The Partnership: Five Cold Warriors And Their Quest To Ban The Bomb

The Partnership: Five Cold Warriors and Their Quest to Ban the Bomb

Offering a clear analysis of the danger of nuclear terrorism and how it can be prevented, The Partnership sheds light on one of the most divisive security issues facing Washington today. Award-winning New York Times journalist Philip Taubman illuminates our vulnerability in the face of this pressing terrorist threat-and the unlikely efforts of five key Cold War players to eliminate the nuclear arsenal they helped create. Bob Woodward calls The Partnership a brilliant, penetrating study of nuclear threats, present and past, and David Kennedy writes that it is indispensable reading for all who would understand the desperate urgency of containing the menace of nuclear proliferation.From BooklistIn 2007, four former Cold Warriors who helped build up the nations nuclear arsenal stunned the world by advocating for its elimination. The four-Henry Kissinger and George Schultz (former secretaries of state), William Perry (former defense secretary), and Sam Nunn (former head of the Senate Armed Services Committee)-were joined by nuclear physicist Sidney Drell to undo much that they had spent their careers doing in a nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union. The threat now is from stateless terrorists and more widespread access to nuclear materials and know-how, making the U.S. more vulnerable to attack with nuclear weapons. Award-winning journalist Taubman chronicles their journey from Cold War-era nuclear advocates to opponents, detailing their personal perspectives, careers, and the politics of the administrations in which they served. Strong personalities with political and ideological differences that provoke tensions, the men, now in their seventies and eighties, have nevertheless persisted in a campaign for nuclear disarmament. Taubman puts their campaign into historical perspective, contrasting the politics of the Cold War with the increasing threat of nuclear terrorism and the way 9/11 has changed the political equation. --Vanessa BushReviewA fascinating, haunting book. . . . Even for skeptics, Taubmans book provides an important public service by concentrating on nuclear perils that continue to slip our day-to-day notice. . . . Thought-provoking. -- The New York Times Book ReviewTaubman ably revisits many of the classic set pieces of the Cold War-the Cuban missile crisis, the Jasons scientific-advisory team, the nuclear alert during the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, and the 1986 Reagan-Gorbachev summit at Reykjavik. -- The San Francisco ChronicleA fascinating portrait of an unlikely coalition of disarmament crusaders . . . . Mr. Taubman describes in chilling detail the threat of these terrible weapons falling into the worst possible hands. -- The Wall Street JournalThis brilliant, penetrating study of nuclear threats is in the tradition of David Halberstam and Neil Sheehan. Taubman has, perhaps as importantly, unlocked the history of the war we never had. Readers will tremble at the dangers the world has faced and still faces today. -- Bob WoodwardTaubman provides a cogent and chilling summary of the threat of nuclear weapons in the twenty-first century. -- The Pittsburgh Post-GazetteThe Partnership artfully weaves the threads of five notable lives into a fascinating account of nuclear strategizing over the last five decades. This unfailingly compelling narrative is indispensable reading for all who would understand the desperate urgency of containing the menace of nuclear proliferation. -- David Kennedy, Professor of History Emeritus, Stanford UniversityAn even-handed look at a convoluted history that is still unfolding. . . . Taubman does a clean job of reducing the elements to laymans terms. . . . Taubman had unparalleled access to the five men profiled here. . . . It makes for intriguing reading. -- The Los Angeles TimesA richly detailed account of one of the most important issues of our time, The Partnership should be on the bedside of every presidential candidate,