A primer on nuclear weapons from the science of fission and fusion to the pursuit of mutually
assured destruction the SALT treaties and the Bomb in pop culture. Although the world's
attention has shifted to drone-controlled bombing and cyberwarfare the threat of nuclear war
still exists. There are now 14 000 nuclear weapons in the hands of the nine declared nuclear
powers. Even though the world survived the Cold War we need to understand what it means to
live with nuclear weapons. In this volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series Mark
Wolverton offers a primer on nuclear weapons from the science of fission and fusion to the
pursuit of mutually assured destruction the SALT and START agreements and the Bomb in pop
culture. Wolverton explains the basic scientific facts offers historical perspective and
provides a nuanced view of the the unique political social and moral dilemmas posed by
nuclear weapons. He describes the birth of the Bomb in 1945 and its use against the Japanese
cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki explains how a nuclear bomb works recounts episodes when the
world came close to waging nuclear war including the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 discusses
nuclear policy and nuclear treaties and traces the influence of such films as On the Beach
Dr. Strangelove and The Day After.
