Synopses & Reviews
There have been scientific studies of the nuclear arms race, and there have been political exposés -- yet no book until now has given the general reader a complete and accessible history of the events, forces and factors that have brought the world to the brink of a nuclear holocaust. In this revealing account, Ronald Powaski examines two basic questions: What keeps the nuclear arms race going and why is it so difficult to end?
Starting with the opening days of World War II, when Roosevelt gave the go-ahead for the secret development of the atom bomb, the famous Manhattan Project, Powaski traces the unfolding arms race up to the current day. He takes us through Truman's decision to use the bomb against Japan in 1945, the Cold War era and the missile crisis of Kennedy's administration, to the detente years of the seventies and the defense and arms control policies of Ronald Reagan, including "Star Wars" and START (the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks).
As Powaski explains, both the United States and the Soviet Union now have a combined total of almost 50,000 nuclear weapons. Nuclear arms treaties and agreements are threatening to collapse, he argues, while the proliferation of nuclear materials and weapons throughout the world has given many countries the capability to produce nuclear weapons. Emphasizing the role of the United States, Powaski shows how one president after another has promised to do his utmost to end the nuclear weapons competition, yet each one has actually increased the quantity or quality of these weapons in the American arsenal. March to Armageddon reveals this startling discrepancy between presidential words and actions.
Synopsis
Ronald E. Powaski offers the first complete, accessible history of the events, forces, and factors that have brought the world to the brink of a nuclear holocaust. He traces the evolution of the nuclear arms race from FDR's decision to develop an atomic bomb to Reagan's decision to continue its expansion in the 1980's.
Focusing on the forces that have propelled the arms race and the reasons behind the repeated failures to check the proliferation of nuclear weapons, Powaski discusses such topics as the Manhattan Project, the decision to drop the bomb on Hiroshima, the debate over whether to share atomic information, the effect of nuclear weapons on U.S. military and foreign policy, and the role of these weapons in arms control negotiations in the last five presidential administrations.
About the Author
About the Author - Ronald Powaski, Ph. D., teaches Advanced Placement History at Euclid Senior High School in Euclid, Ohio. He has also taught history at Cleveland State University and Lakeland Community College.