Top ten books
Tuesday, May 26, 2009 at 03:25PM Michael Krepon posted his top ten books about nuclear weapons on Arms Control Wonk and I kind of disagreed with several of the books he chose. Herman Kahn was charming, smart and original but - in my opinion - got almost everything wrong. Thomas Schelling is a towering figure: logical, sound, and winner of the Nobel prize. But my feeling is that over the long run game theory will be seen as an intellectual dead end (as far as nuclear weapons are concerned.) Bernard Brodie remains either the best or second best writer - in terms of style - who has ever written about nuclear weapons. (George Kennan is the other fellow who was really elegant with a pen.) But putting two of Brodie's books on a top ten list exaggerates how much he has to say.
So rather than just complain about Krepon's list, I thought I'd draw up my own.
1. Thirteen Days by Robert Kennedy. Gripping, well told, and moving, it is the most important first-hand account of a nuclear crisis ever written. Nothing brings you to the heart of the issues - emotionally, intellectually, politically - as strongly and as quickly as this book.
2. Hiroshima by John Hersey. No one should be allowed to talk about nuclear weapons until they have at least tried to stand imaginatively in the shoes of the recipients of a nuclear attack. Hersey's is one of the mildest of the books in this genre. [Read Children of Hiroshima to test how stern your character is.]
3. Strategy in the Missile Age by Bernard Brodie. There are several things in this book that I disagree with, but Brodie's arguments are so gracefully made and his general view of the situation so sound that it is difficult not to include this book.
4. The Evolution of Nuclear Strategy by Lawrence Freedman. This thorough and balanced review of the thinking that has been done about nuclear strategy is invaluable. Freedman is careful, fair and extraordinarily precise. Enormously useful.
5. Nuclear Blackmail and Nuclear Balance by Richard Betts. I find Betts' study of nuclear threats to be a substantive and useful study of a slippery and important subject.
6. Fear, War, and the Bomb by P. M. S. Blackett. Blackett saw so far ahead and understood the fundamental issues so clearly that one might be tempted to accuse him of clairvoyance. An extraordinary book.
7. Essence of Decision by Graham Allison. I think Allison's current trumpeting of the danger of nuclear terrorism is sensationalist and wrong-headed. This book, however, is a masterful analysis of the Cuban Missile Crisis and should not be overlooked. Allison examines the crisis from three differing vantage points and identifies key decisions and the sources from which they flowed. Fascinating.
8. Nuclear Deterrence and Moral Restraint edited by Henry Shue. Shue oversaw a number of interesting projects on nuclear weapons when he was at the University of Maryland and this is one of the best. It is difficult to find a book about morality and nuclear war that is not afflicted with over-inflated emotions. This volume has intelligent discussion of the issues and thought-provoking analyses. No top ten list is complete without some reasoned discussion of morality.
9. Acheson-Lillienthal Report. When people talk about a world free of nuclear weapons they inevitably refer (with respect) to this report. These guys saw far ahead and got much of it right.
10. [Suggestions?]
Reader Comments (3)
Word to the Ward: The Road is overrated. Still, I can't wait to see the movie, which will be out in a few months.
Kindly update your blog with new posts, sir.