This book, written with unique access to official archives, tells the secret story of Britain's H-bomb - the scientific and strategic background, the government's policy decision, the work of the remarkable men who created the bomb, the four weapon trials at a remote Pacific atoll in 1957-58, and the historic consequences.
Reviews / Votes
'Lorna Arnold...is particulary successful in making the scientific issues of the nuclear project accessible to non-technical readers such as students in history, international relations and politics and she provides a highly informative account of a very important phase in Britain's nuclear history.' - Dan Keohane, Keele University
'...an excellent book that sheds needed light on the world's third thermonuclear power.' - Jack M. Holl, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
'Britain and the H-Bomb tells the tale of the men who developed Britain's thermonuclear device through the drama of the tests in the Pacific. It does so with clarity and skill.' - Stuart Croft, Nature
'Britain and the H-Bomb is a valuable contribution to the history of the arms race, and deserves a wide readership.' - Peter Gissing, University of Sydney
Edition
Language
Place of publication
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
ISBN-13
978-0-333-94742-5 (9780333947425)
DOI
Schweitzer Classification
LORNA ARNOLD OBE is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics and Fellow of the Institute of Contemporary British History. She is author of
A Very Special Relationship: British Weapon Trials in Australia
(1987) and
Windscale 1957: Anatomy of a Nuclear Accident.
List of Plates Foreword by Lawrence Freedman Preface PART I: SETTING THE AGENDA Stellar Forces The First Superbomb Project: The United States The Second Superbomb Project: The Soviet Union PART II: BRITAIN AND THE THERMONUCLEAR QUESTION What Must Britain Do? A General Instruction from the Government PART III: BRITAIN'S RESPONSE Aldermaston and the Weaponers The Megaton Mission Captain Cook's Coral Island Racing Against Time PART IV: THE PACIFIC TRIALS The First Trial: Grapple 'We Shall Have To Do It All Again': Grapple X Britain's Biggest Explosion: Grapple Y Mission Accomplished: Grapple Z PART V: A SPECIAL NUCLEAR RELATIONSHIP The Great Prize Some Questions and Answers Appendices Notes and References Select Bibliography Index
