The Bomb: Presidents, Generals, and the Secret History of Nuclear War
Written by Fred Kaplan
Narrated by Edward Bauer
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
Fred Kaplan, hailed by The New York Times as “a rare combination of defense intellectual and pugnacious reporter,” takes us into the White House Situation Room, the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s “Tank” in the Pentagon, and the vast chambers of Strategic Command to bring us the untold stories—based on exclusive interviews and previously classified documents—of how America’s presidents and generals have thought about, threatened, broached, and just barely avoided nuclear war from the dawn of the atomic age until today.
Kaplan’s historical research and deep reporting will stand as the permanent record of politics. Discussing theories that have dominated nightmare scenarios from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Kaplan presents the unthinkable in terms of mass destruction and demonstrates how the nuclear war reality will not go away, regardless of the dire consequences.
Fred Kaplan
<p>Fred Kaplan is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English at Queens College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He is the author of <em>Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer</em>, which was named a Best Book of the Year by the <em>New York Times</em> and <em>Washington Post</em>, among other publications. His biography of Thomas Carlyle was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize. He lives in Maine.</p>
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Reviews for The Bomb
41 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great read very informative a must read for future presidents
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Gives a fair shake to all presidents except Trump. That chapter feels out of place. Way too harsh on one guy.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It is an accessible introductory guide to US nuclear policy. Good overview. The first chapters are slow but it picks up after Nixon so skip ahead if you are getting bored. Final chapters are best