The Twilight of the Bombs: Recent Challenges, New Dangers, and the Prospects for a World Without Nuclear Weapons (The Making of the Nuclear Age Book 4) by Richard Rhodes (PDF)

Description

The culminating volume in Richard Rhodes’s monumental and prizewinning history of nuclear weapons, offering the first comprehensive narrative of the challenges faced in a post–Cold War age.The past twenty years have transformed our relationship with nuclear weapons drastically. With extraordinary depth of knowledge and understanding, Rhodes makes clear how the five original nuclear powers—Russia, Great Britain, France, China, and especially the United States—have struggled with new realities. He shows us how the stage was set for a second tragic war when Iraq secretly destroyed its nuclear infrastructure and reveals the real reasons George W. Bush chose to fight a second war in Iraq. We see how the efforts of U.S. weapons labs laid the groundwork for nuclear consolidation in the former Soviet Union, how and why South Africa secretly built and then destroyed a small nuclear arsenal, and how Jimmy Carter’s private diplomacy prevented another Korean War.We also see how the present day represents a nuclear turning point and what hope exists for our future. Rhodes assesses the emerging threat of nuclear terrorism and offers advice on how our complicated relationships with North Korea and South Asia should evolve. Finally, he imagines what a post-nuclear world might look like, suggesting what might make it possible.Powerful and persuasive, The Twilight of the Bombs is an essential work of contemporary history.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐In this last volume of his breathtaking account of nuclear history, Richard Rhodes describes the post Cold War problems and hopes associated with nuclear weapons. The books bears many of Rhodes’s trademarks- it is extremely well-researched and contains sharp portraits of the major players as well as fast-paced accounts of key events that make you feel as if you were there. Rhodes’s abilities as a storyteller are still remarkable. This book is relatively slim and does not command the high-octane prose of Rhodes’s masterpiece “The Making of the Atomic Bomb” but as usual, Rhodes’s authoritative knowledge of nuclear matters provides many revelations and he has a novelist’s eye for detail which keeps the reader hooked.The book can roughly be divided into four parts. The first part concerns the first Gulf War and the dismantling of Iraq’s nuclear infrastructure, the second part describes the race to secure nuclear material in the former Soviet republics after the fall of the Soviet Union, the third part briefly talks about South Africa’s nuclear ambitions and and then in more detail about attempts to contain nuclear efforts by North Korea and the last part concerns the run-up to the second Gulf War and some final thoughts on the future of nuclear weapons. One striking omission in the book is Iran, and I think readers would have appreciated Rhodes’s insightful thoughts on the Iranian nuclear problem.The first part examines the troubling evidence in the 1980s that Saddam Hussein was trying to build a nuclear capability. Rogue Pakistani scientist A Q Khan had even tried to unsuccessfully sell Iraq a bomb design based on a Chinese weapon. At the same time that the US was providing aid and goodwill to Iraq to support it against Iran in the Iran-Iraq war, it was also unearthing evidence in the form of dual-use equipment shipments and intelligence analysis that Iraq was pursuing enriched uranium. Interestingly, the technology that Iraq was using turned out to be electromagnetic separation, a primitive technology that the US did not initially believe would be used; for nations pursuing nuclear capability, separating uranium isotopes by using centrifuges is much more efficient. Yet electromagnetic separation is exactly the kind of technology that a relatively primitive and cash-strapped economy would pursue. This is a good example of how biases can lead to false conclusions in spite of supporting evidence. Later, Rhodes has pulse-racing accounts of searches for enrichment technology in Iraq conducted by the weapons inspectors of the IAEA and the UN. Even after the inspectors discovered evidence of enrichment in the form of equipment used for electromagnetic separation, this was not yet conclusive evidence of weapons building. Probably the most exciting moment was when, deep down in a small room in a basement, the inspectors discovered a report that did provide such evidence in the form of clear and detailed descriptions of materials and design for an implosion bomb.The second part of the book deals with the fragmentation of the Soviet Union and the spirited and at times desperate race to acquire nuclear weapons from the former Soviet republics of Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan. There are many heroes in this story which stands as a model of bipartisan cooperation against a serious threat. Among these are David Kay, Hans Blix and Bob Gallucci who were nuclear inspectors and disarmament specialists. Probably the most prominent ones are the Democratic and Republican senators Sam Nunn and Richard Lugar who worked day and night to acquire funds from Congress to secure nuclear material and weapons from the three countries and have them transferred back to Russia. Concomitantly, Secretary of State James Baker hopped from one capital to another, urging the presidents of the new nations to sign the NPT and START using a combination of carrots (in the form of monetary rewards) and sticks (in the form of possible sanctions and threats from Russia). All three nations agreed that they were better off without nuclear weapons, and the result was a transfer of thousands of strategic and tactical weapons back to Russia. A third important and massive effort involved blending down the enriched uranium from Soviet weapons to reactor grade and shipping it back to the US for use in US nuclear reactors; Americans may be amused to know that about 10 percent of their current electricity derived from nuclear energy comes from nuclear weapons that their former foe had targeted against their cities. Curiously, the biggest reformer in this drama was President George H W Bush who orchestrated the largest arms reductions in history (he abolished entire classes of weapons, including missiles with multiple warheads and all ground-based weapons), and he needs to get much more credit for doing this than what has been given to him. Rhodes also describes the sense of wonder that directors of weapons labs in the US felt on meeting their Soviet counterparts for the first time, men and women who until then had been ghost-like figures in secret installations on the other side of the world, slated to possibly remain perpetually anonymous. When the director of Los Alamos Sigfried Hecker first traveled to the Soviet Union and met his counterpart Yuli Khariton, the man who had worked on Soviet atomic and hydrogen bombs since the beginning, the latter said, “I have been waiting for this moment all my life”. Everybody involved knew that this was a new chapter in history.In the third part Rhodes first briefly talks about the dismantling of South Africa’s nuclear program, which is a fine lesson for nations wanting to eschew nuclear weapons. In case of South Africa, the same reasons- internal strife, border conflicts and international alienation because of the government’s apartheid policies- that provoked the country to acquire weapons also encouraged them to give them up. An uglier reason was their fear in the 80s that the weapons might fall into the hands of the black government.Rhodes then describes in detail the difficult relationship between the US and North Korea in the context of North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. Along the way, Rhodes also provides perspective by noting that the US had mercilessly bombed the North during the Korean War; since then the North Koreans have constantly been in a kind of perpetual state of war, surrounded by giant powers like Russia and China. It’s also worth keeping in mind that the US had stationed hundreds of nuclear weapons in South Korea as a deterrent until about 1990. Although these actions by the US do not justify the North’s nuclear efforts, they do explain the paranoia and deep sense of insecurity that has fueled North Korea’s animosity towards the US. Again, there are heroes in this story, but one singled out by Rhodes is former President Jimmy Carter who went to North Korea of his own volition in 1994 and successfully mediated the Koreans’ proposal to stop reprocessing in return for light water reactors; the consequence of this diplomacy was the so-called “Agreed Framework” to regulate North Korea’s commercial nuclear program, which unfortunately broke down in 2003 in the face of North Korean non-compliance and disagreements. Since then, North Korea has always had to be kept on a tight leash and there have been several moments of tension between the two countries, but Rhodes’s accounts make it clear how diplomacy has averted another Korean War. Rhodes also has succinct discussions of efforts to develop and implement a framework for the CTBT, which was signed by Clinton but unfortunately not ratified by the Senate.The last part of the book concerns the run-up to the second Gulf War. This story has been told before but Rhodes tells it succinctly and well. Meticulous weapons inspections in Iraq between 1992 and 1998 had unearthed no evidence of a WMD capability, although Iraq had also not furnished clear documentation of the dismantling of its WMD capability. As Rhodes tells it, regime change had already been on the table, especially pushed by neoconservatives like Dick Cheney and Paul Wolfowitz but even contemplated by former Vice President Al Gore. But even after 9/11, it does not seem like Bush was thinking of attacking Iraq. However, as the record indicates, something changed in his thinking in the next two months, and invading Iraq became a concrete strategy in his mind. Rhodes thinks that a major reason for this shift in his thinking may have been the anthrax attacks which followed 9/11. It seems that these attacks really rammed the threat of terrorism home; at one point alarms even went off in the White House and Dick Cheney suspected that he himself may have been contaminated. Nonetheless, as is well-known now, Bush and his associates decided to invade Iraq fueled by the tried and tested strategy of threat-inflation and on evidence that was dubious at best. Rhodes clearly establishes the prevarications of the administration’s claims about WMDs in Iraq, based on discredited reports about uranium shipments from Niger to Saddam (reports discredited even by the CIA) as well as Chinese imports of supposed aluminum tubes for centrifuges, which turned out to be parts for short-range rockets. At best Iraq was years behind the difficult goal of building a nuclear weapon, a goal which would have needed extensive operations of enrichment and processing which would most likely have been detected. No matter how you cut it, there was no concrete justification for invading Iraq except one based on ideology and belief. Bush also seriously damaged arms reduction efforts by withdrawing from the ABM treaty, by his belligerent rhetoric against North Korea (which withdrew from the NPT and tested a nuclear weapon in 2006) and Iran, by lifting sanctions on Pakistan (a particularly recalcitrant and prolific proliferator) and by agreeing to supply India (which had not signed the NPT) with nuclear-related equipment. And yet in the midst of this tragedy it is easy to miss Bush’s one success in arms control in which he signed major arms reductions with Russia; these reductions brought down the number of warheads on US delivery vehicles from about 10,000 at the end of the Cold War to about 2600.This brings us to the final, eloquent part of Rhodes’s book where he talks about the possible abolishment of nuclear weapons. He describes the very serious problem of nuclear terrorism; in his view, while it may be very difficult for terrorists to use a sophisticated nuclear weapon, it may be much easier for them to acquire enough material for a crude explosive. Even state-owned nuclear weapons are susceptible to accident, miscalculation and misunderstanding. The bottom line is that as long as nuclear weapons are around, there is always a possibility that they may be used. The only, truly final solution for reducing the threat of nuclear weapons is to get rid of them. How do we achieve this? I would have appreciated more detail from Rhodes in this regard, but he describes promising developments. For one thing, simple laws of physics dictate that without nuclear material one cannot make nuclear weapons. So securing nuclear material is key and the Nunn-Lugar initiative has set a worthy bipartisan example for achieving this goal. Many recent initiatives to reduce the threat of nuclear weapons have also been refreshingly bipartisan. Efforts to ban nuclear testing have already been fine-honed for decades, and getting all nations on board the CTBT would mean a lot; in this context Rhodes singles out Australian diplomat Richard Butler and his Canberra Commission for special praise. The fact is that, in spite of nuclear proliferation, there have been hundreds of nations which have found it prudent not to develop nuclear weapons for various reasons (not the least of which is their expense; according to Rhodes it costs the US 50 billion dollars just to maintain its current stockpile of weapons), so there is hope.In the end though, only political will, strong leadership and international cooperation can rid the world of these terrible weapons. At some point, owning a nuclear weapon needs to become a crime. It is absolutely necessary to stop regarding these weapons as partisan, parochial concerns which can be leveraged to score political points in elections. To underscore this point, Rhodes recounts a fascinating idea put forth by the Scottish writer Gil Elliot in his book “Twentieth Century Book of the Dead”. Elliot talks about the international efforts to prevent and cure infectious disease and believes that war should similarly be treated as an international anathema that is to be abolished. Efforts to eradicate disease through public health campaigns crossed boundaries and saw even countries who were otherwise very hostile towards each other mutually cooperating. This was because disease was not seen as some other country’s problem but as a common threat. Because of their sheer destructive power, nuclear weapons similarly pose a common threat to all of humanity. Rhodes says that only when nuclear weapons are similarly and completely depoliticized to the extent that infectious diseases are, only when the world sees them not as instruments of aggression and patriotism owned by specific nations but as a common scourge that threatens all of humanity irrespective of our political leanings and differences, only then will we all work together to abolish them.

⭐Last book of this nuclear saga, a great collection of books to educate educated people what the 1939 discovery of nuclear fission really meant.It is a NON FICTION although some passages read like a fiction.It is also quite ideological. It will definitely NOT please American and other conservatives who do not think much about reduction and ultimate elimination of nuclear weapons of any kind.I am a retired natural scientist (chemist) and I did not realize that there is really not a fundamental difference between fission and fusion weapon – there is a minimum size for fission weapons but there is essentially no maximum size for fusion (‘hydrogen’) bombs.In conclusion of the series of books the author presents the issue as an issue of public health. It is surely similar to public health but it is, in my opinion, not exactly the same. Hygiene came to us ‘naturally’, ban of nuclear weapons, sources of very un-natural death (nobody, as far as I know, ever called them ‘act of God’) does not look to me very ‘natural’.These notes are, of course, kind of philosophical and do not diminish the value of the collection of books that everyone who considers himself/herself an educated person should read.All five stars, this is a unique series of books.

⭐In 2010 the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist had the clock at 6 minutes to midnight. In 2012 it moved 5 minutes. In 2015 and 2016 it was 3 minutes to midnight. In 2017, it was moved to two and a half minutes. Why the clock is moving closer to midnight although the cold war is somewhat behind us is explained, in part, in this important book. The nuclear threat is alive and well although most of us have no clue about it. I say, get informed, read this book!

⭐This one of the finest books describing the impact of nuclear weapons and their pursuit post World War II. Having read Mr. Rhodes first two books many times I was very pleasantly surprised with the retention of quality in this last work on the issue. From my own early years in Defence policy Mr. Rhodes’ work rings true and is most illuminating.This is a highly recommended book for anyone wanting a background in the major if back ground impact on nuclear weapons on major current events even though they have not been used in 70 years.

⭐A wonderfully incisive book. Rhodes does it yet again. He is a consummate craftsman at writing non fiction in fictional forms which keeps one riveted from cover to cover. Zeitgeist has it own angst. The author describes it with panache and aplomb. Hats off to the master storyteller! Despite the fact that Rhodes is dealing with the grundnorm of realities, he narrates as if it is a fairy tale. An art of writing quite without a parallel.

⭐I bought this book for my brother as a Chirstmas gift. It arrived on time and in okay condition. The book was mostly fine, but on the front cover there were a few scratches even though I purchased it new. Not a big deal though, they weren’t big scratches and I wouldn’t hesitate to purchase again.

⭐Not as gripping as some of Rhodes’ other books, but very informative and useful.

⭐As with all Rhodes’ work, his latest entry has proven informative and insightful in bringing the history of nuclear arms, arms control, and nuclear energy to the present (or at least recent past). Well worth the read for anyone interested in nuclear energy, nuclear energy policy, or non-proliferation.

⭐This comparatively slim volume concludes Richard Rhodes engrossing history of the nuclear age. As before it is a blend of science and politics, with the emphasis on politics. Since the end of the Cold War in the early Nineties, the enemy has been the rogue state and the spectre of Weapons of Mass Destruction finding their way into the hands of terrorists.The book is well written, as its predecessors were, and if it was a more difficult read, that is rather due to the content than the writing. Twilight of the Bombs lacks the central thread of the previous books(the Manhattan Project, the hydrogen bomb and Gorbachev respectively) and it consequently much more fragmented. Also, there is no end point; it simply catches up to the present time.Reviewing this in early 2013, it is a sad reflection that we are again on the edge of our seats as North Korea carries out nuclear tests and threatens the USA and its own neighbours with a nuclear holocaust. We have to hope that the certainty of annihilation will make Kim Jong-un withdraw his threats, or at least let them dwindle into ineffectiveness.It remains a forlorn hope at present that Mr Rhodes will be able soon to write a fifth volume; one which relates how mankind rejected nuclear and bio-chemical weapons in favour of a world in which leaders talk to each other, and disputes are settled amicably. We still live in a time when total extinction of the human race is a distinct possibility, albeit one far less likely that it was forty years ago.In summary a highly recommended read, especially if you have read the first three books (The Birth of the Atomic Bomb, Dark Sun and Arsenals of Folly).

⭐Shorter than his massive tombs: Atomic and Hydrogen types. some of his conclusions I would disagree with as the world re-arms. The dangers of disarmament are also worthwhile exploring, mad North Korea off on its own for example.

⭐very informative,most interesting

⭐Just buy this book if you want to learn anything about the start of Atomic era and in this case, what comes next. Richard Rhodes is THE authority on the atomic bomb, either the use of it, development or construction of the infrastructure to build it. Like all his books on this subject, you don’t have to be a nuclear engineer to read and understand what he has written, but a layman’s understanding of the science behind nuclear technology does help. 5 out of 5

⭐I had read the first two books from Richard Rhodes about nuclear weapons (“The making of the atomic bomb” and “Dark Sun”) in the 1990s and both had really fascinated me. This summer (2014) I read, in the kindle format, the third chapter “Arsenals of Folly”. I have now just finished the fourth and final book of the series “Twilight of the Bombs”. I definitely recommend it, if you have been fascinated by the previous books this will not delude you. The story about nuclear weapons, as presented by the author, is not only about the technology or its military applications, but it is first of all about people and world politics.

Keywords

Free Download The Twilight of the Bombs: Recent Challenges, New Dangers, and the Prospects for a World Without Nuclear Weapons (The Making of the Nuclear Age Book 4) in PDF format
The Twilight of the Bombs: Recent Challenges, New Dangers, and the Prospects for a World Without Nuclear Weapons (The Making of the Nuclear Age Book 4) PDF Free Download
Download The Twilight of the Bombs: Recent Challenges, New Dangers, and the Prospects for a World Without Nuclear Weapons (The Making of the Nuclear Age Book 4) 2010 PDF Free
The Twilight of the Bombs: Recent Challenges, New Dangers, and the Prospects for a World Without Nuclear Weapons (The Making of the Nuclear Age Book 4) 2010 PDF Free Download
Download The Twilight of the Bombs: Recent Challenges, New Dangers, and the Prospects for a World Without Nuclear Weapons (The Making of the Nuclear Age Book 4) PDF
Free Download Ebook The Twilight of the Bombs: Recent Challenges, New Dangers, and the Prospects for a World Without Nuclear Weapons (The Making of the Nuclear Age Book 4)