First published 2025
Historian Serhii Plokhy examines the complete story of nuclear weapons from their scientific origins to the present crisis. Beginning with the artificial splitting of the atom in 1917, Plokhy follows the wartime race to build the first atomic bomb and J. Robert Oppenheimer's famous words after the Trinity test. The book traces the Cold War arms race, where mutually assured destruction maintained an uneasy peace despite close calls like the Cuban Missile Crisis and disasters like Chernobyl. Plokhy argues that today's world faces a nuclear renaissance as dangerous as any previous era. Russia, China, and North Korea make nuclear threats while India and Pakistan compete for atomic superiority. Iran edges closer to weapons capability as international treaties collapse and nuclear technology spreads to non-state actors. Through detailed analysis of key decision makers and critical moments, Plokhy reveals how fear has shaped global politics for eight decades. The book confronts whether lessons from the first nuclear arms race can prevent catastrophe in the current one.
Genres: history, 20th-century, political-science, non-fiction, 21st-century, academic
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: cautionary-tale, historical-analysis
Setting: Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, Cuba
Period: 1917, Cold War, Chernobyl
432 pages · Hardcover · Allen Lane