Synopsis In this sobering investigative report, journalist William Langewiesche examines the scenarios by which terrorists or rogue states could obtain the materials and expertise needed to build an atomic bomb, and the likelihood of their being successful. Langewiesche recounts the history of the bomb beginning with Hiroshima, its use as a deterrent during the Cold War, and the race for arms among major nations, including China, India, and Pakistan. His profile of Pakistan's "national hero," Dr. A. Q. Khan (who was put under house arrest following 9/11), shows the extent of the international network in nuclear arms parts, and his report on the former Soviet Union shows that nation's failure to secure its arsenal in the face of widespread corruption and malfeasance. Despite efforts by governments, agencies, and people in the disarmament field, and despite the fact that it remains very difficult for any group to successfully obtain all the necessary elements, getting the bomb remains a goal of many angry, disenfranchised groups--and it is a question of "not if, but when."
| Details | | Publication Date: | 2007-06-01 | | Narrated by: | Tom Weiner | | Edition Description: | Unabridged |
| Size | | Height: | 7.3 in | | Width: | 4.5 in | | Thickness: | 1.2 in | | Weight: | 6.4 oz |
Publisher's Note A shocking study of the global proliferation of nuclear weapons examines the spread of nuclear technology into unstable, undeveloped, and other hostile nations, as well as the potential that such weapons will fall into the hands of guerrilla terrorists, looking specifically at the role of renegade scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan and at the chances for nuclear terrorism. Simultaneous.
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