THE NATION'S SAFETY AND ARMS CONTROL

by Arthur T. Hadley ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 29, 1961

There are at present enough nuclear explosives in the world to add up to the equivalent of 10 tons of TNT for every man, woman and child. This is only one eighth the total for the Death of the Earth, or DOE, as Hadley calls it. But at least one scientist has predicted that a ""Doomsday Machine"" to do the full job could be built in 10 years at a cost of $10 to $100 billion. With these chilling facts, the author makes a case for doing something about the nuclear arms race, and this is the outgrowth of a conference of scientists which Hadley attended last summer. Hadley does not argue for total disarmament- rather for stable deterrent forces coupled with effective inspection. He is a strong believer in so-called ""secure"" or ""second strike"" weapons like the Polaris and the Minuteman, rather than ""soft"" weapons like SAC'S current bombers or the proposed B-70. ""Soft"" weapons carry a strong built-in inducement for use in a surprise attack; ""secure"" weapons are essentially defensive since they are buried deep in the ground or carried under the sea. It is Hadley's argument that possession by the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. of 200 or 500 or 1000 (whatever number is needed for mutual destruction) of these weapons, plus inspection, would keep the peace. There are, of course, other aspects to the theory, including a build-up of U.S. conventional armaments to handle non-nuclear situations. But this is the argument stripped to the bone and it is persuasively stated.

Pub Date: March 29, 1961

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1961

Categories: NONFICTION