Although the United States efforts to prevent the spread of strategic weapons have varied significantly since 1945, they all presumed to be avoiding one or another type of strategic war. To the extent their military scenarios were sound, so too were the nonproliferation remedies these initiatives promoted. But, as Sokolski demonstrates, the obverse was also true--when these intiatives' military hopes and fears were mistaken, their nonproliferation recommendations also missed their mark.

What is the best hope for breaking out of this box and securing a higher rate of nonproliferation success? The United States must base nonproliferation policies less on insights concerning strategic military trends and more on the progressive economic and political trends that have increased the number of relatively peaceful, prosperous, liberal democracies. For the proliferating nations that are exceptions to this trend, the U.S. and its allies need to devise ways of competing that will encourage these governments to expend more energies shoring up their weaknesses and eventually giving way to less militant regimes. A major resource for students and military professionals interested in arms control and international relations.

National Book Award winner and renowned psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton reveals a world at risk from millennial cults intent on ending it all.
Since the earliest moments of recorded history, prophets and gurus have foretold the world's end, but only in the nuclear age has it been possible for a megalomaniac guru with a world-ending vision to bring his prophecy to pass. Now Robert Jay Lifton offers a vivid and disturbing case in point in this chilling exploration of Aum Shinrikyo, the Japanese cult that released sarin nerve gas in the Tokyo subways.
With unprecedented access to former Aum members, Lifton has produced a pathbreaking study of the inner life of a modern millennial cult. He shows how Aum's guru Shoko Asahara (charismatic spiritual leader, con man, madman) created a religion from a global stew of New Age thinking, ancient rituals, and apocalyptic science fiction, then recruited scientists as disciples and set them to producing weapons of mass destruction. Taking stock as well of Charles Manson, Heaven's Gate, and the Oklahoma City bombers, Lifton confronts the frightening possibility of a twenty-first century in which cults and terrorists may be able to bring about their own holocausts.
Bold and compelling, Destroying the World to Save It charts the emergence of a new global threat of urgent concern to us all.

This work offers an assessment of environmental damage caused by military activity. It demonstrates how the space programme, Star Wars research and electromagnetic weapons have destabilized the natural balance of the Earth's ecosystem, causing widespread devastation.

This authoritative and concise work surveys the range of warfare in the high Middle Ages while reflecting on the society that produced these military struggles. The book brings together for the first time a wealth of information on such topics as knighthood, military organization, weaponry and fortifications, and warfare in the East. In 1095 with the launching of the First Crusade, Europeans established a great military endeavour to save the Holy Land, an undertaking that remained a central preoccupation until the end of the thirteenth century. While the expeditions that went forth to fight the Muslims involved armies of exceptional size, much of the warfare within western Europe itself was conducted by small armies on behalf of landowners who were often neighbours and kin. In his approach to his subject, John France considers political, social, and economic development in the age of the crusades. He emphasizes the significance of four factors in shaping medieval warfare: the dominance of land as a form of wealth, the limited competence of government, the state of technology that favoured defence over attack, and the geography and climate of western Europe. His coverage of the castle and the knight in armour depicts the role of landowners in producing these characteristic medieval instruments of war. In addition, France provides an extensive analysis of battles in which he reconstructs a series of encounters in superb detail.

This study focuses on the sheaths and scabbards of the Anglo-Saxon period, rather than the blades once held within them. Esther Cameron presents a largely technical approach to the study of material from the period of the first Anglo-Saxons in England in the 5th century, through to the 11th century. Alongside a large corpus of examples, she looks at the nature of the material evidence, of skin, leather and wood, and the composition of the materials used, their decomposition and preservation in the archeological reord. The wider significance of her findings for Anglo-Saxon archaeology and for the study of organic materials form archaeological contexts in general, are revealed in the final chapter.

This authoritative and concise work surveys the range of warfare in the high Middle Ages while reflecting on the society that produced these military struggles. The book brings together for the first time a wealth of information on such topics as knighthood, military organization, weaponry and fortifications, and warfare in the East. In 1095 with the launching of the First Crusade, Europeans established a great military endeavour to save the Holy Land, an undertaking that remained a central preoccupation until the end of the thirteenth century. While the expeditions that went forth to fight the Muslims involved armies of exceptional size, much of the warfare within western Europe itself was conducted by small armies on behalf of landowners who were often neighbours and kin. In his approach to his subject, John France considers political, social, and economic development in the age of the crusades. He emphasizes the significance of four factors in shaping medieval warfare: the dominance of land as a form of wealth, the limited competence of government, the state of technology that favoured defence over attack, and the geography and climate of western Europe. His coverage of the castle and the knight in armour depicts the role of landowners in producing these characteristic medieval instruments of war. In addition, France provides an extensive analysis of battles in which he reconstructs a series of encounters in superb detail.

"Gives the statistics a painfully human face."
--The Washington Post Book World
Philip Winslow offers the most complete and compelling book on land mines--the issue brought to world attention with the awarding of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize to the Campaign to Ban Land Mines. He draws on his years as a foreign correspondent in the Middle East, the Balkans, and Africa, and journeys into rural Angola, where he introduces us to the victims, the deminers, and the way land mines destroy economies and infrastructures. He also writes about the Campaign to Ban Land Mines and the ways we might finally pull the "dragon's teeth" from the earth, to restore it to those who live there.
"Winslow's fine book puts names and faces to the victims and begs us to beware. Only such harrowing testimony and eloquent pleading will rid us of this scourge."

--William F. Schulz, executive director, Amnesty International
"Winslow's moving and powerful book shows why some weapons are so insidious that they do not belong in the arsenals of civilized nations. A land mine is such a weapon. It should be banished from the earth."

--U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy
"Makes a strong case that such a ban--championed by the late Princess Diana--is a necessity."

--Boston Herald
"A thoughtful, sometimes harrowing portrait."

--Utne Reader

"Bar none, the best book on fire support in the English language and one of the most accessible works on tactics I have ever read."--Bruce Gudmundsson, author of On Artillery The military of the United States is the world's strongest. Our armed forces are equipped with weapons of remarkable accuracy and unprecedented destructive power. In the Gulf War, allied forces used these weapons in what turned out to be a high-tech shooting gallery. The pinpoint accuracy of the sharpshooter's rifle is now routinely expected in the delivery of thousand pound bombs. Events in Somalia and the Balkans have aptly demonstrated, however, the profound limitations of firepower in limited conflicts of low intensity. Yet, these are the kinds of war we are most likely to encounter as we proceed down the path of the new world order. Robert Scales examines this problem through his analysis of the role of firepower in the wars in Indochina, the Soviet war in Afghanistan, the Falklands War, and the Gulf War. Chosen for the prestigious Marine Corps Commandant's Reading List, Firepower in Limited War is must reading for everyone interested in national defense and all military professionals.

For nearly 600 years, from the battles of the early fourteenth century to the dropping of the atomic bomb at Hiroshima, firearms derived from gunpowder and other chemicals defined the frightful extent of war. The apparatus and materials used in World War I would have been familiar to our remote ancestors. In this classic work, first published in 1960, James Riddick Partington provides a worldwide survey of the evolution of incendiary devices, Greek fire, and gunpowder.

Greek fire, a composition Partington believes was made of a distilled petroleum fraction and other ingredients (but not saltpetre), was most famously used in the sieges of Constantinople and the Crusades. Partington moves from its antecedents--other incendiaries used in ancient warfare--to European gunpowder recipe books ( "The Latin Book of Fire, Bellifortis, " and "Feuerwerkbuch") and the history of infernal machines, mines, canon, small arms, and artillery. His book includes chapters on gunpowder and weapons in Muslim lands, India, and China--including fire books, the use of gunpowder as a propellant, the artillery of the Mughal Emperors, and the use of saltpetre in explosives. He traces the development of gunpowder to eleventh-century China and cites the first known mention and picture of a firearm in 1326.

"The history of gunpowder and firearms has attracted many authors with varying interests. The general historian must take account of major inventions effecting revolutions in the life of nations. The historian of science is concerned mostly with the invention of gunpowder. The historian of technology examines the development in the manufacture of explosives and weapons, and the way in which gunpowder has found applications in the peaceful arts. The military historian deals mainly with the use of gunpowder as an explosive and a propellant... and the development of firearms and their use in warfare. No recent book in English (or for that matter in any language) has attempted a concise survey of the subject."--from the Preface

As the United States struggled to respond to the Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik in 1957, President Eisenhower received a top secret report prepared by a committee of leading scientific, business, and military experts. The panel, called the Gaither Committee in recognition of its first chair, H. Rowan Gaither Jr., emphasized the inadequacy of U.S. defense measures designed to protect the civilian population and the vulnerability of the country's strategic nuclear forces in the event of a Soviet attack. The committee concluded that in the event of a surprise Soviet attack, the United States would not be able to defend itself.

The years following Sputnik and the Gaither Committee's report were a watershed period in America's cold war history. During the remaining years of the Eisenhower administration, the intensification of the cold war caused the acceleration of an arms race that dramatically raised the stakes of any potential conflict. The Gaither Committee was at the center of debates about U.S. national security and U.S.-Soviet relations. The committee's recommendations led to increases in defense spending and the development of our nuclear arsenal.

Adrian Goldsworthy examines how the Roman army operated on campaign and in battle. He compares the army's organization and strategic doctrine with those of its chief opponents and explores in detail the reality of battle: tactics, weaponry, leadership, and, most of all, the important issue of morale.

A remarkable account of life on the Charleston front On July 10, 1863, Confederate Major Edward Manigault began a diary which is today one of the most unusual documents to survive the Civil War. Covering 13 months of combat, it is a day-by-day, sometimes hour-by-hour, account of life on the front lines during the Civil War. Major Manigault was an intelligent, acute observer. His battle scenes are vivid and dramatic. And, although his diary was an official document, by order of General P. G. T. Beauregard, his descriptions of infantry fighting often include amusing personal asides -- such as having to choose between saving a valuable saddle or saving his life when his horse was shot out from under him. But most interesting are the major's descriptions of the daily administration and training of his unit under field conditions. Some of his administrative details are available from no other source -- he describes the procedures of artillery practice in the field; he gives numerous tables recording the results of combat firing and statistics such as weight of projectiles, charges, ranges and elevations; he describes how certain types of artillery projectiles actually worked, or failed to work, against an enemy. Major Manigault's journal provides a wealth of information for Civil War scholars. But, surprisingly, the detail detracts very little from the journal's entertainment value for the casual reader. Manigault's diary depicts his unit's participation in such well-known engagements as the battle for Battery Wagner and the attempt to sieze the U.S. gunboat Marblehead. Siege Train is a vivid picture of day-to-day operations as well as the trials of a competent, but uncelebrated, battalion commander trying to accomplish his job under combat conditions.

The career of the USS Wahoo in sinking Japanese ships in the farthest reaches of the Empire is legendary in submarine circles. Christened three months after Pearl Harbor, Wahoo was commanded by the astonishing Dudley W. "Mush" Morton, whose originality and daring new techniques led to results unprecedented in naval history; among them, successful "down the throat" barrage against an attacking Japanese destroyer, voracious surface-running gun attacks, and the sinking of a four-ship convoy in one day. Wahoo took the war to Japan's front porch, and Morton became known as the Navy's most aggressive and successful sea raider. Now, in a new quality paperback edition, her full story is told by the person most qualified to tell it--her executive officer Richard O'Kane, who went on to become the leading submarine captain of the Second World War. Praise for Wahoo "The accounts of the patrols are spine-tingling, both in triumph and tragedy. It is a tale of great courage, brilliant leadership, and daring innovation in a new type of submarine warfare fought largely on the surface in waters closely controlled by the enemy. Well-written, a gripping story for anybody with a love of the sea or adventure in submarine combat."--Naval War College Review "This is an exceptional story of American men who rose to the occasion time and again under dangerous circumstance." --Abilene Reporter News "A first-hand--and first-rate--narrative, told by the former executive officer of this legendary WWII submarine, which gives readers an intimate feel for life aboard the 'boats' that helped beat the odds in the battles of the Pacific and put Japan on the defensive."--Sea Power "Like Clear the Bridge!, [Richard] O'Kane's bestselling account of the Tang's 33 confirmed sinkings, [Wahoo] is a rousing, authentic war adventure that could well become a classic of its type, crack[ling] with the tensions, boredom, and occasional exhilaration of submarine life under the Pacific, O'Kane is a superb storyteller, and his credentials are impeccable."--Springfield Sunday Republic

Second World War British Military Camouflage offers an original approach to the cultures and geographies of military conflict, through a study of the history of camouflage. Isla Forsyth narrates the scientific biography of Dr Hugh Cott (1900-1987), eminent zoologist and artist turned camoufleur, and entwines this with the lives of other camouflage practitioners, to trace the sites of camouflage's developments. Moving through the scientists' fieldsite, the committee boardroom, the military training site and the soldiers' battlefield, this book uncovers the history of this ambiguous military invention, and subverts a long-dominant narrative of camouflage as solely a protective technology. This study demonstrates that, as camouflage transformed battlefields into unsettling theatres of war, there were lasting consequences not only for military technology and knowledge, but also for the ethics of battle and the individuals enrolled in this process.

In this book, the author discusses world-wide developments in armour from the earliest times, and weapons from the Stone Age to the early firearms and cannon. The book provides accounts of how the arms and armour have been used in specific battles.'

Focusing on conventional weapons, rather than nuclear, biological and chemical ones, this book draws attention to important differences, within the EU, between the trade in finished weapons and the technology used to make them. It examines West European efforts since 1945 to manage both sides of conventional defence-related trade, and the political, industrial, technological and conceptual obstacles to effective mulitlateral co-ordination and regulation. The book argues that, in current European and international circumstances, recent EU initiatives have limited prospects and may prove to be counterproductive.>

September 17, 1862, at Antietam Creek was the bloodiest day of the Civil War, as both armies made heavy use of field artillery, the "long arm."
In "Artillery Hell" Curt Johnson and Richard C. Anderson, Jr., provide a detailed examination of the role of field artillery in the Battle of Antietam. Johnson sets the context with an overview of organizational problems on the eve of a great battle. Anderson's concise discussion of different types of artillery and their capabilities and ammunition is presented in accessible language.
The heart of "Artillery Hell" is Maj. Joseph Mills Hanson's unpublished 1940 report, "Employment of Artillery." It includes compilations of the batteries in the respective armies at Antietam, a review of the battle actions of the "individual batteries," and a "list of battery positions in a tentative order."
Johnson and Anderson build upon Hanson's reports with individual chapters on the Union and the Confederate artillery at Antietam. Utilizing previously untapped or unavailable sources, especially the Henry Jackson Hunt Papers at the Library of Congress, they answer questions that have long challenged historians and others interested in the battle.
"""Artillery Hell" discusses virtually every aspect of field artillery used during the Civil War. Battlefield visitors can use it to identify and understand the different types of cannon and their capabilities, and historians will find in it the military perspective so many studies of the battle lack.

This book is a study of all aspects of air defense from its beginnings during the French Revolution when artillery gunners tried to hit primitive balloons with their cannons to the use of Patriot missiles in the Gulf War to shoot down tactical ballistic missiles. Crabtree's history focuses on the development of tactics and technology from the Franco-Prussian War to the present. The strategic air defense of World War I and World War II are featured, as are the development of surface-to-air missiles by Germany in World War II and by the United States and the USSR in Vietnam and the Middle East.

Kenneth J. Hagan pulls the curtain back for American civilians as he shares a sweeping account of the country's naval experience. Including the wooden Continental Navy to contemporary projections of the service's high-tech mission in the next century, The People's Navy shares the complete making and growth of America's sea power. "...provides a clear, interesting, and through-provoking introduction to the history of the American sea power and should be read by all historians of the United States... This book will provide standard interpretation for a long time to come." - Reviews in American History

Depicts the uniforms, insignia, decorations, horse equipment, and weaponry of cavalry regiments against the background of events in American military history.

Based on a PhD thesis presented to Newcastle University in 1992, this book assesses through a specific survey area the efficiency of Raymond Selkirk's Piercebridge formula for Roman river transportation systems across Britain. Evidence for the formula is examined at ten sites across the North-east, and an alternative to the Piercebridge formula method of supply to the Roman army in the North-east is advanced.

Gudmundsson tells the story of field artillery in the 20th century and its impact on the major conflicts of our time. Its purpose is to provide the reader--whether artilleryman or not--with hitherto unavailable insights on the role that artillery plays in the larger battle and how that has helped shape the world that we live in today. Unique aspects of the book include the treatment of technical issues in non-technical language, the extensive use of German and French sources generally unavailable to the English-speaking reader, the shattering of some long-cherished myths, and the discussion of issues that are often papered over in the literature of field artillery--losses from "friendly fire," the frequent impotence of counter-battery fire, and the French origins of current American doctrine. The bulk of the literature on field artillery can be fairly described as "gunner propaganda." Gudmundsson, with his emphasis on the way artillery interacts with other arms and the dynamics of the battle as a whole, takes a more balanced and a more critical view, dealing with the failures as well as the achievements of field artillery. This study provides a thorough overview of field artillery in non-technical language that will be of interest to military professionals, military historians, and wargamers.

" A] very useful book . . . Written for the general reader, it brings into clear relief the complex relationship between weapons procurement and the forces of technology, service parochialism, the arms race, military strategy and arms control. More significantly, it reveals that weapons acquisition depends as much on political compromise as on superpower parity, military doctrine or even plain logic. Publishers Weekly"

In this important new study from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Moody examines how NATO can best exploit advanced technology to bolster its conventional forces on the battlefield of the future. The Dreadful Fury is a unique analysis integrating the political, military, economic, and technological factors shaping the tough choices confronting Atlantic Alliance policy makers. Drawing on the author's experience at NATO Headquarters, the book's focus on alliance rather than national perspectives of military technology provides an unusual approach to one of the most difficult challenges facing NATO today.

After a brief review of the nature of technological change in the modern age, the book examines the shifting industrial landscape within which that change occurs. It then addresses the key problems Alliance policy makers must confront in such critical areas as technology transfer, allied cooperation in development and procurement of modern arms, and the impact of new technology on the conduct of war. In the book's final chapter, a package of policy recommendations is offered to help chart a steady NATO course through the turbulent 1990s.