Planning the Unthinkable: How New Powers Will Use Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Weapons

The proliferation of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons is now the single most serious security concern for governments around the world. Peter R. Lavoy, Scott D. Sagan, and James J. Wirtz compare how military threats, strategic cultures, and organizations shape the way leaders intend to employ these armaments. They reveal the many frightening ways that emerging military powers and terrorist groups are planning the unthinkable by preparing...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0801487048
• ISBN13: 9780801487040
• Release Date: August 2000
• Publisher: Cornell University Press
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.1" x 9.2"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Great reference for things to come

This book is a model text for looking at the spread of WMDs throughout the planet. Looking at all the major hotspots (DPRK, Iran, Pakistan, et al), this work provides stunning insight into the future. I am a bit biased, Professor Lavoy is my masters thesis advisor. However, having taken a number of his classes, and using this text as a starting point for thesis research, I can say it's a great starting point for someone intersted, not just in the headlines, but the reasons behind this critical national security issue. Too often in America, we're only interested in the newspaper article and soundbite, not caring for the deeper reasons behind a particular event. This book delves beyond the mere events of today, reaching forward (and back) years, if not decades.

Simply the Best on the Topic

There are only a few books that the scholar of "third world" nuclear doctrine will find helpful. This is one of the few. The chapter on Iraq's chemical arsenal, in partuclar, is very informative. This is not a history or even a strategic study of the dangers of proliferation. It is an attempt to understand how military doctrine integrates weapons of mass destruction in different institutional and political contexts. This edited volume is far from perfect, but it is the best broad survey of this particular subject.

Not perfect, but full of solid research and facts

This book is written in an academic style and format. Despite the exciting cover, it is *not* light reading, nor is it written for a popular audience. Basically, each chapter is written by a different expert in the field. There's a chapter on terrorism, a chapter on the India-Pakistan nuclear dilemma, and so on. I found this book to be fascinating because of the wealth of facts contained inside. Is this book a page-turning thriller? Heck no! But is it full of useful research material and expert analyses seldom found elsewhere? You betcha.

Facinating

Completely thought provoking--You won't be able to put this down.