Eisenhower, science advice, and the nuclear test-ban debate, 1945-1963
By: Benjamin P. Greene
Series: Stanford nuclear age series
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Published: 2007
Place of publication: Stanford, Calif
Language: eng
Number of pages: 358
ISBN-13: 9780804754453
Subjects: Nuclear Test Ban Treaty -- (1963); Nuclear weapons -- United States; Science and state -- United States -- History -- 20th century; United States -- Military policy; United States -- Politics and government -- 1945-1989; United States -- History -- 1953-1961
Description: "Based on extensive research in government archives and private papers, this book analyzes the secret debate within the Eisenhower administration over the pursuit of a nuclear test-ban agreement. In contrast to much recent scholarship, this study concludes that Eisenhower strongly desired to reach an accord to cease nuclear weapons testing with the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom. For Eisenhower, a test ban would ease Cold War tensions, slow the nuclear arms race, and build confidence toward disarmament; however, he faced continual resistance from his early scientific advisers, most notably Lewis L. Strauss and Edward Teller."

"Extensive research into previously unavailable government archival sources and collections of private manuscripts reveals the manipulative acts of test-ban opponents and other factors that inhibited Eisenhower's actions throughout his presidency. Meticulously analyzed, these sources underscore Eisenhower's dependence on the counsel of his science advisers, such as Strauss, James R. Killian, and George B. Kistiakowsky, to determine the course he pursued on several components of his national security strategy. In addition to its comprehensive analysis of the test-ban debate, this book makes important contributions to the scholarly literature assessing Eisenhower's leadership and his approach to arms control."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [337]-349) and index
Table of contents: title: Eisenhower and the atomic age (1945-1952); title: The dawn of the thermonuclear age (1953); title: The BRAVO shot and rise of the test-ban debate within the international and scientific communities (1954-1955); title: Fallout from the BRAVO shot : the test-ban debate within the Eisenhower administration (1954-1955); title: The election of 1956 : a moratorium on candor; title: The influence of Strauss, the fall of Stassen, and the rise of Sputnik (November 1956-October 1957); title: PSAC, the test moratorium, and the Geneva system (October 1957-August 1958); title: Hard decisions after HARDTACK II : stalemate at Geneva (August 1958-December 1959); title: The threshold ban, the Paris summit, and the farewell address (December 1959-January 1961)