Britain and the H-Bomb

ISBN-13: 9780312235185 / Angielski / Twarda / 2001 / 273 str.

OBE Lorna Arnold; Katherine Pyne

Opis

This book, written with unique access to official archives, tells the secret story of Britain's H-bomb - the scientific and strategic background, the government's policy decision, the work of the remarkable men who created the bomb, the four weapon trials at a remote Pacific atoll in 1957-58, and the historic consequences.

Recenzje

'Lorna Arnold...is particulary successful in making the scientific issues of the nuclear project accessible to non-technical readers such as students in history, international relations and politics and she provides a highly informative account of a very important phase in Britain's nuclear history.' - Dan Keohane, Keele University

'...an excellent book that sheds needed light on the world's third thermonuclear power.' - Jack M. Holl, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

'Britain and the H-Bomb tells the tale of the men who developed Britain's thermonuclear device through the drama of the tests in the Pacific. It does so with clarity and skill.' - Stuart Croft, Nature

'Britain and the H-Bomb is a valuable contribution to the history of the arms race, and deserves a wide readership.' - Peter Gissing, University of Sydney

Spis treści

List of Plates Foreword by Lawrence Freedman Preface PART I: SETTING THE AGENDA Stellar Forces The First Superbomb Project: The United States The Second Superbomb Project: The Soviet Union PART II: BRITAIN AND THE THERMONUCLEAR QUESTION What Must Britain Do? A General Instruction from the Government PART III: BRITAIN'S RESPONSE Aldermaston and the Weaponers The Megaton Mission Captain Cook's Coral Island Racing Against Time PART IV: THE PACIFIC TRIALS The First Trial: Grapple 'We Shall Have To Do It All Again': Grapple X Britain's Biggest Explosion: Grapple Y Mission Accomplished: Grapple Z PART V: A SPECIAL NUCLEAR RELATIONSHIP The Great Prize Some Questions and Answers Appendices Notes and References Select Bibliography Index

O autorze

LORNA ARNOLD OBE is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics and Fellow of the Institute of Contemporary British History. She is author of A Very Special Relationship: British Weapon Trials in Australia (1987) and Windscale 1957: Anatomy of a Nuclear Accident.