Red Cloud at Dawn: Truman, Stalin, and the End of the Atomic Monopoly
- ISBN-10
- 142994241X
- ISBN-13
- 9781429942416
- Category
- History
- Pages
- 416
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2009-09-29
- Publisher
- Farrar, Straus and Giroux
- Author
- Michael D. Gordin
Description
On August 29, 1949, the first Soviet test bomb, dubbed First Lightning, exploded in the deserts of Kazakhstan. The startling event was not simply a technical experiment that confirmed the ability of the Soviet Union to build nuclear bombs during a period when the United States held a steadfast monopoly; it was also an international event that marked the beginning of an arms race that would ultimately lead to nuclear proliferation beyond the two superpowers. Following a trail of espionage, secrecy, deception, political brinksmanship, and technical innovation, Michael D. Gordin challenges conventional technology-centered nuclear histories by looking at the prominent roles that atomic intelligence and other forms of information play in the uncertainties of nuclear arms development and political decision-making. With the use of newly opened archives, Red Cloud at Dawn focuses on the extraordinary story of First Lightning to provide a fresh understanding of the origins of the nuclear arms race, as well as the all-too-urgent problem of proliferation.
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