Endangered Species: How We Can Avoid Mass Destruction and Build a Lasting Peace

By Stephen M. Younger

Book Overview

A former nuclear weapons designer discusses the increasing threat of weapons of mass destruction and offers ideas on how to construct the best practical world consistent with our human nature.

"I have been in the nuclear weapons business for over twenty years, and I have always been a pacifist." Stephen M. Younger looks into the heart of humankind to present a practical plan for ending mass violence, the scourge of modern times and a threat to our survival as a species. Do our genes condemn us to ever greater acts of barbarism? Do our complex societies, so necessary to modern life, include a fundamental flaw that drives us to periodic wars and genocide? Why has an enduring peace proven so elusive?

Younger understands, as few others can, our potential for violence. The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction means that any nation, group, or even individual could cause unimaginable carnage. And the accelerating pace of communications and transportation mean that things can happen faster than we can think about them. Looking across our knowledge of psychology, history, politics, and technology, Younger presents a convincing argument that we can escape our spiral into global destruction. But we haven't a moment to lose.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0061139513
• ISBN13: 9780061139512
• Release Date: April 2007
• Publisher: Ecco
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.9" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

This is a very important book!

Stephen M. Younger writes with clarity and authority about the danger of mass destruction in an increasingly multipolar and asymmetrical world. He is pragmatic yet optimistic that we can successfully navigate through an incredibly dangerous epoch. His style is fluid, pithy and memorable as illustrated by his observation - "Hope is not a plan."