Nuclear Weapons - Softcover

Lambers, William

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0965652076 ISBN 13: 9780965652070

Publisher: William K Lambers, 2002

Synopsis

This concise book traces the history of nuclear weapons from the advent of the atomic bomb during World War II, through the Cold War and into the 21st century. You will read about the nuclear arms race between the Soviet Union and the United States, the proliferation of nuclear weapons to nations such as China, India and Pakistan, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, nuclear terrorism, and missile defense. Included in this edition are reproductions of government documents such as "The Effects of the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki." In addition there are reproductions of documents related to nuclear test ban negotiations during the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations. Photographs are also included in this edition. This book examines efforts to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes as proposed by President Dwight Eisenhower in his "Atoms for Peace" speech. The text of President Eisenhower's speech is included.

A study supplement (ISBN: 0972462902) to accompany this book is also available on Amazon.com

About this title

About the Author

William Lambers is the author of three other books, "The Road to Peace: From the Disarming of the Great Lakes to the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty," "The Battle of Britain" and "From War to Peace: The Story of Great Britain and the United States." He is a writer for the History News Service. His writings on nuclear arms control have appeared in newspapers and also have been adapted for radio. Mr. Lambers is a graduate of the College of Mount St. Joseph in Ohio

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Excerpt from Chapter Four

A number of these nuclear tests were atmospheric explosions. The resulting fallout from those tests, both radioactive and political, garnered world opinion to demand a cessation of nuclear testing. Fears of a nuclear war and radioactive fallout were addressed by the Federal Civil Defense Administration. Nevertheless, anxiety over nuclear testing and the arms race would grip the public. There was a strong call for action! Public opinion clearly influenced President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s decision making.

"I had come to the conclusion that, in view of worldwide apprehensions, we should propose a ban, strictly limited as to time, on the testing of nuclear weapons."

Banning nuclear test explosions was at least one measure employed to slow down the escalating nuclear arms race. It could also prevent further radioactive fallout. President Eisenhower’s public statement of August 22, 1958 expressed hope that a nuclear test suspension could lead to further disarmament agreements. A brief suspension of nuclear testing would come about in the late 1950’s. However, full-scale testing would resume in the 1960’s and with it, the nuclear arsenals of both the Soviet Union and the U.S. would grow more powerful. The public’s anxiety over fallout was clearly justified. Later studies would substantiate those fears. In 2001, a preliminary report released by the Centers for Disease Control stated that every American living in the United States after 1951 was exposed to radioactive fallout from nuclear tests worldwide. At least 11,000 deaths were estimated to have been caused by cancer resulting from external exposure to fallout. The study also cited exposures worldwide, noting that "A number of populations outside the United States have been exposed to higher levels of radioiodine and other radionuclides than the United States population. These populations include the residents of the Marshall Islands; people living near the nuclear weapons site in Semipalantinsk, Kazakhstan; people exposed to large releases from the Chernobyl nuclear power station accident in Ukraine and people living near the Mayak nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in Russia."

New Zealand’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Phil Goff, commented on the U.S. nuclear testing in the Pacific Ocean during the 1950’s and its effects:

"The early tests of Maralinga and Montebello, the Marshall Islands and Christmas Islands were conducted in the atmosphere with little attention to their impact on the environment, the people displaced by them or indeed those who observed them."

Radioactive fallout was one of the greatest fears for people worldwide and its effects are still being felt today. But by far the greatest fear for the public was a nuclear confrontation. And one fall day in 1962 that nightmare was becoming a reality.....

Edition details

• Publisher: William K Lambers
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0965652076
• ISBN 13: 9780965652070
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 176