The Long War refers to the struggle against radical strains of Islam, which will take generations; the Short War refers to the effort to stop a WMD attack that would inflict grave damage on America and the West. The author is optimistic that the West will prevail in the Long War, but pessimistic about the Short War, because we are not doing all we that can-and must-do to stop a catastrophic WMD strike. Should we lose the Short War, we may well find victory hollow in the Long War. We must act now to prevail in both.

In this updated and expanded second edition, Sleepwalking with the Bomb shows how we can forestall nuclear catastrophe. It offers familiar faces, cases and places to illustrate how the civilized world can face the most pressing nuclear dangers. Drawing from both history and current events, John Wohlstetter assembles in one place an integrated, coherent and concise picture that explains how best to avoid the "apocalyptic trinity"--suicide, genocide and surrender--in confronting emerging nuclear threats.