A Nuclear-weapon-free world : desirable?, feasible? /

The editors are physicists at the University of London; Scuola Normale, Pisa; and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bombay respectively. Rotblat is president of the Pugwash Conferences. The world total of 50,000 nuclear warheads should be well below 10,000 by the year 2000. This volume addresses the question of whether a goal of zero is desirable and feasible. Essays on matters of desirability, feasibility, verification, the form and enforcement of an agreement, and how to proceed are written by contributors from 11 countries representing a wide range of scientific disciplines and analytical approaches. The need for a nuclear-weapon-free world (NWFW) was enunciated almost immediately following the use of nuclear weapons in August 1945 but international agreement was not forthcoming. It was reintroduced for serious consideration by President Gorbachev in 1986 and what had been considered desirable by most now seemed feasible. At a time when the main threat to world security is seen by many as nuclear proliferation, it is essential to ask whether a global ban on nuclear weapons should not be taken seriously. This book's stated purpose is "to stimulate further study and debates," and it provides the indispensable framework to stimulate that essential study and debate. Advanced undergraduate; graduate; faculty. D. F. Bletz; Wilson College