Unmaking the Bomb

Feiveson, Glaser, Mian and von Hippel convincingly argue that this problem [of fissile materials] demands a real and immediate solution. Along with the history of nuclear weapons, they cover attempts to control the weapons’ spread, including the 1970 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons; the physics and technology of producing, downblending and storing fuel; and the complexities of convincing nations to agree to be supervised and controlled by an international agency.—Ann Finkbeiner, Nature—

A succinct, authoritative account of all the fissile material produced in military and civilian nuclear programmes since 1945…To ensure nuclear disarmament, the authors argue, all these materials have to be eliminated.

—Rob Edwards, New Scientist—

The book masterfully breaks down a very technical and politically charged subject so that its most salient facts are accessible and understandable to technical and nontechnical readers alike. It marshals clear, accurate, and broadly supported data, graphs, charts, and photographs that describe and explain the evolution of the fissile material age and the current global status of these materials in military and civilian programs…Unmaking the Bomb is an invaluable tool for historians, educators, military strategists, students of nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation, and those who advocate the elimination of nuclear weapons.

—James Doyle, Arms Control Today—

All nuclear weapons require fissile materials—plutonium and/or highly-enriched uranium (HEU)—to function. As many of the world’s nuclear powers reduce their stockpiles of weapons, an issue that will come to the fore is that of securing and eventually disposing of the global supply of excess fissile materials. This book describes the history, production, current stockpiles, and uses of fissile materials, and sets out possible policies for reducing and eventually eliminating them…This book should be read and carefully considered by every serious student of the world nuclear situation.

—Physics & Society—