Weapons of Mass Destruction: The no-nonsense guide to nuclear, chemical and biological weapons today

by RobertHutchinson (Author)

• Used

  Hardcover
  2003

  $3.36

  When Tom Lehrer sang 'We'll all go together when we go', the world was gripped by fear of nuclear holocaust. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the threat was assumed to have gone away. But Libya, Iraq, Iran and North Korea and others are building weapons of mass destruction, nuclear, biological and chemical. And terrorists like bin Laden are trying to get their hands on them too. The next live Scud missile launch could signal the next Hiroshima. Russia has enough weapons grade plutonium in poorly guarded facilities to make 20,000 atomic bombs. Osama bin Laden only needs one. Chemical weapons remain the 'poor man's nuke'. Saddam believed his chemical weapons saved him in the first Gulf War. Islamic fundamentalists have been preparing to use ricin for mass poisoning in London. A Japanese doomsday cult used sarin nerve gas on the Tokyo underground. Robert Hutchinson's measured account provides a straightforward guide to the weapons that threaten civilisation.

• Used

  Paperback
  2004

  $3.36

  When Tom Lehrer sang 'We'll all go together when we go', the world was gripped by fear of nuclear holocaust: the ultimate endgame of every Cold War powerplay. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the threat was assumed to have gone away. But Libya, Iraq, Iran and North Korea are building weapons of mass destruction. The next live Scud missile launch could signal the next Hiroshima. Robert Hutchinson investigates the history of weapons of mass destruction, from biological warfare during World War I to the atomic weapons of World War II and the Cold War. He reveals that Russia did indeed build the 'Doomsday' nuclear missile system featured in DR STRANGELOVE, but not until the 1980s: and it is still switched on! Chemical weapons remain the 'poor man's nuke'. And as the attack on the Tokyo subway demonstrated, weapons of mass destruction are now available to terrorist organizations as well as 'rogue' nation states.