the high-survivability of a first strike of the former, something China still lags behind. China has no SSBM's in operation, according to Hutchinson. (This is well known.) How can China see itself as a superpower? And to think some Americans see China as a future threat!The following are chapter headings: 1. Dr Strangelove Lives! 2. Thunder from the Sky 3. Dawn of Deterrence 4. A Terrible Mushroom Cloud 5. Delivering the Hand of God 6. Missile Proliferation 7. The Last Ditch Defence 8. Awakening from the Nuclear Nightmare 9. Man's Inhumanity to Man - Chemical Weapons 10. Unlocking Pandora's Box - Biological Weapons Glossary BibliographyThis book has no appendixes. (Worse it lacks an index - something I consider essential in any book of this type.) This book's emphasis seems to be on nuclear rather than chem or bio weapons.For those who enjoy a HISTORICAL tour of WMD, this book is standard fare. For those who are interested in the technical description of WMD (i.e., info that are de-classified and thus available to the public), you'd do well to look elsewhere. As for the author's credentials, I take his competence for granted since he comes from Jane's.Overall, interesting and useful.