Facing the Threat of Nuclear Weapons; With an Op[en Letter on the Danger of Thermonuclear War by Andrei Sakharov

Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 1989. 1989 Edition. Trade paperback. very good. 21 cm, xviii, 120 [6] pages. Wraps. Occasional footnotes. Appendix. Cover has slight wear and soiling. This work was part of the Jessie and John Danz Lecture Series. In this timely and thought-provoking work, an internationally acclaimed theoretical physicist examines the nature and the magnitude of the threat posed by nuclear weapons. In his Introduction to the 1989 edition, Sidney Drell discusses the arms control efforts that have taken place in the five years since this work was first published, with particular emphasis on the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty of 1988. Drell discussed the technical realities of nuclear weapons and how these realities limit our options for policy. He goes on to examine the arms control approaches that can reduce the threat, the need for governments to make effective use of scientific advice, and the demonstrated importance of public opinion for making progress in arms limitations. Sidney Drell was the Lewis Terman Professor and Deputy Director and Head of Theoretical Physics at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. He served for decades as an advisor to the U. S. government on issues of national security and arms control.