The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and its Dangerous Legacy

Front Cover
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Sep 22, 2009 - History - 496 pages

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE

The first full account of how the Cold War arms race finally came to a close, this riveting narrative history sheds new light on the people who struggled to end this era of massive overkill, and examines the legacy of the nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons that remain a threat today.
 
Drawing on memoirs, interviews in both Russia and the US, and classified documents from deep inside the Kremlin, David E. Hoffman examines the inner motives and secret decisions of each side and details the deadly stockpiles that remained unsecured as the Soviet Union collapsed. This is the fascinating story of how Reagan, Gorbachev, and a previously unheralded collection of scientists, soldiers, diplomats, and spies changed the course of history.

 

Selected pages

Contents

PROLOGUE 13
13
AT THE PRECIPICE
27
WAR GAMES
60
WAR SCARE
72
THE GERM NIGHTMARE
101
THE ANTHRAX FACTORY
127
THE DEAD HAND
143
MORNING AGAIN IN AMERICA
155
THE YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY
358
PART THREE
377
A GREAT UNRAVELING 379 ིཛྫཱབྷཱརྨི 18 THE SCIENTISTS
401
REVELATIONS
412
YELTSINS PROMISE
424
PROJECT SAPPHIRE
439
FACE TO FACE WITH EVIL
459
EPILOGUE
475

YEAR OF THE SPY
189
OF SWORDS AND SHIELDS
204
THE ROAD TO REYKJAVIK
235
FAREWELL TO ARMS
269
GERMS GAS AND SECRETS
296
THE LOST YEAR
312
THE GREATEST BREAKTHROUGH
327
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
485
ABBREVIATIONS IN NOTES
489
ENDNOTES
491
INDEX
555
TEXT AND ILLUSTRATION PERMISSIONS
576
Copyright

Other editions - View all

The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and Its Dangerous ...
David Hoffman
Limited preview - 2010
The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and Its Dangerous ...
David Hoffman
No preview available - 2010
The Dead Hand: Reagan, Gorbachev and the Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race
David E. Hoffman
No preview available - 2011
View all »

Common terms and phrases

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About the author (2009)

David E. Hoffman is Contributing Editor at the Washington Post and author of The Oligarchs: Wealth and Power in the New Russia. He lives in Maryland.

Bibliographic information

TitleThe Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and its Dangerous Legacy
AuthorDavid Hoffman
Editionunabridged, reprint
PublisherKnopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2009
ISBN0385532172, 9780385532174
Length496 pages
Subjects ›  › 

History / Military / Nuclear Warfare
History / Russia / General
Political Science / International Relations / Arms Control
  
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