Shortly after World War II, the Middle East became a locus for nations seeking to acquire nuclear missiles and the means to deliver them to their enemies. Israel was the first; Libya and Iraq followed suit. Pakistan now possesses a substantial number of nuclear weapons, to which longtime rival India will no doubt respond. The implications of the political and security dynamics of the Middle East for the United States and other nations are truly profound and sobering.

"Beyond Sand and Oil" provides a nation-by-nation overview of the evolution of nuclear weapons programs in what is likely...