Books of Note - Arms Control Association

Books of Note
Published on Arms Control Association (https://www.armscontrol.org)
Books of Note
Arms Control Today
Ronald Reagan and His Quest to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
By Paul Lettow, Random House Inc., February 2005, 327 pp.
On the basis of recently declassified documents, Oxford scholar Paul Lettow argues that President
Ronald Reagan’s strategic thinking was inspired by his anti-nuclear beliefs. Rather than a strategic
move to ensure U.S. military superiority, Lettow contends that Reagan’s signature Strategic Defense
Initiative (SDI) was pursued in order to eliminate nuclear weapons altogether. Reagan envisioned the
development of a shared missile defense creating a “balance of safety rather than a balance of
terror.” Lettow traces Reagan’s life and career, from his 1945 recitation of an anti-nuclear poem
called “Set Your Clock at U-235” to Reagan’s discussions with Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev at
the 1987 Reykjavík summit, when the leaders came close to signing away their nuclear forces.
Preventing Nuclear Meltdown: Managing Decentralization of Russia's Nuclear Complex
Edited by James Clay Moltz, Vladimir A. Orlov, and Adam N. Stulberg, Ashgate Publishing, November
2004, 258 pp.
In this collection of essays, Russian policy experts review the complex changes that have occurred in
the governance and operation of Russia’s nuclear facilities since 1991. Focusing on Russia’s
underprotected stockpile of nuclear weapons, separated weapons-grade material, and radioactive
spent fuel and waste, the authors assess efforts to secure these materials. With case studies
spanning critical nuclear areas—Russia’s Northwest and Far East and the Urals, Siberia, and Volga
regions—the contributors note the growing influence of regional political and economic forces and
cite evidence of security breaches and threats. They suggest that international threat reduction
assistance be more closely linked to specific regional challenges.
The Russian Military: Power and Policy
Edited by Steven E. MIller and Dmitri Trenin, MIT Press, September 2004, 239 pp.
A group of Russian military experts examines Moscow’s efforts to define its military infrastructure
and position in the world following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Although its amassed stockpiles
of resources have kept it going despite the odds—it has been trying to run a military used to $450
billion per year on a $40 billion budget—necessary reform has lagged. The Kremlin has not been
willing to spend the political capital needed to ensure the greater civilian control, transparency, and
modernization that the military needs to put it on a par with its European and U.S. counterparts. Nor
has Russia really updated its national security doctrine; nuclear weapons continue to play a key role
and its overall forces are geared up for an all-out war with the West rather than the threats it faces
from terrorism and regional conflicts. The authors conclude by assessing how and whether Russia
might try to leverage its growing economy to help finance its military reform.
Are you interested in purchasing these books? You can help support the Arms Control Association by
visiting one of our partners.
or
Page 1 of 2
Books of Note
Published on Arms Control Association (https://www.armscontrol.org)
Posted: March 1, 2005
Source URL: https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2005_03/BooksofNote
Page 2 of 2