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Arnhem 1944: Arnhem 1944 (Battleground General Ser.)
by Diane Canwell Jon SutherlandThis is the first in a series of game books which put you in command of the forces in engaged in some of history's most famous battles. Your tactical skill and ability to make the right command decision will be tested at every turn of the page. Operation Market Garden in September 1944 was one of the most daring Allied plans of the Second World War. An audacious surprise assault from the air, it was intended to give the Allies a bridgehead across the Rhine, removing the last significant natural barrier on the road to Berlin. If successful it might have shortened the war by months. Will the brave British paratroopers be able to seize the vital bridge at Arnhem and hold it until reinforcements fight their way through? Or will the Germans be able to recover the initiative and crush them in a skillful counterattack? The book presents you with a series of command decisions, aided by situation maps; directing you to the next relevant briefing depending on the option you choose. No dice are necessary to play, just this book and your tactical skill. When you buy this book, the fate of nations is in your hands.
Arnhem 1944: The Airborne Battle
by Martin MiddlebrookThis is the first in a series of game books which put you in command of the forces in engaged in some of history's most famous battles. Your tactical skill and ability to make the right command decision will be tested at every turn of the page. Operation Market Garden in September 1944 was one of the most daring Allied plans of the Second World War. An audacious surprise assault from the air, it was intended to give the Allies a bridgehead across the Rhine, removing the last significant natural barrier on the road to Berlin. If successful it might have shortened the war by months. Will the brave British paratroopers be able to seize the vital bridge at Arnhem and hold it until reinforcements fight their way through? Or will the Germans be able to recover the initiative and crush them in a skillful counterattack? The book presents you with a series of command decisions, aided by situation maps; directing you to the next relevant briefing depending on the option you choose. No dice are necessary to play, just this book and your tactical skill. When you buy this book, the fate of nations is in your hands.
Arnhem 1944: The Human Tragedy of the Bridge Too Far
by Dilip SarkarThe airborne battle for the bridges across the Rhine at Arnhem ranks amongst the Second World Wars most famous actions inspiring innumerable books and the star-studded 1977 movie. This book, however, is unique: deeply moved, the author provides a fresh narrative and approach concentrating on the tragic stories of individual casualties.These men were killed at different junctures in the fighting, often requiring forensic analysis to ascertain their fates. Wider events contextualize the authors primary focus - effectively resurrecting casualties through describing their backgrounds, previous experience, and tragic effect on their families. In particular, the emotive and unresolved issue of the many still missing is explored.During the course of his research, the author made numerous trips to Arnhem and Oosterbeek, traveled miles around the UK, and spent countless hours communicating with the relatives of casualties achieving their enthusiastic support. This detailed work, conducted sensitively and with dignity, ensures that these moving stories are now recorded for posterity.Included are the stories of Private Albert Willingham, who sacrificed his life to save civilians; Major Frank Tate, machine-gunned against the backdrop of blazing buildings around Arnhem Bridge; family man Sergeant George Thomas, whose antitank gun is displayed today outside the Airborne Museum Hartenstein, and Squadron Leader John Gilliard DFC, father of a baby son who perished flying his Stirling through a hail of shot and shell during an essential re-supply drop. Is Private Gilbert Anderson, who remains missing, actually buried as an unknown, the author asks? Representing the Poles is Lance-Corporal Czeslaw Gajewnik, who drowned whilst escaping the hell of Oosterbeek, and accounts by Dutch civilians emphasize the shared suffering sharply focussed by the tragedy of Luuk Buist, killed protecting his family. The sensitivity still surrounding German casualties is also explained.This raw, personal, side of war, the hopes and fears of ordinary men thrust into extraordinary circumstances, is both deeply moving and revealing: no longer are these just names carved on headstones or memorials in a distant land. Through this thorough investigative work, supported by those who remember them, the casualties live again, their silent voices heard through friends, relatives, comrades and unpublished letters.So, let us return to the fateful autumn of 1944, and meet those fighting in the skies, on the landing grounds, in the streets and woods of Oosterbeek, and on the bridge too far at Arnhem.Now, the casualties can tell their own stories as we join this remarkable journey of discovery.
Arnhem and the Aftermath: Civilian Experiences in the Netherlands 1940-1945
by Harry KuiperWar is far more than a series of military victories and defeats. Civilians always are the biggest victims and there are often staggering imbalances between casualties on the frontlines, and those behind; between the victims and the aggressors. According to recent figures, The Second World War saw the deaths of an estimated 72 million people worldwide, two thirds of whom were civilians. Wars also have serious social, economic and human consequences. They may defeat politicians and aggressive politics, but it is communities who pay the price. In 1939 one European country after another suffered defeat, which later resulted in enormous social and economic degradations of the communities involved. The failure of Operation Market Garden in 1944 resulted in yet another tragedy for the Dutch and one that would have far deeper social consequences than those before it. After the Allies were defeated, the Nazis terrorised the local Dutch populace and the V2 rockets fired immediately from their Dutch launch sites resulted in over 9,000 casualties in the UK.Arnhem and the Aftermath begins and ends in Arnhem, in 1940 and 1945 respectively. It focuses on the experiences of the civilians in those mournful years, against a back-drop of all three airborne operations in the Netherlands, in which both German and Allied forces were involved.
Arnhem: Jumping the Rhine 1944 & 1945
by Lloyd ClarkAn insightful and gripping account of the largest airborne operation in history. In September 1944, the river Rhine was a serious barrier to the advancing Allied armies in the West who were intent on charging Berlin and ending the war. Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery decided to utilise the First Allied Airborne Army consisting of British, American and Polish troops. Codenamed Operation Market Garden, 40,000 paratroopers were dropped behind enemy lines while ground forces linked to relieve them. But, due to bad weather and German resistance, the operation failed. In March 1945, asecond attempt was planned: Operation Varsity Plunder. This time the plan worked. Despite extremely heavy fighting, they cracked the German line.
Arnhem: Jumping the Rhine 1944 & 1945
by Lloyd ClarkAn insightful and gripping account of the largest airborne operation in history. In September 1944, the river Rhine was a serious barrier to the advancing Allied armies in the West who were intent on charging Berlin and ending the war. Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery decided to utilise the First Allied Airborne Army consisting of British, American and Polish troops. Codenamed Operation Market Garden, 40,000 paratroopers were dropped behind enemy lines while ground forces linked to relieve them. But, due to bad weather and German resistance, the operation failed. In March 1945, asecond attempt was planned: Operation Varsity Plunder. This time the plan worked. Despite extremely heavy fighting, they cracked the German line.
Arnhem Lift: A German Jew in the Glider Pilot Regiment
by Louis HagenOf the 10,000 men who landed at Arnhem, over nine days 1,400 were killed and more than 6,000 – about a third of them wounded – were captured. It was a bloody disaster. The remarkable Louis Hagen, an ‘enemy alien’ who had escaped to England having been imprisoned and tortured in a Nazi concentration camp as a boy just a few years earlier, was one of the minority who made it back. What makes this book so unforgettable is not only the breathtaking drama of the story itself, it is the unmistakable talent of the writer. The narrative was first published anonymously in 1945.45 years later at a dinner party in Germany, Louis Hagen met Major Winrich Behr, Adjutant to Field Marshal Model at Arnhem. Louis added his side of the story to add even more insight to the original work.
Arnhem the Fight to Sustain: The Untold Story of the Airborne Logisticians
by Frank SteerOn the ground the airborne logisticians at the battle of Arnhem fought to the bitter end, indistinguishable from their paratroop comrades. In the air, their deeds and sacrifice were shining examples of duty done under the most desperate circumstances. Witness the account of Flight Lieutenant H J King, navigator of Dakota KG 374 of 271 squadron RAF, Down Ampney:These men were not volunteers like aircrew. They received no flyingpay, yet were, without doubt, superb in their fulfilment of duty even though KG 374 was burning for the whole period over the dropping zone. Arnhem—The Fight To Sustain tells the stirring story of the men and the methods employed in sustaining 1st Airborne Division. It is the first account of forming corps of today's Royal Logistic Corps in action together.Following extensive research the story draws heavily on contemporary documents and eyewitness accounts and is lavishly illustrated.
Around the Edge of War: A New Approach to the Problems of American Foreign Policy
by John Forth AmoryWith Around the Edge of War: A New Approach to the Problems of American Foreign Policy, John Forth Amory wrote a thought-provoking book examining several approaches to United States foreign policy. A Washington expert at the time of first publication in 1961, Amory was critical of the tendency in Washington to “over-think” a problem, and advocated a return to Jeffersonian principles as a beginning in the search of reasonable alternatives to present policy.“Our primary purpose is to help Americans think about our foreign policy as a whole, about how it is made, whence derived, and whether it has been right or wrong in terms of the whole national interest and pragmatically in terms of results. We want especially to lead Americans to think of people, of men, women and children; for we believe that in this period of military stalemate the only remaining weapons that can be used, for or against us, are the people of the earth, whom Jefferson defined as the only legitimate source of power—the great majorities who, after millennia, are coming into their own. We think that the safety of the United States, the moral health of the American people and the survival of our national freedoms depend on whether we go with this swelling tide of people or against it.”—John Forth Amory, Foreword
Around the Village Green: The Heart-Warming Memoir of a World War II Childhood
by Dot May DunnIt's 1939 and little Dot May Dun is playing with her brothers in the quiet lanes of their Derbyshire village. The grown-ups' talk of war means very little to Dot but things are starting to change in the village, for good. When a prisoner of war camp is built close to Dot's village, and a Yankee base is stationed nearby, Dot makes friends with the most unlikely of soldiers. But her friendships are threatened when telegrams start to arrive in the village and the real impact of war bears heavily on this close-knit mining community. From little lives spring great tales. Dot's childhood memoir shares the universals of innocence, love, loss and friendships. THE VILLAGE will move and entertain in equal measures.
Around the Village Green: The Heart-Warming Memoir of a World War II Childhood
by Dot May DunnThe heart-warming tale of a wartime childhood.It's 1939 and little Dot May Dun is playing with her brothers in the quiet lanes of their Derbyshire village. The grown-ups' talk of war means very little to Dot but things are starting to change in the village, for good.When a prisoner of war camp is built close to Dot's village, and a Yankee base is stationed nearby, Dot makes friends with the most unlikely of soldiers. But her friendships are threatened when telegrams start to arrive in the village and the real impact of war bears heavily on this close-knit mining community.From little lives spring great tales. Dot's childhood memoir shares the universals of innocence, love, loss and friendships. THE VILLAGE will move and entertain in equal measures.
Around the Village Green: The Heart-Warming Memoir of a World War II Childhood
by Dot May DunnIt's 1939 and little Dot May Dun is playing with her brothers in the quiet lanes of their Derbyshire village. The grown-ups' talk of war means very little to Dot but things are starting to change in the village, for good.When a prisoner of war camp is built close to Dot's village, and a Yankee base is stationed nearby, Dot makes friends with the most unlikely of soldiers. But her friendships are threatened when telegrams start to arrive in the village and the real impact of war bears heavily on this close-knit mining community.From little lives spring great tales. Dot's childhood memoir shares the universals of innocence, love, loss and friendships. THE VILLAGE will move and entertain in equal measures.Read by Joan Walker(p) 2014 Orion Publishing Group
Around the World in 175 Days
by Carroll V. Glines Walter J. BoyneAmerican military aviation reached a low point after World War I, lagging behind its European counterparts and facing a peacetime battle for survival. To raise the public profile of aviation, military leaders encouraged their pilots to enter air shows and vie for speed, endurance, and altitude records. As a result, U.S. Army airmen daringly accomplished the first flight around the world in 1924, three years before Charles Lindbergh's famous solo flight.In Around the World in 175 Days, Carroll V. Glines recounts this adventure from the golden age of aviation. After two years of planning, four Douglas World Cruisers, each carrying a pilot and a mechanic, took off from Seattle in April 1924, flying west to circle the globe; one additional plane was held in reserve. Four of the men and two of the planes completed the flight in September 1924 and, miraculously, all eight men survived, even though one plane had crashed in the Alaskan mountains and another had ditched in the Atlantic. The airmen had triumphed over the weather extremes of Arctic Alaska and the desert Middle East, numerous primitive landing sites in rough terrain, and maintenance and supply problems that persisted despite the coordinated efforts of land- and sea-based support personnel from the Army Air Service, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Coast Guard.Glines captures the drama of the journey, from the careful behind-the-scenes planning through the airmen's harrowing in-flight experiences to the mission's culmination in triumph. The success charted the future of the Army Air Service's worldwide aircraft deployment and paved the way for long-distance commercial air travel.
Around the World Submerged
by Edward L. BeachWhen the nuclear-powered submarine USS Triton was commissioned in November 1959, its commanding officer, Captain Edward L. Beach, planned a routine shakedown cruise in the North Atlantic. Two weeks before the scheduled cruise, however, Beach was summoned to Washington and told of the immediate necessity to prove the reliability of the Rickover-conceived submarine. His new secret orders were to take the Triton around the world, entirely submerged the total distance.This is Beach's gripping firsthand account of what went on during the 36,000 nautical-mile voyage whose record for speed and endurance still stands today. It brings to life the many tense events in the historic journey: the malfunction of the essential fathometer that indicated the location of undersea mountains and shallow waters, the sudden agonizing illness of a senior petty officer, and the serious problems with the ship's main hydraulic oil system. Intensely dramatic, Beach's chronicle also describes the psychological stresses of the journey and some touching moments shared by the crew. A skillful story teller, he recounts the experience in such detail that readers feel they have been along for the ride of a lifetime.
Around the World with LBJ: My Wild Ride as Air Force One Pilot, White House Aide, and Personal Confidant
by James U. Cross Denise Gamino Gary RiceWhen Lyndon Baines Johnson wanted to go somewhere, there was no stopping him. This dynamic president called for Air Force One as others summon a taxi—at a moment’s notice, whatever the hour or the weather. And the man who made sure that LBJ got his ride was General James U. Cross, the president’s hand-picked pilot, top military assistant, and personal confidante. One of the few Air Force One pilots to have a position, simultaneously, in the White House, General Cross is also the only member of LBJ’s inner circle who has not publicly offered his recollections of the president. In this book, he goes on the record, creating a fascinating, behind-the-scenes portrait of America’s complex, often contradictory, always larger-than-life thirty-sixth president. General Cross tells an engrossing story. In addition to piloting Air Force One around the globe, he served President Johnson in multiple capacities, including directing the Military Office in the White House; managing a secret two-million-dollar presidential emergency fund; supervising the presidential retreat at Camp David, the president’s entire transportation fleet, and the presidential bomb shelters; running the White House Mess; hiring White House social aides, including the president’s future son-in-law, Charles Robb; and writing condolence letters to the families of soldiers killed in Vietnam. This wide-ranging, around-the-clock access to President Johnson allowed Cross to witness events and share moments that add color and depth to our understanding of America’s arguably most demanding and unpredictable president.
Arquitectos del terror: Franco y los artífices del odio
by Paul PrestonVuelve Paul Preston con otro libro imprescindible para entender nuestra historia reciente. La Guerra Civil se libró para anular las reformas educativas y sociales de la Segunda República y para combatir su cuestionamiento del orden establecido. Los rebeldes lucharon a favor de los terratenientes, industriales, banqueros, clérigos y oficiales del Ejército, cuyos intereses se habían visto amenazados, y en contra de los liberales e izquierdistas que impulsaban las reformas. Sin embargo, en los años de república, de 1931 a 1936, a lo largo de la guerra y durante muchas décadas después, se siguió fomentando en España el mito de que el enemigo derrotado en la contienda era el contubernio judeomasónico y bolchevique. No obstante, el presente libro no es una historia del contubernio, del antisemitismo ni de la antimasonería en España, sino que adopta la forma de pequeñas biografías de las principales figurasantisemitas y antimasónicas que propagaron ese mito, y de los personajes centrales que pusieron en práctica los horrores que este justificaba. Desmontar sus falsedades es uno de los objetivos fundamentales de esta obra.
Arracourt 1944: Triumph of American Armor (Casemate Illustrated)
by Mike GuardiaA photo-packed account of how the tanks of 4th Armored Division defeated two panzer brigades over eleven days of battle at Arracourt: &“An enjoyable read.&” —AMPS September 1944: With the Allies closing in on the Rhine, Adolf Hitler orders a counterattack on General Patton&’s Third Army in France. Near the small French town of Arracourt, elements of the US 4th Armored Division meet the grizzled veterans of the 5th Panzer Army in combat. Atop their M4 Shermans, American tank crews square off against the technologically superior Mark V Panther tanks of the Wehrmacht. Yet through a combination of superior tactics, leadership, teamwork, and small-unit initiative, the outnumbered American forces win a decisive victory against the 5th Panzer Army. Indeed, of the 262 tanks and mobile assault guns fielded by German forces at Arracourt, 200 were damaged or destroyed by enemy fire. The Americans, by contrast, lost only 48 tanks. Following the collapse of the German counterattack, Patton&’s Third Army found itself within striking distance of the Third Reich&’s borderlands. The battle of Arracourt was the US Army&’s largest tank battle until the Ardennes Offensive in December 1944. It helped pave the way for the final Allied assault into Germany, and showed how tactical ingenuity and adaptive leadership can overcome an enemy&’s superior size or technological strength. This extensively illustrated book recounts the dramatic story. &“An interesting study of small-unit leadership that emphasizes the importance of tank-crew training, the value of a reliable logistics system and effects of weather on battlefield activities.&” —ARMOR Magazine &“This well-written book explains how U.S. forces won this critical battle.&” —WWII History Magazine &“Enjoyable . . . includes some nicely done full color profiles of some of the tanks involved.&” —ModelingMadness.com
Arracourt - September 1944
by Major Richard H. BarnesThis thesis analyzes the political role of the German General Staff as well as civil military relations in Germany from the late 19th century until 1933. Specifically, it examines the rise and fall of Kurt von Schleicher. Together with Generals Paul von Hindenburg, Erich Ludendorff, and Wilhelm Groener, Schleicher shaped the politics of the Weimar Republic, right up to the end that he--unintentionally--hastened when his intrigues paved the way for Adolf Hitler's dictatorship.During World War I, the German army completed its control over the civilian administration and bureaucracy. In the Republic of Weimar 1919-1933, the military remained a powerful governmental player--as the self-anointed protector of the nation against external and internal threats, including democracy.Thus, Germany's political situation in the winter of 1932-1933 and the activities of the key players stemmed from a long-term anti-democratic socialization process amid an entrenched civil-military imbalance. As the present thesis demonstrates, Schleicher's life--from his military background to his experience as a member of Prussia's noble Junker class--coincided with Germany's tumultuous modernization. The fateful lessons that he drew from this experience ultimately spelled the end of Germany's first democracy and ushered in the calamity of the Third Reich.
Arras Counter-Attack, 1940
by Tim SaundersOn 21 May 1940 during the ill-fated Dunkirk Campaign the British launched an operation spearheaded by two tank regiments to help secure the city of Arras. This was the only significant armored operation mounted by the British during the campaign.Poorly coordinated and starting badly, the Matilda tanks ran into the flanks of Rommels over-extended 7th Panzer Division. With the German antitank guns, unable to penetrate the armor of the British tanks, Rommels infantry fell into chaos as the Matildas plunged deep into their flank. The Germans were machine-gunned and started to surrender in large numbers but with the British infantry lagging well behind, fighting their own battles in the villages, there was no one to round them up.Into this scene of chaos entered Rommel whose personal leadership and example started to steady his troops and organize an effective response, despite being spattered with the brains of his aide de camp. This was classic Rommel but in the aftermath, he claimed to have been attacked by five divisions.The Arras counterattack contributed to Hitler issuing the famous halt order to his Panzers that arguably did much to allow the British Army to withdraw to Dunkirk and escape total destruction.
Arrival of Eagles: Luftwaffe Landings in Britain 1939–1945
by Andy SaundersA fascinating look at German planes that wound up in British territory during World War II, with photos. During the Second World War, a great many Luftwaffe aircraft arrived in the United Kingdom or its coastal waters, but, as with the famous flight of Rudolf Hess, not all of them through &“conventional&” combat circumstances. Some got lost; others were brought by defectors; some were lured through electronic countermeasures by the RAF; and others were brought down in unusual circumstances. However they arrived, all manner of types appeared—He 111, Go 145, Me 110, Ju 88, Me 109 F and G, Fw 190, Do 217—and all were of great interest to the RAF. In some cases, aircraft were repaired and test flown, betraying vital and invaluable information. In Arrival of Eagles, an author of numerous books on military aviation examines a selection of such intriguing cases and draws upon his own research, interviews, official reports, and eyewitness accounts to bring alive these truly unusual accounts, all richly illustrated with photographs.
Arrowpoints, Spearheads, and Knives of Prehistoric Times
by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas Thomas Wilson Kenneth Barnett TankersleyA thorough history of the weapons and tools our prehistoric ancestors used to survive, this book reveals a world that will fascinate anyone interested in outdoor skills, ancient weapons, or anthropology. Thomas Wilson explains the many types of arrowheads, spears, and knives used by the peoples of the Paleolithic period across Western Europe and the early days of America. He details the materials from which these tools were made, how and where they were manufactured, and the purposes for which they were crafted—from hunting and cutting to scraping and grinding. Lavishly illustrated with hundreds of drawings of these tools, including microscopic details of the flint and other stones from which they were crafted, this is a rare look into what seems like mankind's not-so-distant past.
Arrows of Fortune
by A. J. Deane-DrummondIn this exciting memoir, a major-general in the British Army chronicles his life, service, and multiple escapes from captivity during World War II. Major-General Anthony Deane-Drummond was a famed escaper from the Germans in World War II. He first described his experiences in a book called Return Ticket. This is the full story of his life which is chiefly memorable for the story of his escape after the Battle of Arnhem.
The Arsenal of Democracy: FDR, Detroit, and an Epic Quest to Arm an America at War
by A. J. BaimeA New York Times BestsellerA dramatic, intimate narrative of how Ford Motor Company went from making automobiles to producing the airplanes that would mean the difference between winning and losing World War II. In 1941, as Hitler's threat loomed ever larger, President Roosevelt realized he needed weaponry to fight the Nazis--most important, airplanes--and he needed them fast. So he turned to Detroit and the auto industry for help.The Arsenal of Democracy tells the incredible story of how Detroit answered the call, centering on Henry Ford and his tortured son Edsel, who, when asked if they could deliver 50,000 airplanes, made an outrageous claim: Ford Motor Company would erect a plant that could yield a "bomber an hour." Critics scoffed: Ford didn't make planes; they made simple, affordable cars. But bucking his father's resistance, Edsel charged ahead. Ford would apply assembly-line production to the American military's largest, fastest, most destructive bomber; they would build a plant vast in size and ambition on a plot of farmland and call it Willow Run; they would bring in tens of thousands of workers from across the country, transforming Detroit, almost overnight, from Motor City to the "great arsenal of democracy." And eventually they would help the Allies win the war.Drawing on exhaustive research from the Ford Archives, the National Archives, and the FDR Library, A. J. Baime has crafted an enthralling, character-driven narrative of American innovation that has never been fully told, leaving readers with a vivid new portrait of America--and Detroit--during the war.
Arsenal of Democracy: The American Automobile Industry in World War II
by Charles K. HydeThroughout World War II, Detroit's automobile manufacturers accounted for one-fifth of the dollar value of the nation's total war production, and this amazing output from "the arsenal of democracy" directly contributed to the allied victory. In fact, automobile makers achieved such production miracles that many of their methods were adopted by other defense industries, particularly the aircraft industry. In Arsenal of Democracy: The American Automobile Industry in World War II, award-winning historian Charles K. Hyde details the industry's transition to a wartime production powerhouse and some of its notable achievements along the way. Hyde examines several innovative cooperative relationships that developed between the executive branch of the federal government, U.S. military services, automobile industry leaders, auto industry suppliers, and the United Automobile Workers (UAW) union, which set up the industry to achieve production miracles. He goes on to examine the struggles and achievements of individual automakers during the war years in producing items like aircraft engines, aircraft components, and complete aircraft; tanks and other armored vehicles; jeeps, trucks, and amphibians; guns, shells, and bullets of all types; and a wide range of other weapons and war goods ranging from search lights to submarine nets and gyroscopes. Hyde also considers the important role played by previously underused workers-namely African Americans and women-in the war effort and their experiences on the line. Arsenal of Democracy includes an analysis of wartime production nationally, on the automotive industry level, by individual automakers, and at the single plant level. For this thorough history, Hyde has consulted previously overlooked records collected by the Automobile Manufacturers Association that are now housed in the National Automotive History Collection of the Detroit Public Library. Automotive historians, World War II scholars, and American history buffs will welcome the compelling look at wartime industry in Arsenal of Democracy.
Arsenals of Folly: The Making of the Nuclear Arms Race
by Richard RhodesPulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Rhodes delivers a riveting account of the nuclear arms race and the Cold War. In the Reagan-Gorbachev era, the United States and the Soviet Union came within minutes of nuclear war, until Gorbachev boldly launched a campaign to eliminate nuclear weapons, setting the stage for the 1986 Reykjavik summit and the incredible events that followed. In this thrilling, authoritative narrative, Richard Rhodes draws on personal interviews with both Soviet and U.S. participants and a wealth of new documentation to unravel the compelling, shocking story behind this monumental time in human history--its beginnings, its nearly chilling consequences, and its effects on global politics today.From the Trade Paperback edition.