Arsenal, understanding weapons in the nuclear age

This classic is a must for anyone who wants or needs a quick and dirty introduction to the physics of nuclear weapons: the technology, the science, the physicals effects and most of all, the appendices containing the primary mathematical equations of counterforce nuclear exchanges including kill probability and lots more. Few books are as economically targeted precisely to the physics of nuclear weapons. Any one considering himself literate in the nuclear age should have this reference book in his library. Four stars

This book is a valuable contribution to the body of knowledge about the effects of nuclear weapons. "The numbers" are the most important scientific fact surrounding nuclear arms - what they do, how they affect their target and the environment. You can't get around the numbers, so it's good to know them. The reality of nuclear explosions and their effects is somewhat different from the more poetic and unscientific explanations of what happens when a bomb goes off that we have read or seen over the past number of decades. Tsipis' book came out at a very precarious year in the history of the nuclear age - 1983 - when the US had a hawk president, the risk of nuclear war was elevated, and the populations of Britain and the USA were being exposed to more and more accurate, scientific information about the weapons effects than ever before. Books like this one greatly contributed to this body of scientific knowledge available to the layman. This book is great if you want the simple, basic raw information about how nuclear weapons work and their effects.

This technical examination of the effects of nuclear war is quite interesting. It discusses the history of nuclear weapons, then speculates on the effects of nuclear war. It then examines strategies and tactics. I recommend this book- it is an excellent (though depressing) read.