Nuclear Illusion, Nuclear Reality; Britain, the United States and Nuclear Weapons, 1958-1964

Basingstoke, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. First printing [stated]. Hardcover. Very good. xv, [1], 332 pages. Illustrations. Abbreviations. Appendices. Notes. Bibliography. Index. This appears to be the first title in the series Nuclear Weapons and International Security since 1945. Richard Moore was a Visiting Research Fellow at the Mountbatten Centre for International Studies at the University of Southampton, UK. He studied history and international relations at the University of Cambridge, and his Ph.D. dissertation for the University of Hull was published as The Royal Navy and Nuclear Weapons (2001). This work is a study of the political, military and technical aspects of Britain's nuclear weapons programme under the Macmillan government, contrasting Britain's perceived political decline with its growth in technological mastery and military nuclear capability. Important reading for anyone interested in the history and military technology of the cold war. This new history, based on extensive archive research, weaves together the political, military and technical histories of Britain's nuclear weapons programme under the Conservative governments of Harold Macmillan and Alex Douglas-Home. It contrasts Britain's perceived political decline and reliance on the United States with growth in available military nuclear capability. In summer 1958, around 50 hand-built atomic bombes were available in the UK, and just one fully successful British two-state megaton thermonuclear device had been tested; by 1964, despite setbacks, Britain had hundreds of well-engineered nuclear weapons, a well-exercised low-level bomber force, and advanced new warheard and weapons programmes underway. The book also presents new evidence and analysis on key political events of the period, including the Blue Streak cancellation and the Skybolt crisis. It should be read by anyone interested in the history and military technology of the Cold War.