Common Sense and Nuclear Warfare (Routledge Classics) - Softcover

Russell, Bertrand

Softcover

ISBN 10: 041548734X ISBN 13: 9780415487344

Publisher: Routledge, 2009

Synopsis

Written at the height of the Cold War in 1959, Common Sense and Nuclear Warfare was published in an effort 'to prevent the catastrophe which would result from a large scale H-bomb war'. Bertrand Russell’s staunch anti-war stance is made very clear in this highly controversial text, which outlines his sharp insights into the threat of nuclear conflict and what should be done to avoid it. Russell’s argument, that the only way to end the threat of nuclear war is to end war itself, is as relevant today as it was on first publication.

About this title

About the Author:

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970). A celebrated mathematician and logician, Russell was and remains one of the most genuinely widely read and popular philosophers of modern times.

Review:

Virtually the first words from the new administration in Washington declared their intent to proceed energetically with the National Missile Defense program, in the face of warnings even from their own intelligence agencies that this will greatly enhance threats to global and US security. The Clinton administration had already urged Russia to move to a US-style launch-on-warning strategy, truly bizarre, specialists warned, particularly because in light of the.
deterioriation of their control systems. Presidential directives continue to authorize first use even against non-nuclear states, and have extended nuclear capacities, which remain at the core of US strategic planning. Meanwhile proliferation proceeds in South Asia and the Middle East. In the face of such ominous threats, Bertrand Russell's eloquent and lucid analyses and warnings gain heightened significance, and should find a prominent place in the thinking of those who hope to reverse the seemingly inexorable drive towards self-destruction..
–Noam Chomsky

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 041548734X
• ISBN 13: 9780415487344
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 112