The bomb
presidents, generals, and the secret history of nuclear wa
by Kaplan, Fred · first published 2020
83% recommend17% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Narrative history of US nuclear policy across presidencies and generals, covering Cold War brinksmanship and how nuclear war planning actually worked. It is written in a readable style.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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…U.S. government's secret plan to save itself" by Garrett Graff for a historical, US-centric overview. "On Thermonuclear War" by Herman Kahn for a more technical, if somewhat outdated, analysis. "The Bomb" by Fred Kaplan, "The 300" by Daniel Wasserbly, and "The Dead Hand" by David Hoffman.
on “Ask HN: Best resources to learn about nuclear war risks?” ↗…religion is damaging to our society. If you are religious it might not be the book for you unless you are open to hear his arguments and line of reasoning. Dawkins will challenge your worldview. The Bomb by Fred Kaplan (p:384) Kaplan describes the policy of different US presidents on the atomic bomb and war in general. And primarily on the inability of US presidents and policy-makers to tune down its…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2022 and recommend for 2023” ↗I recently read a fantastic book on Cold War brinksmanship. It was, "The Bomb: Presidents, Generals, and the Secret History of Nuclear War" by Fred Kaplan, published in 2020. It's a fantastic book. I couldn't put it down. (Okay, technically, I listened to it. The audio is very…
on “Nuclear Close Calls: Able Archer 83 (2018)” ↗Fred Kaplan's book "The Bomb" is a good read too, haven't read doomsday machine but they sound similar.
on “US has lost at least three nuclear bombs that have never been located” ↗https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Bomb/Fred-Kaplan/... Is a fun read. Get the audiobook version and think of it as a long youtube video playlist that you play in the background.
on “The Vela Incident (1979)” ↗…2005. “If we had the manufacturing complex we once did, we wouldn’t have to rely on the old parts.” He added that other nuclear powers can and do make new atomic parts. --------------- If you read "The Bomb", by Fred Kaplan, there is a telling scene in which Trump was briefed by the Pentagon on the state of the U.S.'s nuclear arsenal. Trump was shown a chart that showed the dramatic drop in the total number…
on “The surprising afterlife of unwanted atom bombs” ↗