Synopses & Reviews
Britain and the H-Bomb reveals why, in the 1950s, the government wanted a British H-bomb, how the scientists and engineers developed it in only three years, and what were the historic consequences of their achievements.
Review
“...a work of record...written with zest, narrative drive and a manifest affection for those men behind the Aldermaston wire.” —
Financial Times“...an excellent book that sheds needed light on the world's third thermonuclear power.” —Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
“Clearly written and persuasively argued, it makes a major contribution to a vital subject.” —Choice
Synopsis
This book, written with unique access to official archives, tells the secret story of Britain's H-bomb - the scientific and strategic background, the government's policy decision, the work of the remarkable men who created the bomb, the four weapon trials at a remote Pacific atoll in 1957-58, and the historic consequences.
Synopsis
List of Plates Foreword by Lawrence Freedman Preface PART I: SETTING THE AGENDA Stellar Forces The First Superbomb Project: The United States The Second Superbomb Project: The Soviet Union PART II: BRITAIN AND THE THERMONUCLEAR QUESTION What Must Britain Do? A General Instruction from the Government PART III: BRITAIN'S RESPONSE Aldermaston and the Weaponers The Megaton Mission Captain Cook's Coral Island Racing Against Time PART IV: THE PACIFIC TRIALS The First Trial: Grapple 'We Shall Have To Do It All Again': Grapple X Britain's Biggest Explosion: Grapple Y Mission Accomplished: Grapple Z PART V: A SPECIAL NUCLEAR RELATIONSHIP The Great Prize Some Questions and Answers Appendices Notes and References Select Bibliography Index
About the Author
Lorna Arnold is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics and of the Institute of Contemporary British History.
Table of Contents
Part I: Setting the Agenda * Part II: Britain and the Thermonuclear Question * Part III: Britain's Response * Part IV: The Pacific Trials * Part V: A Special Nuclear Relationship