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The button : the new nuclear arms race and presidential power from Truman to Trump / William J. Perry and Tom Z. Collina.

By: Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextPublisher: Dallas, TX : BenBella Books, Inc., [2020]Copyright date: ©2020Description: xxiii, 256 pages : illustrations ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781948836999
  • 1948836998
Other title:
  • New nuclear arms race and presidential power from Truman to Trump
Subject(s):
Contents:
Preface : "Your shot, Mr. President" -- The president's weapons -- Bolt from the blue -- Blundering into nuclear war -- Hacking the bomb -- No first use -- How not to spend $2 trillion -- Welcome to the new arms race -- The missile defense delusion -- Why do we still have the bomb? -- The atomic Titanic.
Summary: "William J. Perry, Secretary of Defense in the Clinton administration and Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering in the Carter administration, and Tom Z. Collina, Director of Policy at Ploughshares Fund, a global security foundation in Washington, DC, reveal the shocking tales and sobering facts of nuclear executive authority throughout the atomic age, delivering a powerful condemnation against ever leaving explosive power this devastating under any one person's thumb"-- Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Dr. James Carlson Library NonFiction 355.0217 P465 Available 33111009828514
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 355.0217 P465 Available 33111009655115
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

The President has the power to end the world in minutes. Right now, no one can stop him.

Since the Truman administration, America has been one "push of a button" away from nuclear war-a decision that rests solely in the hands of the President. Without waiting for approval from Congress or even the Secretary of Defense, the President can unleash America's entire nuclear arsenal.

Almost every governmental process is subject to institutional checks and balances. Why is potential nuclear annihilation the exception to the rule? For decades, glitches and slip-ups have threatened to trigger nuclear winter- misinformation, false alarms, hacked warning systems, or even an unstable President. And a new nuclear arms race has begun, threatening us all. At the height of the Cold War, Russia and the United States each built up arsenals exceeding 30,000 nuclear weapons, armed and ready to destroy each other-despite the fact that just a few hundred are necessary to end life on earth.

From authors William J. Perry, Secretary of Defense in the Clinton administration and Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering in the Carter administration, and Tom Z. Collina, the Director of Policy at Ploughshares Fund, a global security foundation in Washington, DC, The Button recounts the terrifying history of nuclear launch authority, from the faulty 46-cent microchip that nearly caused World War III to President Trump's tweet about his "much bigger & more powerful" button. Perry and Collina share their firsthand experience on the front lines of the nation's nuclear history and provide illuminating interviews with former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, Congressman Adam Smith, Nobel Peace Prize winner Beatrice Fihn, senior Obama administration officials, and many others.

Written in an accessible and authoritative voice, The Button reveals the shocking tales and sobering facts of nuclear executive authority throughout the atomic age, delivering a powerful condemnation against ever leaving explosive power this devastating under any one person's thumb.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Preface : "Your shot, Mr. President" -- The president's weapons -- Bolt from the blue -- Blundering into nuclear war -- Hacking the bomb -- No first use -- How not to spend $2 trillion -- Welcome to the new arms race -- The missile defense delusion -- Why do we still have the bomb? -- The atomic Titanic.

"William J. Perry, Secretary of Defense in the Clinton administration and Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering in the Carter administration, and Tom Z. Collina, Director of Policy at Ploughshares Fund, a global security foundation in Washington, DC, reveal the shocking tales and sobering facts of nuclear executive authority throughout the atomic age, delivering a powerful condemnation against ever leaving explosive power this devastating under any one person's thumb"-- Provided by publisher.

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