‘Few historians write with Serhii Plokhy’s authority, clarity or global vision... Essential reading, and a marvellous book’ - Peter Frankopan

From the bestselling author of Chernobyl comes a sweeping history of the geopolitics behind the nuclear arms race, from the first atomic bomb to today.

On July 16, 1945, the Nuclear Age began with the explosion of the first atomic bomb and J. Robert Oppenheimer's words: ‘Now I am become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds.’ While the threat of mutually assured destruction kept a lid on a simmering and tense geopolitical landscape, events like the Chernobyl disaster and near-misses like the Cuban Missile Crisis showed that total destruction was always just one malfunction, mistake, or miscommunication away.

Now, as governments re-arm their nuclear arsenals, treaties designed to limit the acquisition and use of nuclear weapons are falling apart, and nuclear weapons are increasingly within reach of non-state actors, we are on the verge of a renaissance in the nuclear industry.

In The Nuclear Age, acclaimed historian Serhii Plokhy presents an intricate picture of a world governed by fear. From the first artificial splitting of the atom in 1917 and the race to create the first atomic bomb during World War II, through the tense arms race of the Cold War, to imperialism, neo-colonial motivations, and wars being fought today, the threat posed by nuclear weapons remains as relevant as ever.

As he examines the motivations of key players, Plokhy confronts the crucial question of our time: what can we learn from the first nuclear arms race that can help us prevent another one?

Pages: 432, Dimensions: 16.2x16.2cm