The authors of this book make the case that the atomic bomb was main factor in creating the Cold War. FDR and later Truman wanted to use the atomic bomb as a diplomatic lever against the Soviet Union. Both of these presidents would only share the secret of the bomb with the Soviets if they complied with the American demands on letting the Eastern European countries pursue their own destiny. The Russians on the other hand wanted to develop their own bomb not because they thought it would be decisive but because it was viewed as propaganda tool against the Soviets which demonstrated Western strength. In the book the authors make the case that dropping the first atmomic bomb on Hiroshima was necessary but the second on Nagasaki was not and was mainly a demonstration to scare the Russians into accepting American demands. The authors also stated that the Baruch Plan was used as propaganda ploy by both sides with the Americans wanting the Soviets to reject the plan while the Soviets used it to display American nuclear blackmail. Also spying made the problem worse becuase it stiffened US resolve to not give up nuclear secrets to an international body for fear that the Soviets were developing their own nuclear weapon. When the Soviets finally developed their bomb, the arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union began. The only weakness of the book is that the authors have ignored how Germany and the division of that country was probably a greater factor in starting the Cold War. Also from reading the recent work by Hasegawa it appears that the dropping of the atomic bomb was not really necessary unlike what the authors have stated in this book. Nevertheless this is a interesting book about how the arms race started.

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