| Description |
x unnumbered pages, 577 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, map ; 25 cm |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 491-553) and index. |
| Contents |
At the precipice -- War games -- War scare -- The germ nightmare -- The anthrax factory -- The dead hand -- Morning again in America -- "We can't go on living like this" -- Year of the spy -- Of swords and shields -- The road to Reykjavik -- Farewell to arms -- Germs, gas and secrets -- The lost year -- The greatest breakthrough -- The year of living dangerously -- A great unraveling -- The scientists -- Revelations -- Yeltsin's promise -- Project sapphire -- Face to face with evil. |
| Summary |
During the Cold War, superpowers amassed nuclear arsenals containing the explosive power of one million Hiroshimas. The Soviet Union secretly plotted to create the "Dead Hand," a system designed to launch an automatic retaliatory nuclear strike on the United States, and developed a fearsome biological warfare machine. President Ronald Reagan, hoping to awe the Soviets into submission, pushed hard for the creation of space-based missile defenses. This, the first full account of how the arms race finally ended, provides an unprecedented look at the inner motives and secret decisions of each side. |
| Awards |
Pulitzer Prize 2010 (nonfiction by an American author that is not eligible for consideration in any other category) |
| Subject |
Reagan, Ronald -- Political and social views.
|
|
Reagan, Ronald. |
|
Political and social views. |
|
Gorbachev, Mikhail Sergeevich, 1931-2022 -- Political and social views.
|
|
Gorbachev, Mikhail Sergeevich, 1931-2022. |
|
Arms race -- History -- 20th century.
|
|
Arms race. |
|
History. |
| Chronological Term |
20th century |
| Subject |
Nuclear disarmament -- History -- 20th century.
|
|
Nuclear disarmament. |
|
Cold War.
|
|
Cold War (1945-1989) |
|
Cold War -- Influence.
|
|
United States -- Foreign relations -- Soviet Union.
|
|
United States. |
|
International relations. |
|
Soviet Union. |
|
Soviet Union -- Foreign relations -- United States.
|
| ISBN |
9781848312302 hardback |
|
184831230X hardback |
|
0385524374 |
|
9780385524377 |
|
