Books on Cold War topics

Nuclear Weapons and Delivery Systems

"The Making of the Atomic Bomb"
by Richard Rhodes
Simon and Schuster, 1986
ISBN 0-671-44133-7
A definitive history of the bomb. Thanks to Charles Neff for suggesting this book.

"Dark Sun"
by Richard Rhodes
The story of the hydrogen bomb, the most powerful weapon ever created, including details about the Russians' acquisition of the H-bomb. Thanks to Charles Neff for suggesting this book.

To Defend and Deter: The Legacy of the United States Cold War Missile Program
USACERL Special Report 97/01
by John C. Lonnquest and David F. Winkler
November 1996, Department of Defense Legacy Resource Management Program, Cold War Project
A thorough history, with detailed descriptions of missile systems and sites, and lots of references. Thanks to Dr. Martin K. Gordon, Historian, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, for recommending this title.

U.S. Nuclear Weapons: The Secret History
by Chuck Hansen
Aerofax, 1988
ISBN 0-517-56740-7
Loaded with details about nuclear-weapons physics, the history of U.S. weapons development, warhead design, nuclear tests, details about weapons in present and past stockpiles, and delivery systems.

Intelligence and Espionage

Books about Robert Hanssen

Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage
by Sherry Sontag and Christopher Drew, with Annette Lawrence Drew
[hardcover] Public Affairs Press, 1998, ISBN 1-891-62008-8
[paperback] Harperperennial Library, 1999, ISBN 0-061-03004-X
How submariners accomplished risky secret missions in the Cold War, including the tapping of Soviet undersea cables

The Sword and the Shield: The Mitrokhin Archive and the Secret History of the KGB
by Christopher Andrew and Vasili Mitrokhin
Basic Books, 1999
ISBN 0-465-00310-9
Details of the KGB's activities, from secret documents smuggled out of the agency's archives

Deep Black
by William E. Burrows
Berkley Books, 1986
ISBN 0-425-10879-1
The history and amazing capabilities of America's spy satellites, and their role in national security

America's Secret Eyes in Space: The U.S. Keyhole Spy Satellite Program
by Jeffrey T. Richelson
Harper & Row, 1990
ISBN 0-88730-285-8
Another excellent book on overhead reconnaissance technologies and programs

The Puzzle Palace
by James Bamford
Penguin Books, 1982
ISBN 0-14-006748-5
Inside the super-secret National Security Agency

Defense Technologies

The Story of Telecommunications
by George P. Oslin
Mercer University Press, 1992
ISBN 0-86554-418-2
Chapter 20, "Microwaves, Private Wires, and National Defense", is the most relevant to the Cold War, but the entire book is recommended for its account of the technical, financial, and regulatory aspects of telecommunications from the early days of the telegraph.

The Invention that Changed the World
by Robert Buderi
Touchstone, 1997
ISBN 0-684-83529-0 (paperback) 0-684-81021-2 (hardcover)
The story of the development of radar, and radar's role in national defense

Skunk Works
by Ben Rich
The story of the Lockheed "Skunk Works", home of the U-2 and SR-71 spy planes and the F-117 "Stealth" fighter. Thanks to Charles Neff for suggesting this book.

Nuclear Command and Control

The Button
by Daniel Ford

Nuclear Battlefields
by William Arkin and Richard Fieldhouse
Ballinger, 1985

Strategic Command and Control: Redefining the Nuclear Threat
by Bruce G. Blair
The Brookings Institution, 1985
ISBN 0-8157-0981-2-X (0-8157-0981-1 paperback)

The Command and Control of Nuclear Forces
by Paul J. Bracken
Yale University Press, 1983
ISBN 0-300-02946-2

Breaking Cover
by Bill Gulley with Mary Ellen Reese
Simon and Schuster
Stories and details from inside the White House, including information about plans for responding to a nuclear attack. Mr. Gulley was administrator, and then Director, of the White House Military Office from 1966 to 1977, under presidents Johnson, Nixon, Ford, and Carter.

Nuclear War - multiple topics

Nuclear War in the 1980s
compiled by Christopher Chant and Ian Hogg
Nomad Publishers Ltd., 1983
ISBN 0-06-105196-X (hardcover) 0-06-091079-8 (paperback)
An overview of the political, military, and technical issues of nuclear war; includes many helpful illustrations and graphics

The Language of Nuclear War: An Intelligent Citizen's Dictionary
by Eric Semler, James Benjamin, and Adam Gross
Harper & Row, 1987
ISBN 0-06-055051-1
A comprehensive reference defining for the words and phrases associated with nuclear war.

Nuclear War: Causes and Effects

Waiting for the End of the World
by Richard Ross
Princeton Architectural Press, 2004
ISBN 1568984669
Photographs of survival shelters around the world. Thanks to Paul Ceruzzi for suggesting this book.

The Day After World War III
by Edward Zuckerman
The Viking Press, 1984
ISBN 0-670-25880-6

Nuclear War: Opposing Viewpoints
edited by Bonnie Szumski
Greenhaven Press, 1985
ISBN 0-89908-353-6 (paperback) 0-89908-378-1 (hardcover)
A collection of 32 thought-provoking essays on nuclear war topics:

- How would nuclear war begin?
- Would humanity survive a nuclear war?
- Will civil defense work?
- Will nuclear arms agreements work?
- Can space weapons reduce the risk of nuclear war?
... plus supplementary material

The U.S. Military in the Cold War

American Forces in Berlin 1945-1994: Cold War Outpost
by Robert P. Grathwol and Donita M. Moorhus
1994, Department of Defense Legacy Resource Management Program, Cold War Project
ISBN 0-16-045272-4
An outstanding introduction to the Cold War's front line. The concise, well-organized text tells the story of this important place and time, highlighting the human aspects of its subject. The book features excellent graphics and a selection of evocative photographs. Thanks to Dr. Martin K. Gordon, Historian, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, for recommending this title.

U.S.-Soviet Relations

The Crisis Years: Kennedy and Khrushchev, 1960-1963
by Michael R. Beschloss
Edward Burlingame Books (HarperCollins Publishers), 1991
ISBN 0-06-016454-9

Updated on June 29, 2004 at 21:55 by Albert LaFrance

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