Five Myths about Nuclear Weapons
Here’s something we haven’t seen for a while: a book about nuclear weapons that isn’t designed to make us quiver in terror or run about in a mad panic. Wilson’s intent is just the opposite: he wants to make us feel better about the presence of nuclear weapons. How? By showing us that some of the most commonly held beliefs about them are actually misconceptions. For example—this is the author’s myth number one—the notion that nuclear weapons “shock and awe” opponents. The prime example of the awesome power of nuclear weapons is, of course, the surrender of Japan after the bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But, as Wilson very convincingly explains, Japan’s surrender had less to do with the bombings and a lot more to do with a neutrality pact with the Soviet Union that was just about to expire. Another myth identified here is the time-honored belief that nuclear deterrence works in a crisis, but, again, taking the most commonly known incident, the Cuban missile crisis, the author points out that neither President Kennedy nor Soviet Union premier Nikita Khrushchev behaved like he was deterred by the possibility of nuclear war. This slim, persuasively argued, tightly written book provides much food for thought and could make some readers radically change their perceptions about nuclear weapons. --David Pitt