Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
Audiobook11 hours
The Bomb: Presidents, Generals, and the Secret History of Nuclear War
Written by Fred Kaplan
Narrated by Edward Bauer
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
()
About this audiobook
From the author of the classic The Wizards of Armageddon and Pulitzer Prize finalist comes the definitive history of American policy on nuclear war—and Presidents’ actions in nuclear crises—from Truman to Trump.
Fred Kaplan, hailed by The New York Times as “a rare combination of defense intellectual and pugnacious reporter,” takes us into the White House Situation Room, the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s “Tank” in the Pentagon, and the vast chambers of Strategic Command to bring us the untold stories—based on exclusive interviews and previously classified documents—of how America’s presidents and generals have thought about, threatened, broached, and just barely avoided nuclear war from the dawn of the atomic age until today.
Kaplan’s historical research and deep reporting will stand as the permanent record of politics. Discussing theories that have dominated nightmare scenarios from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Kaplan presents the unthinkable in terms of mass destruction and demonstrates how the nuclear war reality will not go away, regardless of the dire consequences.
Fred Kaplan, hailed by The New York Times as “a rare combination of defense intellectual and pugnacious reporter,” takes us into the White House Situation Room, the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s “Tank” in the Pentagon, and the vast chambers of Strategic Command to bring us the untold stories—based on exclusive interviews and previously classified documents—of how America’s presidents and generals have thought about, threatened, broached, and just barely avoided nuclear war from the dawn of the atomic age until today.
Kaplan’s historical research and deep reporting will stand as the permanent record of politics. Discussing theories that have dominated nightmare scenarios from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Kaplan presents the unthinkable in terms of mass destruction and demonstrates how the nuclear war reality will not go away, regardless of the dire consequences.
Author
Fred Kaplan
Fred Kaplan is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English at Queens College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He is the author of Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer, which was named a Best Book of the Year by the New York Times and Washington Post, among other publications. His biography of Thomas Carlyle was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize. He lives in Maine.
More audiobooks from Fred Kaplan
Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer The Insurgents: David Petraeus and the Plot to Change the American Way of War Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related to The Bomb
Related audiobooks
Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Restricted Data: The History of Nuclear Secrecy in the United States Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Enola Gay: Mission to Hiroshima Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Black Snow: Curtis LeMay, the Firebombing of Tokyo, and the Road to the Atomic Bomb Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Prompt and Utter Destruction: Truman and the Use of Atomic Bombs against Japan, Third Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Axis Powers’ Nuclear Weapons Programs: The History of Germany and Japan’s Efforts to Build an Atomic Bomb during World War II Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBomb Power: The Modern Presidency and the National Security State Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nuclear Folly: A History of the Cuban Missile Crisis Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Abyss: Nuclear Crisis Cuba 1962 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Operation Chastise: The RAF's Most Brilliant Attack of World War II Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hell to Pay: Operation Downfall and the Invasion of Japan, 1945-1947 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Cold War: A New History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 1944-1945 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Soviet Nuclear Weapons Program: The History and Legacy of the USSR's Efforts to Build the Atomic Bomb Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Supreme Commander: MacArthur's Triumph in Japan Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/512 Seconds Of Silence: How a Team of Inventors, Tinkerers, and Spies Took Down a Nazi Superweapon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Battle of the Somme: The History and Legacy of World War I’s Biggest Battle Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5December 1941: Twelve Days that Began a World War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Pentagon Papers: The Secret History of the Vietnam War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Age of Radiance: The Epic Rise and Dramatic Fall of the Atomic Era Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Meltdown: Nuclear disaster and the human cost of going critical Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Apocalypse Factory: Plutonium and the Making of the Atomic Age Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFallout: The Hiroshima Cover-up and the Reporter Who Revealed It to the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5American Moonshot: John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dereliction of Duty: Johnson, McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies That Led to Vietnam Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Button: The New Nuclear Arms Race and Presidential Power from Truman to Trump Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Watergate Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Wars & Military For You
77 Days of February: Living and Dying in Ukraine, Told by the Nation’s Own Journalists Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of September 11, 2001 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel: Genius, Power, and Deception on the Eve of World War I Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Rape of Nanking: The History and Legacy of the Notorious Massacre during the Second Sino-Japanese War Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ghosts of Honolulu: A Japanese Spy, A Japanese American Spy Hunter, and the Untold Story of Pearl Harbor Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5You're Stepping on My Cloak and Dagger Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kill Anything That Moves Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Nazi Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5When I Come Home Again: 'A page-turning literary gem' THE TIMES, BEST BOOKS OF 2020 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On Palestine Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Diary of Anne Frank Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Valiant Women: The Extraordinary American Servicewomen Who Helped Win World War II Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Korean War: A History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Five Rings Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Last Kingdom Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Dirty Tricks Department: Stanley Lovell, the OSS, and the Masterminds of World War II Secret Warfare Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Saved: A War Reporter's Mission to Make It Home Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin - Book Summary: How U.S. Navy SEALS Lead And Win Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Countdown 1945: The Extraordinary Story of the Atomic Bomb and the 116 Days That Changed the World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Shortest History of Israel and Palestine: From Zionism to Intifadas and the Struggle for Peace Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Watchmaker's Daughter: The True Story of World War II Heroine Corrie ten Boom Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Heart of Everything That Is: The Untold Story of Red Cloud, An American Legend Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related podcast episodes
The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb: How the decision to use the atomic bomb was wrapped up in atomic diplomacy. 0% found this document usefulThe Secret History of Nuclear War 100% found this document usefulThe Bastard Brigade - The Accidental A-Bomb | 1 0% found this document usefulThe Cold War - Hearts and Minds | 2 100% found this document usefulSpy vs. Spy: Mark Kelton on Cold War intrigue and treason: CBS Radio News 0% found this document usefulCountry's Top Spy-Catcher Bill Evanina on Espionage Threats: CBS Radio News 0% found this document usefulRick Atkinson: The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777: Author Rick Atkinson returns to the PMML to discuss his latest book titled The British Are Coming, which is the first volume of his new trilogy about the American Revolution. 100% found this document usefulChristopher Miller: The War Came to Us 0% found this document usefulFukushima: 2. Emergency: Japan battles to maintain control in the face of nuclear disaster 0% found this document usefulHistorian Hal Brands on COVID-19's Effect on World Order 0% found this document useful66: Peter Turchin - Why Empires Rise & Fall 0% found this document usefulFPP051 - SR-71 Blackbird: With retired US Air Force Major Brian "Punchy" Shul 100% found this document usefulChris Blattman on War and Centralized Power: The underrated threats that lurk in institutions, rather than psychology. 100% found this document usefulFukushima: 4. Evacuation: The reactors are unstable. A “suicide squad” of older workers is sent inside 0% found this document usefulWhat really sank the Kursk? 0% found this document usefulHenry Ford and the Model T 0% found this document usefulHitler in Los Angeles: How Jews Foiled Nazi Plots Against Hollywood and America 0% found this document useful
Related articles
‘Midway’ Turns The Ww II Battle Into A Cartoon AppleMagazineArticle
‘Midway’ Turns The Ww II Battle Into A Cartoon
Nov 15, 2019
3 min readWhat Kissinger Has Said About Trump FactCheck.orgArticle
What Kissinger Has Said About Trump
Apr 15, 2019
A post circulating on Facebook wrongly attributes several quotes about President Donald Trump to former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. The post What Kissinger Has Said About Trump appeared first on FactCheck.org.
3 min readMao’s Lesson for Trump’s America The AtlanticArticle
Mao’s Lesson for Trump’s America
Nov 22, 2020
6 min readRussia Investigated Disappearance Of Suspected US Spy As Possible Murder The GuardianArticle
Russia Investigated Disappearance Of Suspected US Spy As Possible Murder
Sep 10, 2019
4 min readApple Tv+ To Produce Masters Of The Air, The Second Band Of Brothers Sequel TechLife NewsArticle
Apple Tv+ To Produce Masters Of The Air, The Second Band Of Brothers Sequel
Mar 13, 2021
3 min readA View Of Mount Suribachi History of WarArticle
A View Of Mount Suribachi
Feb 20, 2020
3 min readLife Under the KGB's Watchful Eye in 1980s Russia The AtlanticArticle
Life Under the KGB's Watchful Eye in 1980s Russia
May 23, 2013
2 min readBill Browder Doubts He'll Be Swapped To Russia For U.S. Access To Russian Agents NPRArticle
Bill Browder Doubts He'll Be Swapped To Russia For U.S. Access To Russian Agents
Jul 19, 2018
2 min readNorth Korea Designed A Nuke. So Did This Truck Driver NPRArticle
North Korea Designed A Nuke. So Did This Truck Driver
Dec 26, 2017
4 min readNicholas Goldberg: The Nuclear Threat The US Unleashed On The World 75 Years Ago Is Still Terrifying Los Angeles TimesArticle
Nicholas Goldberg: The Nuclear Threat The US Unleashed On The World 75 Years Ago Is Still Terrifying
Aug 7, 2020
The bombs dropped by the United States on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 75 years ago, in the final days of World War II, incinerated some 200,000 people, most of them civilians. And they did much more than that. They also transformed the natur
3 min readWe Have No Nuclear Strategy The AtlanticArticle
We Have No Nuclear Strategy
Jun 1, 2022
10 min readWe Need to Relearn What We’d Hoped to Forget The AtlanticArticle
We Need to Relearn What We’d Hoped to Forget
Mar 11, 2022
8 min readHiroshima At 75: Bitter Row Persists Over US Decision To Drop The Bomb The GuardianArticle
Hiroshima At 75: Bitter Row Persists Over US Decision To Drop The Bomb
Aug 5, 2020
5 min readA Torrent Of Fire History of WarArticle
A Torrent Of Fire
Aug 6, 2020
3 min readAble Archer 83 Had Turned To War? All About HistoryArticle
Able Archer 83 Had Turned To War?
Feb 24, 2022
5 min readWhy Does North Korea Hate Us? Tribune Content Agency OpinionsArticle
Why Does North Korea Hate Us?
Aug 17, 2017
"The bombing was long, leisurely and merciless . . ." And so we return to the Korean War, when North Korea was carpet-bombed to the edge of existence. The American media doesn't have a memory that stretches quite so far back, at least not under prese
3 min readAsk A Scientist: Scientists And Arms Control From Oppenheimer To Today Union of Concerned ScientistsArticle
Ask A Scientist: Scientists And Arms Control From Oppenheimer To Today
Jul 13, 2023
Read more of UCS’s critical analysis of Oppenheimer and the global security issues it examines here. On July 21, Oppenheimer, a new major motion picture chronicling the life and legacy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, will ope
12 min readChurchill and the Nuclear Cold War Finest HourArticle
Churchill and the Nuclear Cold War
Dec 9, 2019
9 min readCan North Korea Drag the U.S. and China Into War? The AtlanticArticle
Can North Korea Drag the U.S. and China Into War?
Sep 11, 2017
6 min readOppenheimer’s Cry of Despair in The Atlantic The AtlanticArticle
Oppenheimer’s Cry of Despair in The Atlantic
Jul 25, 2023
6 min read‘The Bomb’ Offers A Chilling Reminder Of The Dangerous Futility Of Nuclear War The Christian Science MonitorArticle
‘The Bomb’ Offers A Chilling Reminder Of The Dangerous Futility Of Nuclear War
Apr 7, 2020
Fred Kaplan’s exhaustive history of America’s nuclear weapons programs is a timely – if chilling – argument for disarmament.
3 min readHave Nuclear Weapons Helped To Maintain Global Peace? BBC World Histories MagazineArticle
Have Nuclear Weapons Helped To Maintain Global Peace?
Jul 16, 2020
11 min readIs Nuclear Still Taboo? Foreign Policy MagazineArticle
Is Nuclear Still Taboo?
Jul 11, 2022
6 min readThe Path To Hiroshima And Nagasaki Began With The Firebombing Of Tokyo The Christian Science MonitorArticle
The Path To Hiroshima And Nagasaki Began With The Firebombing Of Tokyo
Nov 23, 2022
4 min readQ&A WITH ROGER HERMISTON History of WarArticle
Q&A WITH ROGER HERMISTON
Apr 14, 2022
3 min readOpinion: 75 Years On, Remember Hiroshima And Nagasaki. But Remember Toyama Too NPRArticle
Opinion: 75 Years On, Remember Hiroshima And Nagasaki. But Remember Toyama Too
Aug 1, 2020
4 min readWhy Hasn’t the World Been Destroyed in a Nuclear War Yet? NautilusArticle
Why Hasn’t the World Been Destroyed in a Nuclear War Yet?
Jan 15, 2018
4 min readThe Perils of Military Engagement Against North Korea Global VoicesArticle
The Perils of Military Engagement Against North Korea
Sep 21, 2017
3 min readRobert C. Koehler: Listening To Oppenheimer Seven Decades Later Tribune Content Agency OpinionsArticle
Robert C. Koehler: Listening To Oppenheimer Seven Decades Later
Jul 13, 2023
A mere 55 years after his death, the U.S. government has restored J. Robert Oppenheimer’s security clearance, which the Atomic Energy Commission had taken away from him in 1954, declaring him to be not simply a communist but, in all likelihood, a Sov
3 min readRobert C. Koehler: Listening To Oppenheimer, Seven Decades Later Tribune Content Agency OpinionsArticle
Robert C. Koehler: Listening To Oppenheimer, Seven Decades Later
Aug 2, 2023
A mere 55 years after his death, the U.S. government has restored J. Robert Oppenheimer’s security clearance, which the Atomic Energy Commission had taken away from him in 1954, declaring him to be not simply a communist but, in all likelihood, a Sov
3 min read
Reviews for The Bomb
Rating: 4.2926829268292686 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
41 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great read very informative a must read for future presidents
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Gives a fair shake to all presidents except Trump. That chapter feels out of place. Way too harsh on one guy.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It is an accessible introductory guide to US nuclear policy. Good overview. The first chapters are slow but it picks up after Nixon so skip ahead if you are getting bored. Final chapters are best