From his years at Los Alamos and the Nevada Test Site to his meetings with nuclear arms experts in Moscow, former weapons designer Stephen M. Younger has witnessed firsthand the making of nuclear policy. With a deep understanding of both the technology and the politics behind nuclear weapons, he guides us from the Manhattan Project to the Cold War and into the present day, illuminating how nuclear weapons fit into our globalized, war-plagued world. Does the United States genuinely need a massive stockpile in an era of precision bombs and missile defense? Under what circumstances might we need nuclear weapons in the future? How does the proliferation of weapons in the hands of other nations affect our own nuclear policy?

With startling clarity, Younger reveals how weapons work, the myths and realities of what happens after a nuclear explosion, and how our nuclear policy evolved to what it is today. "The Bomb" is a compelling call to debate, and to action, that no one can afford to ignore.

A former nuclear weapons designer, Stephen M. Younger understands, as few others can, humankind's potential for violence. He knows that 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 means that things can happen faster than we can think about them.

In "Endangered Species," Younger peers into the heart of modern civilization to present a practical plan for ending mass violence, the scourge of our times and a threat to our survival as a species. 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.