Arguably the best book on nuclear weapons all the way from how a nuclear device works to how various countries, including the US, delt with nuclear weapons over time

Excellent book that provides a greater context behind many of the geopolitical actions of the last 80 years. I was always curious as to the underlying cause of the Sino-Soviet split and now I know. Additionally, the book gives justification for when to step in regarding Proliferation and when to stand down. I'll let future readers come to their own conclusions in this regard rather than out it my own.

The first half dealing with WW2 and the Cold War is exciting and reads quickly. The latter half is not so exciting, but has greater ramifications in our daily lives.

I would have given this book 5 stars, but there are some glaring mistakes that bother me. It says not once but twice that it was the MING dynasty that was overthrown in the 20th century. There were a couple of other very obvious mistakes but I didn't write them down. In the last quarter there were also a few typos. ( )

Suggests that the Russians got the secret of the hydrogen bomb through spying rather than self-development.